Customer-to-agent chat

As an 8x8 Contact Center agent, you can chat with up to six customers. You need to be part of a queue to receive chats coming to that queue. When a customer chat arrives in the queue, it is offered to the available agent who has been waiting for the longest time.

Features

  • Agents can chat with up to six customers.
  • Agents can accept or reject incoming chats.
  • Chat is offered to the available agent who has been waiting in the queue for the longest time.
  • Agents can access the customer nickname, last name, first name, and email ID in the pop-out chat window's title bar.
  • Remote customer assistance is offered via chat using the Co-browsing capability.

Before you start

First, you need to check if you are part of a chat queue to receive their chats:

  1. Log in to 8x8 Agent ConsoleClosed8x8 Contact Center's browser-based graphical user interface (GUI) used by Agents to manage customer interactions..
  2. Click the Available state.
  3. Click Profile in the main menu.
  4. In My Profile page, go to QueueClosedA queue is an ordered collection of interactions waiting to be served by agents qualified to respond to these interactions. In addition to enabling the call center administrator to customize how incoming interactions are prioritized and routed, queues also ensure that interactions are never lost or discarded. Assignment and open the Chat tab. Check if you are assigned to the right chat queue.

Process customer chats

To process a customer chat:

  1. In 8x8 AgentClosedAgents use the Agent Console to view and manage customer interactions. Virtual Contact Center supports Regular agents and Supervisor agents. Console, when a new chat is offered, click to go to the chat window.
  2. Click to accept the chat. The tab changes to , indicating the number of active chats waiting.
  3. If it is an existing customer, the chat list gets updated with the customer information. The customer's detailed record also opens in a new tab.
  4. Type your message in the chat window and click Send.

    Note: Click to open a chat window. The title bar in the pop-out chat window shows the customer nickname, last name, first name, and email ID. If it is a new customer, it shows the Transaction ID.

  5. The blue status icons indicates if a customer has sent you a message and waiting for your response. If the customer waiting time exceeds SLA, the status icon turns red in the chat list. For details, refer to Multi-Chat Table.
  6. To accept a second incoming chat, click Accept. The customer chat list gets updated automatically.
  7. Open the chat window as desired. When you are done chatting, terminate the chat session by clicking End.
  8. To save the chat transcript, click  in the chat window, and select Save from the menu.
  9. Click End Post Processing to complete the session.

    Note: The customer name remains in the chat list while the post processing window is open. Closing the pop-out chat window closes the window, but does not end the chat.

Offer remote customer assistance via chat

8x8 offers remote customer assistance via chat using the Co-browsing capability. Co-browsing is available by subscription only and must be enabled by your administrator in Configuration Manager. Once the administrator enables Co-browsing for chat, agents can invite customers for Co-browsing during a chat session in 8x8 Agent Console. With Co-browsing, agents can quickly help customers find the information they are looking for, or clarify any questions they may have.

To start and stop Co-browsing:

  1. Log in to 8x8 Agent Console.
  2. Accept the incoming chat interaction.
  3. Open the chat interaction menu, and select Invite for Co-browsing.

    The customer is prompted to accept the invitation for Co-browsing, and clicks Yes, Start Sharing.

    The agent is notified when the customer accepts the invite.
  4. Click Join to continue.

    You can see the customer's screen now.

  5. Click Auto-fit on the top header bar to automatically scale the view to fit your available space.
    You can manually increment or decrement the zoom level to your desired value.
  6. Toggle on highlight on the top header bar.
    You can mark specific components in the page. The marks are visible for both agents and customers for a few minutes or until the agent toggles it off. It also disappears when the customer moves away from the page.

    Note: During a Co-browsing session, if the customer is filling a form and entering sensitive information such as SSN, it is hidden from the agent by showing **** instead of the real letters and numbers.

  7. Click Stop Co-browsing when the session ends.

    The customer can start or stop a Co-browsing session by clicking in the Chat window.

Concept Link IconSee Also