Chat with a person
Who this is for: anyone who uses the chat window on an organization's website and wants to write with a person instead of the support assistant. Live chat is available only when your organization turns it on and a support agent can take your chat.
The support assistant answers first. When you ask for a person, the chat window puts you in line for a support agent. When an agent joins, the assistant stops answering and you write with the agent in the same window. When nobody can join, the assistant takes the details of your problem and opens a ticket for you.
Prerequisites
- The chat window on your organization's website. Read Chat with support on a website.
- For customer support: an email address in the chat window, if the website does not sign you in.
- For IT support: the website must sign you in. An email address that you type is not enough to reach a technician.
Ask for a person
Do one of these:
- Select the headset button next to the message box. When you point at it, it shows Talk to a human. The chat sends the message "I would like to talk to a human." for you.
- Write it in your own words, for example "Can I talk to a person?".
If the chat window needs more from you first, the assistant tells you:
- "To connect you with an agent, please enter your email address first." Type your email address in the email field at the top, then ask again.
- "To pass you to a technician, please sign in first." Sign in on your organization's website, then ask again.
Wait for an agent
When an agent can take your chat, the assistant says that it is connecting you, gives your place in line, and gives an estimated wait in minutes. Above the message box, a bar shows your place in line and the estimated wait, for example "You are number 2 · about 3 min". When no estimate is ready, the bar says Connecting you to an agent…. The place and the wait update while you wait.
While you wait:
- You can keep writing. The assistant does not answer, and the agent reads everything you wrote when they join.
- The bar shows the notice A human may read this chat.
- The quick actions and the headset button are hidden.
The bar has two buttons:
- Leave a message instead: you stop waiting. The assistant asks you to describe the problem in a few words and to say what you already tried. Answer in the message box. The assistant then opens a ticket and gives you its number.
- Back to the assistant: you stop waiting, and the assistant answers your messages again.
If you close the chat window while you wait, your place is kept for a short time. If you do not come back, your chat becomes a ticket for the support team.
Write with the agent
When an agent takes your chat, a line in the chat says that the agent joined, with the agent's name, for example "Anna joined the chat". If the name is not known, it says that An agent joined.
- Write your messages as usual. Only the agent who joined your chat writes to you. Other support team members can read the chat, but they do not write to you.
- When the agent is typing, you see three moving dots in the chat.
- The agent sees when you are typing.
- Under each of your messages, two check marks (✓✓) show when the agent has seen it.
- You can still add files. Read Chat with support on a website.
If the agent passes your chat to a colleague, the chat says You are being transferred. You wait again until the next agent joins.
If you do not answer for a while, the chat asks Are you still there? Write any message to keep the chat open. If you still do not answer, the chat ends.
Your organization can change the text of the assistant's message that it is connecting you, and of the lines "joined the chat", You are being transferred, The chat has ended. and Are you still there?. The words that you see can differ from this page.
End the chat
- Select End chat in the bar above the message box.
- The chat says The chat has ended.
The agent can also end the chat. If the agent turns your chat into a ticket, the chat says that it has ended and gives your ticket number.
After the chat ends, the next message that you write goes to the support assistant again.
Rate the chat
After a chat with an agent, the chat can ask How was this chat? Your organization decides whether it asks.
- Select the thumbs-up button (Good) or the thumbs-down button (Bad).
- If you want, type a comment in the box Add a comment (optional).
- Select Send rating.
The chat says Thank you for your feedback. You can rate each chat once.
Get a copy by email
After a chat with an agent, you can get the whole chat by email.
- Select Email me a copy above the message box.
- The chat says A copy of this chat is on its way to your inbox.
The copy goes to the email address of the chat, with the subject "A copy of your chat". You get one copy per chat. If the email could not be sent, the button stays, and you can select it again.
When nobody is available
When no agent can take your chat, the assistant asks you to describe the problem in a few words and to say what you already tried. If you were already waiting in line, it first says "Sorry, no agent can join this chat right now." This happens when:
- you write outside your organization's support hours;
- no agent of the team is online or free;
- too many people are already waiting;
- you waited longer than the time your organization allows;
- your organization turned live chat off while you were waiting.
Answer the question in the message box. The assistant opens a ticket and gives you its number. The support team follows up on that ticket.
Languages
The chat window uses the language of the website, or of your browser if the website sets none. The buttons and lines of the live chat are available in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Swedish, Danish, Finnish and Portuguese. The assistant's messages and the email copy use the language of the chat window. The agent writes to you in their own words.
If something goes wrong
- The buttons in the bar are greyed out. The chat lost its connection. Wait until it reconnects, then select the button again. Read Fix problems with the web chat.
- There is no headset button. You are in line or already writing with an agent, or the chat is asking for your name and email first. You can also write that you want to talk to a person.
- No email copy button after the chat. The copy is offered only after an agent took your chat.
Related articles
Still stuck? Submit a request or .