Over the past few years, live chat agents for websites have increased greatly in popularity and have become one of the most important customer service tools for businesses. Although there are countless reasons why having this feature can benefit both company and client, let’s take a look at a few of the most popular.

1- Customers Can Avoid Phone Calls

A 2019 survey of UK office workers shows that 76% of millennials and 40% of baby boomers experience anxiety when it comes to phone calls. With live chat agents, the need for phone calls is eliminated.

2- Faster Response Times

In addition to avoiding those phone calls entirely, a live chat system is much faster for both parties. Customers can type in their information before the chat starts, allowing the agent to spend more time responding to calls instead of asking a series of questions to identify a customer and confirm their identities.

3- The Conversation Can Be Saved by Both Parties

Instead of recording a phone call and having it transcribed, the exact record of the text exchanged can be saved by the company for both quality control purposes and in the event that the customer’s issue is not resolved. Similarly, customers won’t need to rely on their memories to remember troubleshooting tips they received from the agent.

4- Multitasking

Another benefit for both parties is that live chats don’t require both parties to focus solely on the conversation. If a customer’s baby starts crying or they need to look up information, for example, the agent can switch to another chat and assist someone else while they wait instead of sitting in silence waiting for the customer to return to the phone.

5- Understanding is Easier

A person who calls a helpline could have poor cell phone service, a thick accent, or a speech issue that can make it difficult for a customer service representative to understand what they’re saying. Using a text-based chat service, these issues can be avoided entirely and can provide smoother communication for both parties.

6- Common Issues Can Be Resolved Faster

If a customer service department finds that a vast majority of their customer inquiries relate to one or two topics, the agent can simply copy and paste a standard response like troubleshooting steps or an explanation as to why the situation cannot be resolved. Not only is this faster for both parties, but it can make sure that agents stick to the script.

7- Less Repetitive

With traditional phone calls, a customer whose problem is elevated to a supervisor needs to explain the problem again, which can be a frustrating experience. With a live chat agent, the supervisor can simply read the previous conversation and better understand the issue.

These are just seven of the many reasons why live chat agents are essential for modern businesses to offer on their websites. They can save time, money, and frustration for both customers and agents. Adding a live chat agent capability to a business website will provide numerous benefits to the business, customers, and potential customers.