Cobrowsing Solutions: Top Providers, Benefits, & Use Cases

‍The rise of digital communication is rapidly transforming the call center customer experience.

Emerging contact channels, like live chat, chatbots, and even video, have become an integral part of customer support.

But although these technologies are excellent tools for customer conversations, they’re not always enough to guide consumers through complex issues.

And that’s where cobrowsing solutions come in.

‍Cobrowsing is a powerful tool that can be leveraged by businesses and contact centers to collaborate with customers and provide hands-on, visual support.

But how exactly does cobrowsing work? What are the potential use cases for this technology? Who are the best providers?

In this article, we’ll explore these very questions - and more. We’ll cover:

• What is cobrowsing?
• How do cobrowsing solutions work?
• The benefits of cobrowsing 
• Key use cases for cobrowsing software
• Three top cobrowsing providers compared

What is cobrowsing?

Cobrowsing is a technology that allows participants to navigate a website, web application, or mobile app, together - in real time.

It’s typically used alongside other customer engagement channels, such as live chat, web calls, or video chat.

Cobrowse sessions provide a shared digital space where multiple users can collaborate together remotely - as if they were sitting side-by-side.

Unlike screen sharing, where one user takes control while the other watches passively, cobrowsing enables active participation from all parties involved. 

This creates an interactive experience where support agents can show customers what to do rather than simply telling them.

How do cobrowsing solutions work?

Cobrowsing works through a combination of synchronized web sessions and data transmission. 

Here’s a simplified breakdown of the process:

• Initiation: Agents initiate a cobrowsing session by sending a request to join the customer’s browsing session. This is typically done via the business’ chosen cobrowsing software/platform.
• Connection: Once the customer accepts, their browser establishes a connection with the agent’s browser. This connection is usually encrypted to ensure data security and privacy.
• Synchronization: As the agent and customer interact with the webpage, their actions are mirrored in real-time across all connected devices. This includes scrolling, clicking, typing, filling out forms, and page annotations. 

In essence, cobrowsing solutions work by enabling participants to view the same content and any on-screen changes as they occur.

As this technology continues to evolve, cobrowsing is likely to play an increasingly vital role in contact centers and customer service - bridging the gap between physical and virtual collaboration.

The benefits of cobrowse software

Now that we understand what cobrowsing is and how it works, let’s explore how it can give you a competitive advantage.

Below, we’ll detail five top benefits of cobrowsing.

1. Hands-on customer service

Digital customer support often relies on voice calls or text-based chats, which can make it challenging for agents to understand and resolve customer issues effectively. 

Cobrowsing changes the game by providing a hands-on approach to virtual customer service. 

With cobrowsing, agents don’t just tell the customer what to do - they can actively assist and walk them through the process.

They can even utilize cobrowsing alongside a live chat, web call, or video chat interaction.

This approach fosters optimal communication between customers and support agents.

It also reduces misunderstandings and ensures that customers receive accurate assistance - leading to stronger customer relationships and better outcomes.

2. Enhanced digital experience

In the digital age, user experience is paramount. 

Cobrowsing enhances the digital customer experience by replicating in-person service in the virtual realm.

It achieves this by transforming your website into an interactive and intuitive tool for remote sales and customer service.

Whether it’s helping customers shop online, fill out forms, or navigate intricate platforms, cobrowsing simplifies the process and helps create a seamless customer experience.

It’s why brands using cobrowsing accomplish greater improvement in customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores compared to businesses without this technology (5.1% vs. 1.4%).

3. Faster problem resolution

One of the most significant advantages of cobrowsing is its ability to facilitate faster problem-solving. 

When customers encounter an issue, cobrowsing enables agents to see and pinpoint the exact problem very quickly.

This reduces the need for many back-and-forth exchanges that are often necessary through other communication channels.

Plus, the collaborative nature of cobrowsing allows agents to troubleshoot more effectively and guide customers to swift resolutions. 

This not only saves customers time and frustration but also frees up agents to assist more customers more quickly.

4. Increased efficiency

Efficiency is a cornerstone of any successful business or contact center - and cobrowsing delivers on this front as well. 

By reducing the need for lengthy calls or multiple chat interactions to resolve issues, cobrowsing can both boost efficiency and significantly reduce costs. 

With cobrowsing, agents can handle more cases in less time, which ultimately boosts productivity.

Case in point, businesses that use cobrowsing software enjoy a 10% increase in agent efficiency compared to those without it.

Moreover, cobrowsing often results in a higher first-contact resolution rate, reducing the need for customers to contact support repeatedly. 

This not only saves time and resources but also helps to improve contact center performance overall.

5. Visual sales support

Cobrowsing isn’t limited to customer support - it can also be a powerful tool for sales teams.

With cobrowsing, sales representatives can guide potential customers through ecommerce stores or product listings, answer questions in real time, and even assist with the checkout process.

Moreover, this visual support and enhanced digital engagement often leads to more conversions and higher average order values. 

It’s why brands using cobrowsing enjoy a 61% greater growth in annual revenue compared to others that don’t.

Co-browsing solutions in action: Key use cases

The versatility of cobrowsing makes it an ideal tool for improving customer service across a vast range of industries and scenarios.

The following examples demonstrate some of the key use cases for cobrowsing with consumers:

• Technical support: Collaborate with customers to resolve technical issues with your website, software applications, or hardware by visually walking them through troubleshooting steps.
• Customer onboarding: Help new customers get started with your product or service by guiding them through setup processes and demonstrating key features in real-time.
• Form completion: Assist customers in filling out complex online forms, applications, contracts, registration processes, etc., ensuring accuracy and reducing errors.
• Account management: Show customers how to manage their accounts, update preferences, or navigate self-service portals for tasks like bill payments or account upgrades.
• Retail & ecommerce: Act as an online retail assistant by showing customers how to find products, complete purchases, and navigate your ecommerce store.
• Healthcare: Guide patients through online health portals, assist with appointment scheduling, or help with medical record access and navigation.
• Travel: Support customers in planning and booking travel arrangements, such as flights, hotels, or car rentals, ensuring a smooth booking process.
• Public sector: Direct citizens through digital government services, such as tax filings, permit applications, or benefit enrolment.

As you can see, cobrowsing software has far-reaching applications in customer support, online sales, and much more - enabling businesses and call centers to take their digital customer service to the next level.

Choosing a cobrowse solution: 3 providers compared

Now that we know the benefits of cobrowsing, the next step is to consider which provider is right for your business and contact center needs.

In this section, we’ll provide a comparison of three solid cobrowsing solutions currently on the market.

1. Cobrowse.io

First up is Cobrowse.io - a customer support solution that enables real-time cobrowsing and screen-sharing capabilities.

This solution is a budget-friendly, no-frills option - ideal for small businesses or start-ups that don’t require an extensive feature set.

With Cobrowse.io, you can view your customer’s screen without the need to install any plugins or extensions.

Initiating cobrowsing with Cobrowse.io is simple, involving a straightforward authorization step to request remote access.

However, as this provider only offers cobrowsing as a standalone feature, you’ll have to integrate with another platform if you want to offer cobrowse alongside other channels like video chat.

So, if you’re a smaller brand looking for simple and affordable cobrowsing software, then Cobrowse.io might be the best choice for you.

However, if you need a more advanced and scalable solution that can cater to larger contact center needs - you’ll want to explore other options.

2. Upscope

Next up is Upscope - a cobrowsing solution that focuses on enhancing remote support and customer interactions.

This platform was designed to be user-friendly and is a particularly strong option for sales teams.

With Upscope, you can gain access to a prospect’s screen with a single click, demonstrating precisely how your product can benefit them.

This approach is particularly effective when you notice potential customers becoming distracted during calls, as it enhances remote selling by making it more engaging and interactive.

As with Cobrowse.io, there’s no need for any downloads - it’s as simple as sending a request, and you’ll establish a secure connection to their browser.

Plus, Upscope offers a more advanced feature set than Cobrowse - including on-screen annotations and advanced user management.

It’s also more scalable than Cobrowse.io, making it a viable option for larger businesses and contact centers.

However, like Cobrowse.io, Upscope is limited in terms of the channels it can provide alongside cobrowsing - meaning you’ll have to integrate with another platform in order to offer cobrowsing alongside things like live chat, video chat, etc.

So, if you’d prefer a more comprehensive cobrowsing solution that has everything you need for customer support in one place - you’ll be better off with our third and final provider.

3. Talkative

And finally, we’d be remiss not to mention Talkative in a comparison of cobrowsing providers.

Talkative is a real-time customer engagement platform that offers advanced cobrowsing capabilities for businesses and contact centers of all sizes.

With Talkative’s solution, you can deploy cobrowsing on your website in minutes with just three lines of code.

And, like with Cobrowse.io and Upscope, no plugins or downloads are required - the customer only has to grant permission before an agent can cobrowse with them.

Whilst cobrowsing, the customer maintains full control over their device and can choose to end the session at any time.

In turn, the agent can only view the customer’s current website page - they cannot see the customer’s desktop or any other tabs/windows they have open. 

Plus, any sensitive or personal data on the page is automatically masked from the agent’s view.

In addition to cobrowsing, the Talkative platform also offers a range of intelligent contact channels for you to choose from - all of which can be used alongside cobrowsing. These include:

• Live chat
• Web calling
• Video chat
• Social messaging

It means you can have everything you need for digital customer support in one platform - and all within a single pane of glass.

That being said, the Talkative solution can also be seamlessly integrated with a variety of CRM and contact center systems - including Mitel and Salesforce.

It means that, however you want to implement cobrowsing, Talkative has all bases covered - allowing you to enhance your customer experience with minimum hassle.

The takeaway: Getting started with cobrowsing software

There’s no doubt that cobrowsing can be an invaluable technology for businesses and contact centers.

With cobrowsing, you can provide superior customer service and an interactive virtual experience that’ll set you apart from your competitors.

But if you want to truly reap the rewards of cobrowsing, you need the right platform to facilitate it.

That’s where Talkative comes in.

As we’ve demonstrated, our cobrowsing solution is one of the strongest contenders in the market.

What’s more, in addition to cobrowsing, we provide a complete suite of channels and capabilities - from live chat to web calling, video chat, chatbots, AI Agent Assist, and much more.

It means you'll be fully equipped to support, engage, and convert more customers than ever before.

Want to learn more?

Book a demo today and discover how you can power cobrowsing success with Talkative.