Best Live Chat and Chatbot Tools | Better Customer Support

Live chat tools have become essential for businesses that want to engage website visitors, support customers instantly, and close sales faster. Whether you're looking for real-time human support, automated chatbots, or flexible messaging systems, there’s a wide range of solutions to choose from. But with so many options, finding the right tool and making it work seamlessly with your existing apps can be a challenge. In this blog, we’ll explore the best live chat tools, organized into three categories: Live Chat Solutions with Human Agents, Chatbot Platforms with Optional Human Handoff, and Messaging & Bot Platforms. We’ll also show you how Monkedo makes these tools even more powerful by connecting them with the rest of your business workflows.

The Importance of Customer Communication Tools

Customer communication tools, such as live chat and chatbot platforms, play a pivotal role in modern business strategies. They enable businesses to meet customer expectations for quick, personalized, and accessible support. Live chat tools facilitate direct, human-to-human interactions, which are ideal for building trust and resolving complex queries. Chatbot platforms, with the option for human handoff, automate routine tasks while ensuring a seamless transition to human agents when needed. These tools not only improve customer satisfaction but also enhance operational efficiency by reducing response times and agent workload.

Benefits of Live Chat Support for Businesses

• For Support Teams: Provide instant responses, manage multiple channels, and track customer interactions to improve service quality.

• For Sales Teams: Engage prospects in real-time, qualify leads, and increase conversions through personalized interactions.

• For Onboarding: Guide new users through product features, answer questions, and ensure a smooth onboarding experience.

• For Business Owners: Align customer communication with business goals, reduce operational costs, and build a strong brand reputation.

Live Chat Solutions with Human Agents

Live chat platforms with human agents focus on real-time, human-to-human communication. These tools are designed to handle customer inquiries via chat windows, provide support to customer questions, and facilitate sales through direct interaction with company representatives. They typically include features like agent dashboards, chat widgets, and helpdesk-style interfaces, making them ideal for businesses prioritizing personalized customer service.

Customer Support with Intercom

Intercom is a powerful platform offering live chat, bots, product tours, real-time website visitors data and more chat features. It's widely used in SaaS and customer support for its robust features and seamless integration capabilities. The platform provides customizable live chat widgets for real-time communication, comprehensive agent dashboards for managing conversations and tracking performance, and helpdesk-style interfaces for ticketing and customer history management. Additionally, Intercom offers omnichannel support that includes email, SMS, and social media integration. This solution is best suited for SaaS companies and businesses needing a comprehensive customer communication platform. Popular alternatives include Help Scout, Crisp, and Zendesk.

Crisp Live Chat App

Crisp offers a streamlined and budget-friendly platform that allows businesses to use live chat effectively while managing customer communications through a centralized shared inbox system. The solution includes chatbot extensions and knowledge base functionality, specifically designed to help customer service teams handle live chat conversations more efficiently. With its fast-loading chat widget for quick website deployment and collaborative inbox system that works across various communication channels, Crisp enables teams to streamline their customer interaction processes. The platform's optional automation add-ons and self-service knowledge base help reduce the workload on support teams while maintaining quality live chat conversations. This makes it an ideal choice for small to medium-sized companies looking for an economical way to enhance their customer communication capabilities. You can try its free trial. Other options worth exploring include Tawk.to, JivoChat, and Tidio.

LiveAgent for Support Teams

LiveAgent is a full customer support suite with live chat, ticketing, and call center features. It provides support agents, too. It's designed for teams needing a comprehensive solution for customer service. The platform includes a fast multilingual chat widget with proactive invitation capabilities, smart chat routing and visitor tracking functionality, an integrated ticketing system for seamless query management, and call center capabilities for voice support operations. LiveAgent is best suited for businesses requiring an all-in-one support platform that can handle multiple communication channels. Key alternatives include Zendesk, Freshdesk, and Help Scout.

Chatwork Chat Support Software

Primarily a team communication tool, Chatwork can be used for client communication, though it has limited external chat support compared to dedicated live chat tools. The platform offers group chat and video calling capabilities for both internal and client communication, task management and file sharing features for enhanced collaboration, but provides only limited external chat widget functionality. Chatwork is best suited for small businesses needing internal communication tools with basic client communication capabilities. Alternatives worth considering include Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Troop Messenger.

Trengo Live Chat Tool

Trengo is a multichannel inbox with live chat, email, social, and automation features that can be used in web and mobile apps. It's designed for customer-facing teams to manage interactions across multiple channels effectively. The platform provides a unified inbox that consolidates live chat, email, WhatsApp, and social media communications, automation tools designed to reduce workload, customizable chat widgets for branding consistency, chat history, and AI-driven features for efficient query handling. Trengo is best suited for medium-sized businesses with diverse communication channels that need centralized management. Popular alternatives include Intercom, Zendesk, and Freshdesk.

Help Scout for Customer Services

Help Scout is a helpdesk software with a live chat widget called Beacon and a shared inbox. It's designed for customer support teams to manage communications efficiently across different channels. The platform features the Beacon widget for live chat and self-service options, a shared inbox that enables team collaboration, a help center builder for customer self-service capabilities, and integration options with social media and eCommerce platforms. Help Scout is best suited for businesses focused on streamlined customer support operations. Alternatives to explore include Intercom, Crisp, and Tawk.to.

Gorgias for Customer Support Teams

Gorgias is an eCommerce-focused support tool with live chat and deep integrations with Shopify and other platforms. It's designed to enhance customer support specifically for online stores. The platform includes a live chat widget with self-service options, deep integrations with major eCommerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, and BigCommerce, AI-powered automation for handling repetitive queries, and proactive chat campaigns designed to boost conversions. Gorgias is best suited for eCommerce businesses needing platform-specific integrations and specialized online retail support features. Alternatives include Zendesk, Freshdesk, and Tidio.

Zoho Desk: Help Desk Software

Zoho Desk is a helpdesk system with live chat capabilities through Zia or SalesIQ, ticketing, and multichannel support. It's designed for customer service teams to manage interactions across various channels efficiently. The platform offers live chat functionality via Zia AI or SalesIQ for real-time support, a comprehensive ticketing system for organized query management, multichannel support that includes email and social media integration, and automation tools like blueprints and auto-responders to streamline operations. Zoho Desk is best suited for businesses seeking a scalable, integrated helpdesk solution that can grow with their needs. Key alternatives include Freshdesk, Intercom, and LiveAgent.

Chatbot Platforms with Optional Human Handoff

Chatbot platforms with optional human handoff combine the efficiency of automated responses with the personal touch of human interaction. These tools allow businesses to automate routine queries while escalating more complex issues to human agents, ensuring a seamless customer experience.

ChatBot (by LiveChat): AI Chatbots

ChatBot, developed by LiveChat, is an AI chatbot platform for websites and messengers that integrates with LiveChat to enable human handoff when needed. The platform provides AI-driven responses for 24/7 customer support, ensuring continuous availability for customer inquiries. It offers seamless handoff capabilities to human agents through LiveChat integration, allowing for smooth transitions when automated responses aren't sufficient. The system includes customizable conversation flows using pre-built templates, making it easy to design appropriate customer journeys. Additionally, ChatBot supports multiple channels including websites, Slack, and Facebook Messenger, providing versatility in customer engagement. This solution is best suited for businesses wanting to combine automation with human support capabilities. Popular alternatives include BotStar, Tidio, and ManyChat.

SnatchBot Chatbot Builder

SnatchBot is a multi-channel chatbot builder with hybrid support, allowing both automated and human-assisted interactions without requiring any coding skills. The platform supports multiple channels including WhatsApp, Slack, and Facebook Messenger, enabling businesses to reach customers on their preferred communication platforms. It offers hybrid support with human handover capabilities, ensuring that complex queries can be escalated to human agents when necessary. SnatchBot incorporates Natural Language Processing (NLP) and voice recognition technologies to enhance conversation quality and understanding. The platform also provides a free plan with access to bot templates, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes to get started with chatbot automation. This solution is best suited for businesses seeking a flexible, no-code chatbot solution that can adapt to various communication needs. Key alternatives include ChatBot, Tidio, and Botpress.

Customer Support with Freshsales

Freshsales is a CRM with built-in messaging capabilities that, when paired with Freshchat, offers automation and human support with seamless handoff functionality. The platform features AI-powered chatbots designed for lead qualification and query resolution, helping businesses automate initial customer interactions and gather important information. It provides human handoff capabilities via Freshchat integration, ensuring that complex inquiries can be transferred to appropriate human agents when needed. Freshsales maintains unified customer data that enables personalized interactions based on customer history and preferences. The system includes a no-code chatbot builder with a drag-and-drop interface, making it accessible for users without technical expertise to create and customize chatbot workflows. This solution is best suited for businesses using CRM systems with customer support needs, as it combines customer relationship management with communication tools. Popular alternatives include HubSpot, Zoho CRM, and Salesforce.

Messaging & Bot Platforms (No Live Chat Interface)

Some platforms, while not offering live chat interfaces, provide valuable functionalities for customer interaction and backend support. These tools are often used for automation or specific use cases but lack the real-time agent dashboards found in live chat tools.

Real Time Automation with Telegram Bot

Telegram Bot is useful for automating interactions within the Telegram platform, though it lacks a live agent dashboard for comprehensive management. This solution enables businesses to create automated responses and workflows specifically for Telegram users, allowing for direct engagement through one of the most popular messaging platforms globally. While it provides automation capabilities for customer interactions, the absence of a dedicated live agent dashboard means that human oversight and intervention require additional tools or manual processes. Telegram Bot is ideal for businesses that are already leveraging Telegram for customer engagement or want to establish a presence on this platform to reach their target audience where they are most active.

Facebook Pages / Threads

Facebook Pages and Threads enable Messenger-based customer communication, though this functionality is often managed through external tools and integrations. This approach allows businesses to engage with customers directly through Facebook's messaging ecosystem, leveraging the platform's massive user base for customer support and engagement. The system typically requires integration with third-party tools to provide comprehensive customer service features, as the native Facebook tools are somewhat limited in terms of advanced customer support functionalities. Facebook Pages and Threads are particularly suitable for social media-focused businesses that want to maintain consistent communication with their audience through the platform where they already have an established presence and following.

Abuse Detection in Chats with Tisane AI

Tisane AI is not a chat tool in the traditional sense, but rather a specialized service used for sentiment analysis and detecting abuse in chat messages. This platform enhances chat analytics by providing advanced natural language processing capabilities that can monitor conversations for inappropriate content, sentiment trends, and communication patterns. Tisane AI integrates with existing chat systems to provide real-time analysis and insights, helping businesses maintain quality standards in their customer communications and identify potential issues before they escalate. This solution is best suited for businesses that want to enhance their chat analytics capabilities and ensure that their customer communication channels remain professional and abuse-free.

Build Custom Chat Apps with Ably

Ably provides real-time backend infrastructure specifically designed for building custom chat applications, though it comes without UI or support features out of the box. This platform offers the technical foundation necessary for developers to create bespoke chat solutions, including real-time messaging capabilities, scalable infrastructure, and reliable message delivery systems. While Ably handles the complex backend requirements for real-time communication, businesses need to develop their own user interfaces and customer support features to create a complete chat solution. This platform is ideal for developers and businesses that want to create custom chat solutions tailored to their specific requirements and have the technical resources to build comprehensive user-facing features on top of Ably's infrastructure.

Streamline Your Communication with Monkedo No-Code Automation

To get the most out of live chat and chatbot tools, seamless integration with your existing systems is key. Monkedo, a powerful no-code automation platform, makes this possible by connecting over 400 apps, including tools like Intercom, Crisp, ChatBot, and Freshsales, to create customized workflows that match your business needs.

With Monkedo, you can:

• Automate repetitive tasks: Sync customer data between your CRM, live chat, and chatbot platforms to reduce manual work.

• Unify communication channels: Centralize interactions from multiple tools (e.g., email, social media, and live chat) for a cohesive customer experience.

• Boost efficiency: Set up triggers to automate responses, ticket creation, or follow-ups, saving time for your team.

• Scale effortlessly: Build workflows without coding, allowing your team to focus on strategy and customer engagement.

Whether you’re a small business using Crisp for affordable support or an eCommerce store leveraging Gorgias for Shopify integration, Monkedo helps you tie everything together, ensuring your tools work in harmony to drive results. Start with Monkedo’s free plan today and discover how easy it is to create a more connected, efficient, and customer-focused operation.

Best Customer Support with Best Live Chat Software

Whether you choose a fully-featured live chat tool with real-time human support, a chatbot platform that blends automation with human handoff, or a lightweight messaging system, integrating your communication stack is key to maximizing efficiency. With Monkedo, you can connect all of these tools to your existing workflows—automate follow-ups, log conversations in your CRM, send chat data to Google Sheets, or trigger emails based on customer responses. Monkedo brings together over 400+ apps, enabling you to build seamless, no-code automation between your chat platforms and the rest of your business. No matter which live chat solution you use, Monkedo helps you turn conversations into action.