Short answer: choose live chat software by the jobs you need done, not the feature list. Decide who answers and from which channels, check how any AI hands over, work out the real monthly cost with your team size and websites, test it for a week on your own site, and make sure you can export your data if you leave.
How do I choose live chat software for my website?
Start with your own situation, then check each tool against the same questions. Write down your team size, your websites, the channels customers use and the questions they ask most. Then use the checklist below on every tool you try, so you compare like with like instead of comparing marketing pages.
1. What jobs must it do?
List the jobs in plain words: answer visitors in real time, keep a record, hand a conversation to a colleague, reply after the visitor has left, answer common questions automatically, book appointments, show who is on the site. Mark each as "must have" or "nice to have". A tool that does your five must-haves well beats one that does fifty things.
2. Which channels do your customers use?
Count where messages arrive today: website, email, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, SMS. If more than one matters, choose a shared inbox that brings them together, so your team works from one list. Check each channel is a real connection, and ask about limits, such as reply windows for WhatsApp.
3. Who answers, and how many of them?
Check how seats are counted and priced, how conversations are assigned, whether private notes and mentions exist, and whether two people can answer the same visitor by mistake. Look at the mobile and desktop apps, because most teams answer away from their desk.
4. If it has AI, what happens when the AI is wrong?
Ask these five questions: Does it answer only from my own content? Does it show the source? When does it hand over to a person, and is that automatic? What happens to card numbers and passwords in a conversation? Can I cap the monthly cost? An assistant that always answers is a risk; one that knows when to stop is an asset. Read how to stop an AI chatbot making things up.
5. How hard is it to set up on my platform?
Check you can add it with one line of script or a plugin for your platform, how it looks on a phone, and how it behaves on slow pages. If you use WordPress, WooCommerce, WHMCS, Joomla, PrestaShop or Magento, see whether a maintained package exists.
6. What happens to the data?
Ask where conversations are stored, how long they are kept, whether you can export everything, how a person's data is erased on request, and whether sign-in is protected with two-step verification. Ask for the list of subprocessors and a data processing agreement. See the GDPR checklist for live chat.
7. What will it really cost?
Work out the total for your own numbers, not the headline price: plan price, extra team seats, extra websites, AI conversations above the allowance, and any add-ons. Ask what happens at the limit: does the tool stop, charge extra or just hand chats to your team? Compare the monthly total for your team size, and check whether paying yearly saves money.
8. Can I leave?
A good tool lets you import your history when you join and export it when you leave. Ask which helpdesks it imports from, whether imported conversations keep their dates and authors, and whether anything is sent to customers during an import.
9. How do I test it before paying?
Install it on one real page, invite one colleague, and spend a week answering real visitors. Check three things: how quickly you are told about a new message, how easy it is to find an old conversation, and what a reply looks like on your customer's phone.
Twenty questions to ask any vendor
- Which channels connect in the same inbox?
- How are seats counted and priced?
- How many websites does a plan include, and what does another cost?
- Can I assign, note and mention colleagues?
- What happens if a colleague answers while I am typing?
- Does it work on a phone and as a desktop app?
- Does the visitor get my reply if they leave the page?
- Can I set office hours and an away message?
- Does any AI answer only from my content, and show its source?
- When does the AI hand over to a person?
- Is sensitive data masked before it reaches the AI?
- Can I limit AI spending each month?
- Is there a free plan, and what does it include?
- How do I import my history?
- Can I export everything?
- Where is data stored, and for how long?
- Is two-step sign-in available, and is there an audit log?
- Is there an API and signed webhooks?
- What does support look like, and how fast is it?
- What happens to my data if I cancel?
How does Frosvo answer these?
Frosvo gives you live chat on one website, the shared inbox and the apps on a free plan with no time limit; the AI assistant is on the paid plans and answers only from your own content, shows its source and hands over when unsure. You can compare plans on the pricing page, read how the AI chatbot works, see every channel it connects, and move your history across from another helpdesk. Test it on a real page: start free.