What is webchat?
Webchat is a text-based, real-time conversation between a customer and your organisation, started from a chat window on your website, customer portal or app. The customer types a question, an agent (or a chatbot) replies within seconds, and the conversation continues until the issue is resolved or handed on.
It is also called live chat, and it sits between the phone and email. Like a call, it is synchronous: both sides are present at the same time. Like email, it is written, so links, account numbers and instructions can be shared accurately and the customer keeps a transcript.
Webchat is different from asynchronous messaging, where the customer can leave and come back to the conversation hours later. Many platforms now support both, and the line between them is blurring.
Why organisations offer webchat
- Convenience. Customers can get help while they are already on your website, without picking up the phone, and often while doing something else.
- Efficiency. Agents can usually handle more than one chat at a time, which can lower cost per contact for simple enquiries.
- Accuracy. Written answers, links to the right page and copy-and-paste reference numbers reduce misunderstandings.
- Context. A chat started on a particular page, such as a bill or outage map, tells the agent what the customer was looking at.
How webchat is staffed and measured
Webchat planning differs from voice in a few ways. Agents handle concurrent chats, so workforce management needs to account for concurrency, not just volume and handle time. Typical measures include:
- Wait time to first response, the chat equivalent of average speed of answer.
- Response gaps within the conversation, which matter as much as the first reply.
- Chat handle time, which is usually longer than a phone call because both sides type and multitask.
- Resolution, ideally tracked as first contact resolution across channels so a chat that leads to a phone call isn’t counted as resolved.
- Satisfaction, often captured with a short CSAT question at the end of the chat.
Good practice
- Be honest about availability. Show the chat button only when someone, or something, can answer it promptly.
- Connect it to the rest of your service. Chats should be logged in the same CRM as calls and emails, which is the core of an omnichannel approach.
- Answer from one source. Chat agents should use the same knowledge base as phone agents, so customers get the same answer either way.
- Hand over cleanly. If a bot starts the chat, the handover to a human should pass the full transcript, so the customer doesn’t repeat themselves.
- Know when to escalate to voice. Safety issues, distressed customers and complex problems are often better resolved by phone, and the agent should be able to offer a call.
- Write like a person. Short, plain sentences and a consistent brand voice work better than pasted templates.
Done well, webchat takes pressure off the phones and gives customers a quick, low-effort option. Done badly, it becomes another queue, and another channel customers use to chase the same issue.