9:00am PDT on Monday, 27th June 2016

New LiveChat introduction

with Bartosz Olchówka and Blazej Szperlinski

A first look at the new LiveChat!

During the webinar, we discussed all the major improvements over the old version. We also answered the following questions:

1. How the new LiveChat works?
2. What kind of improvements were made?
3. How to start using it?

After the webinar, we had a Q&A session. Transcript of all the questions and answers is available below. You can check out the Slideshare presentation:

Video from webinar

Questions asked during the webinar

When are the desktop apps expected to be released for Mac and Windows?

Windows application is already available.
Mac application is also available, but we will adjust its look & feel to the New LiveChat within few weeks now.

Is operator–to–operator chat transfer still available?

Yes, you can easily transfer chats to other operators or groups.

If the admin does the migration, will it be applied to all agent’s accounts? Or does each agent need to migrate separately?

Only the owner of your LiveChat account can perform the migration. Once it’s done, the new product is available for all your agents.

If we would like to extend our current 1–year subscription, will we need to pay the new rates?

No, you can stay with your current plan and price forever. The new pricing will apply only when you change your subscription, e.g. purchase more seats or migrate to another plan.

Will we be able to see the details per client or visitor, i.e. keywords used, referred page and pages visited?

Yes, your visitors’ details are displayed next to each person on the list and during the chat. You can even expand this information with FullContact integration or add custom details from your internal system.

What about the pop-up window?

Pop-up window is fully supported in the New LiveChat.

What about the speed of the chat window on my website? I want to be sure my website loads blazingly fast.

The chat window will still load as fast as in the old product. Within few weeks, we will start using the best Content Delivery Network out there to speed the things up even more.

Will the agents need to re–log to see the newly created canned response?

No, everything you set up in the New LiveChat will be automatically available to all agents. There’s no need to sign out and sign in to see the changes.

What about the integration with Twilio?

We don’t have an integration with Twilio yet. We are still considering the advantages of this product working along with LiveChat.

What about the learning curve for our agents?

The New LiveChat is much easier to use for unskilled agents. It offers welcome tutorial explaining the basics and includes contextual help messages in other parts of the application.

Does it measure email content/subject matter for reports?

Currently no. We are working on adding tags support, which will let you build the reports for particular chats.

If we’ve migrated previously, do we get the latest version automatically or is it the same as the beta?

It’s the same product as the one available on our website since February 2013. Web application is always up to date. Desktop apps will automatically notify you when the new version is available.

In the app is there a way to visit the pages the user is navigating to?

You can just click the title of the page your visitor is currently visiting, and your default browser will open this page immediately.

Is there any way to mark or indicate a live chat that has been followed up?

We are working on a simple ticketing system that will be integrated with the New LiveChat, and it will be a great tool to follow–up your customers anytime you need to.

In the previous version there was a method of viewing the success of certain invitations, is that still available?

The New LiveChat has significantly modified the invitations mechanism. From now on, all greetings take a form of a chat, and the visitor does not even know it’s just the invitation and not the chat itself. Thus, we found the “Invitations > Chat” report non–essential.

Are we be able to upload a file through the chat with this version?

Agents can share a file with the visitor using Dropbox integration. Currently visitors cannot send files to the agent during a chat.

From an admin level, can we set password security rules for agents? Password duration etc.

We don’t have a built–in password security rules feature. However, you can prepare a script that will use LiveChat API to change password to all agents every week or so.

In the application, does it pop up and tell you that you have a chat?

Yes, LiveChat notifies agents about the incoming chat using sound and graphical notifications.

Is the new version integrated with Sage CRM?

No, we don’t integrate with Sage CRM. However, you can use our API to build such an integration yourself.

Can we ask for more information when the customer fills in the form to start a chat, like postal address?

Yes, you can configure a pre–chat survey to ask for additional information before a chat.

Do you have any integration with Base CRM or SugarCRM?

LiveChat is integrated with SugarCRM, but we don’t offer Base CRM integration. you can use our API to build such an integration yourself.

Will the current Mac app remain operational until the new one is released?

Yes, you can use the Mac application with the New LiveChat until the new one is ready to download.

Will the new prices be applied to all agents if you change your subscription, or only to added agents?

New prices will be applied to all agents.

When chats are missed, can we identify what time of that day they occurred?

Yes, you can use 24–hour distribution reports to see the exact time of the day that the chats are missed. You will also have access to exact timestamps of a particular missed chat in the Archives section.

If a user left the queue, can we also identify when it occurred?

Yes, we offer 24–hour distribution for queued visitors report.

I would also like to know if there is a time abandonment time stamp. Say if they came into queue and abandoned in less than 30 seconds. Not just when they abandoned, but how long they were in queue before.

Yes, we offer “Average waiting times” report that will show you the average time the visitors spent in the queue before they either entered the chat or left the queue.

If you don’t have a browser window “open” will you still get notified of an incoming chat request?

Yes, even if you minimized the browser window, you will get notified with a sound and graphical notification when there is a new chat, or the visitor replied in the current chat.

Can you paste an image/screenshot into the chat window in the new livechat?

Visitors cannot paste an image or screenshot into a chat window. The agent can send a file to the visitor using Dropbox integration.

Might have missed this… Is it a web app now or is there a downloadable application as well?

We offer both Web–based application as well as desktop apps for Windows and Mac.

Is it possible to have Availability report for whole month, not only by day?

Currently it’s not possible, Availability report is grouped by days only.

Is it possible to set up chats between operators?

No, operator–to–operator chats are not available. There are IM apps available for that, we focus on customer service.

Will operators be able to view their chats for the day?

Yes, they can see their chat history in the application.

Can dynamic welcome messages used, like “good morning Peter”?

Not in the first version, we will get there though :)

Is video–chat in the picture?

No video is planned.

Is there a way to work double (old/new) to test the new version before activating it?

Yes, you can sign up for a free trial of the new product to check if you like it.

Is there or will there be voice integration with incoming chats?

Voice integration is currently not planned.

Are you guys going to bring push pages back?

Push Pages have been included in the Canned Responses.

Why does the current Mac application have more features than the windows application?

We are working on incorporating New LiveChat look & feel to the Mac application, and the updated app should be available within a few weeks.

Are you integrated with the Desk.com email system at all?

Yes, just check out the Desk.com integration.

Do chat windows have to start up immediately or is there an option to accept it before starting the chat?

It’s up to you. You can set up LiveChat to either automatically start each chat or let the agents pick the chats manually.

Will customers have the opportunity to know that they have features like dropbox, team viewer and so on?

Agents will have access to enabled integrations right from the chat window. Website visitors will not now which integrations are turned on until it’s used by the agent.

Is there a way to track an “offline” conversion? Sending a quote (via email) to a customer would be goal for us.

It seems like a ticketing system feature — we are going to publish it in the New LiveChat within few weeks.

As a relative newbie to LiveChat admin, should I spend time learning the old one, or just switch over to the new one?

Just switch to the new one :)

Do you think I could make this change without a heads up to the sales team?

You’d better follow–up your sales team about the change. Some things have changed and it will be great if your sales team will be up–to–date with them.

Can an admin see the interface from the point of view as an agent? Right now I do not see what they see – visitors arriving, what page they are viewing, etc.

If the admin is assigned to the same groups as the agent, he will see the same list of visitors on the website in the LiveChat app.

Will we still have the option to search for an old chat with the visitors email address?

Yes, old chats remain intact, and you can look them up by email address, keywords etc.

Will you have anything built in to translate languages?

Google Translate API has been closed, so for now we have no plans in this area.

Are there any plans to support adding Zendesk tags to chats that are pushed into Zendesk?

Currently we do not have plans to support adding Zendesk tags to chats pushed to Zendesk.

If there are no longer Operator to Operator chats, is there still the ability from an Operator to join into a chat in stealth mode (whispers) and then join as a full chat member?

Whispering is available. Joining the chat is not currently supported.

InfusionSoft integration?

No, we don’t have an integration with InfusionSoft.

What about being able to shadow our clients responses? Which is, being able to read what our clients are writing before they hit send.

Yes, customer message sneak–peek is available.

Does the new chat window (operator view) have a button that says ‘canned responses’? Or do they have to be familiar with all the keywords?

Canned responses work the same way as in the old product — just press the “#” symbol and the canned responses list will pop–up to the agent.

If the customer and the operator gets disconnected in a middle of conversation, is there a way to get that specific customer back on chat? If you are still seeing the customer browsing on your website.

Yes, the agent will still see the visitor browsing the website. He can select this visitor on the list and click “Start the chat” button to get back to the conversation.

Wasn”t this live chat released a few months ago?

It”s been released for the new customers. Old customers still use the old version of the software.

So, you combined the web control panel and the web app into a new app. Will those two no longer be available? What would happen if you have to temporarily shut the new app down for emergency maintenance? What will be our back up chat support?

With the new technology, we have an even better uptime than with the previous version of the product. In emergency situations when the web–based version is broken, you can still use the desktop app to chat with your customers.

When will you guys accept PayPal?

We have no plans for accepting PayPal payments.

I missed the part about hypertext links. Are they still able to be sent over chat?

Yes.

How much improvement has their been in load times?

The New LiveChat is a JavaScript–based application that — instead of loading new pages from the start — just displays the content immediately. Switching between app sections is now a matter of milliseconds instead of seconds.

Any plans for SMS or phone support similar to ClickDesk?

No such plans, we focus on chats and tickets as for now.

How will your ticket system affect Zendesk users?

You can still use the Zendesk integration if you like it — no need to use our built–in ticketing system.

Will the code installed on my websites need to change at all?

No, the installation code remains the same. You don’t need to change anything in your website code.

Since LiveChat integrates with Zendesk, I think it would be awesome for people to search forums/knowledge base via the chat window prior to initiating a chat.

No plans for this feature yet, we’ll consider this in the future.

What is the difference between the “left the queue” and “missed chat” statistics in reporting?

“Left the queue” report tells you how many visitors left the queue before a chat. “Missed chats” report tells you how many visitors left you a message when your agents were not available on LiveChat.

The New LiveChat has a “time in queue” on on the visitors tab. Do you have plans to add a “time chatting” for active chats on this screen?

We don’t plan to add this feature yet.

Do you have Salesforce integration?

Yes, LiveChat has a deep integration with Salesforce.

When will all accounts be automatically migrated to the new platform?

We don’t have a fixed date of migrating all customers to the New LiveChat. Currently, we suggest you to try out the new product. In case any questions arise, we will work hard with all customers to adjust the new product to their needs as much as possible.