10 Best Live Chat & Chatbot Software in 2024

In this fast-paced digital era, time waits for no one. The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made quick personal interactions a golden standard in business, putting the phrase "Instant Support" on a high pedestal. Customers today want their questions answered "now" and not a moment later. This ever-increasing demand for immediacy has ushered businesses towards innovative communication tools like live chat and chatbot software.

If you're here reading this, we understand what you're going through. The overwhelming sea of software providers, each promising to be 'the best,' can boggle the best of us. And then there's the constant worry - Are these sources trustworthy? Will choosing one involve a massive financial outlay? Finding the right SaaS provider can be like finding a needle in a haystack.

We're passionate about simplifying things, so we've analyzed the most popular options for you and are ready to present our findings. Read on to find your one-stop source to answer your questions about finding the best modern customer service software.

What Is a Live Chat & Chatbot Software?

In short, they are revolutionary tools designed to provide a seamless customer communication experience. Tailored to enhance the digital landscape, these platforms serve a dual purpose.

On the one hand, they consist of live chat software, enabling real-time interaction between businesses and customers. The charm of this type of software lies in its personal touch. It provides quick responses to queries while also allowing for agent-customer conversations that make clients feel valued.

On the other hand, there are cutting-edge chatbots. These are virtual assistants that can be set up by building custom workflows to guide a user through the chat to collect information or answer questions automatically. With the rise of AI, chatbots are becoming more powerful each day, making them a great extension of your team. Bots are programmed to simulate intelligent conversations without human intervention. They operate 24/7 ensuring perpetual availability even outside typical working hours or during peak load times.

Both facets complement each other; while live chats infuse personalized engagement, chatbots ensure continuous support without manual involvement. This combo ensures an enhanced customer engagement experience, making your business accessible anytime and anywhere.

What Makes the Best Live Chat & Chatbot Software?

When choosing a provider for your live chat & chatbot software, you'll find many factors to consider. Filtering through all this raw data can give you a headache of the highest order. That's why we've rounded up the most important information to help you make an informed decision.

Our analysis begins with a comprehensive collection of data. Starting with an extensive list of reputable platforms, we gather every bit of information available about these offerings. It isn't just skimming off details from their websites. It's about conducting detailed checks to ensure we have accurate and optimal specifications at hand.

When data isn't explicitly mentioned, or doubts hover above our collected details, we take action. Our team reaches out directly to the software providers. This process not only lets us fill in any missing pieces but also lends unique insights into their customer support regarding response timelines and quality of assistance.

Armed with our complete dataset, each attribute undergoes a standardization process, ensuring consistency. We attribute scores to each parameter based on their respective importance. This helps us create a percentile score for each software. Subsequently, we compile the results to give you an aggregate picture of how these offerings perform for your needs.

Now let's break down these criteria by weight of importance:

Pricing

When it comes to choosing software, reasonable spending is one of everyone's top-rated criteria. Let's face it; no one wants to lose money investing in a tool that turns out to be ineffective for their needs. Affordable solutions providing valuable features definitely gain priority over their pricier counterparts.

Since SaaS products typically have different price tiers, sometimes including free versions with limited features, we look into each provider's pricing structure in great detail. We judge implementations based on the number of channels and users they support per tier, as well as the additional features available at each price point.

From the number of included users to the possible savings when paying annually, you can find a detailed breakdown of the best-priced live chat and chatbot solutions here.

Channels

Consider this: Your customers are surfing various websites on their laptops at home. Then they switch to checking social media updates on their smartphones during their free time or commute. The point is that people today use multiple devices and channels to interact with brands.

They will appreciate it if you can respond right there via their preferred channel, and therein lies the value of providing multi-channel support. Does your brand have thousands of followers on Instagram? Then you'd better have a way to communicate with them in real-time there. We review each software based on the channels it supports and its capability to enable integrated messaging.

If your customer support relies heavily on multi-channel messaging, this page is for you. We discuss the wide range of channels that we evaluate for our overall ranking and display which tools integrate with the widest range of channels in a separate ranking.

Live Chat Features

If you've never used live chat software, then you may be surprised by the sheer number of features available. Each solution comes with a varying yet broad range of customer engagement features. For instance, did you know you can view a user's browsing history and use that information to provide tailored customer service?

Efficiency can also be improved with features like chat routing, which allows customers to be routed to the right team or agent for more specialized help.

These features merely scratch the surface of what live chat software can do to improve the customer experience. Visit our page on the best live chat software for features to learn more about the available perks that come with these tools.

Chatbot Features

In a similar vein, chatbot software also comes with a range of tools to facilitate customer care. As mentioned earlier, chatbots can answer frequently asked questions, guide customers through the sales process, collect data for personalization purposes, and more.

We evaluate the chatbot features based on their capability to provide automated assistance and personalized conversations using natural language processing (NLP) technology. We look at how you can program a chatbot to respond to and understand customer inquiries accurately. We also consider accessibility, meaning that no coding is required to set up your chatbot and get started without needing any technical know-how.

For more information about each core chatbot feature, visit this page.

Administration

In the case that your business is still small, you might have looked forward to assisting the few customers you had when they needed it. As your business scales, however, the inquiries will start raining down faster than you can handle them. Administration features are what will allow you to stay afloat in times like these.

From ticketing systems to agent and department assignments, these features will help you keep track of inquiries and ensure no one is left behind. You'll be able to create better workflows and, in turn, provide better customer service. While it might seem like an afterthought, you don't want to get caught unprepared when the inquiries come flooding in.

We discuss the admin controls in detail on this page.

Reporting

Data is invaluable. It's like being able to peep into the future and prepare yourself based on present performance trends. Representing this analytical data aesthetically in the form of dashboards eases understanding. It also provides clear insights, which ultimately aids in setting growth targets as well as optimizing business processes.

Regarding live chat and chatbot software, many features allow you to create dashboard visuals. In some cases, team members can access this data from any device at any time. They can also use it to improve customer service experiences or automate certain repetitive tasks.

Head over here for an overview of the most popular reporting and dashboard features in today's chat software market.

Integrations

Next, we have integrations. Chatbots and live chat software can be integrated with CRMs, customer service systems, and third-party platforms. This allows companies to access their customer data in one place and streamline processes by automating certain tasks.

For example, a customer service team could use an integration to quickly pull up a user’s purchasing history before they start a conversation. This helps to provide more tailored and personal customer service.

Read more about the different integrations you can find in the best live chat and chatbot software here.

Customer Support

A software provider that offers live chat and chatbot products should logically have an excellent customer support team. Even the best software can't work perfectly all the time, and customer service teams should consist of knowledgeable staff that can help you troubleshoot issues or explain features.

When looking at potential software, look out for the customer support score. You want a provider that offers fast responses. However, speed isn't the only factor you should consider. The answers provided should actually be helpful and address the issue. More on how we evaluate customer support can be found on this page.

Ease of Use

Finally, ease of use is a major factor when selecting software. Even if the product has a lot of great features, your team needs to be able to find and use them efficiently. You want agents to pick up the software quickly, or it may become a burden and detract from your customer service efforts.

A great way to test the ease of use is by simply trying out the tools. This will give you an idea of what features are present, how they work, and how easy it is to find and operate them. When rating ease of use, we look for features like intuitive interfaces, drag-and-drop builders, and visual editors to make customization easy.

Find out more about the easiest-to-use live chat and chatbot software here.

The 10 Best Live Chat & Chatbot Software

How to Choose the Best Live Chat & Chatbot Software

Selecting the right live chat and chatbot software requires careful consideration. In the case of a chatbot, it's almost like hiring a new team member. You want someone (or something) that aligns with your business goals, understands your audience, and smoothly fits into your existing operations.

To choose the best, you need to be clear about what you require from the software. Pin down what aspects are most critical for your business. What goal are you trying to accomplish with the software? Are you only looking to provide a live chat, chatbot, or both? Do you need to build integrations with certain tools?

After you’ve become clear on what you want, look at your business. Small businesses may prioritize affordability over extensive features, while larger corporations might focus on robustness with premium add-ons, even if it comes at a higher cost.

It's different strokes for different folks. Rather than blindly following "trending" tools, we recommend going into detail by using our Comparison Tool and Finder Tool. These are specifically designed to paint an even clearer picture of the live chat and chatbot software landscape by allowing you to see the differences between your shortlisted solutions and to find a matching software for your specific needs.