SnapEngage Review: chatting about the weather

Our SnapEngage rating in detail

Criterion	Rating	Comments
Ease of use		Not difficult to set up. Some of the menus look a bit dated though, which doesn't add to the user experience.
Setup		Add the code snippet to your website. If you change the appearance of the chat client you will have to re-insert the code to your website.
Appearance customization		You can choose from different buttons or upload your own one. Intro texts can't be customized. Should have more options.
Chat features
-Chat client (that customers use)		The chat window can be moved around and looks great. Chat agents can use their photo to make the chat more personal. Offers a call-back feature.
-Chat agent console / use of instant messengers (IM)		Either use the new web client or a third party instant messenger (e.g. Skype or GTalk). Not a whole lot of fancy features in the web client but it works. Warns you before it goes into idle mode.
-Proactive chats & triggers		Can be initiated automatically after a certain amount of time and depending on the page visited. Cannot be started manually, which is a drawback. A trigger can be set if no agent responds in time.
-Offline mode		Will act as a contact form but can also be hidden.
-Shortcuts / canned messages		Canned messages can be set up easily in the web client. Works in your instant messenger as well.
-Create chat protocols	Yes	Transcripts can be created and emailed to a pre-defined address.
Tracking & live analytics		Visitor details will only be visible once the chat request has been sent.
Internationalization		A lot of different languages for chat buttons are available. For multilingual sites you would have to insert different HTML codes to your site.
Integrations	Yes	Integrates with Batchbook, Basecamp, Highrise, Salesforce, Zendesk and many others. An API is available.
More features
-Working in a team	Yes	Chats can be transferred from one agent to another via the web interface or their command syntax
-Mobile support	Yes	Works with iPhone and Android (e.g. IM+ and GTalk)
-Cobrowsing	Yes	Direct your visitor to certain pages. Cobrowsing commands can be set up using  Shortcuts .
-SSL	Yes	From their Startup price plan
-Ban users	Yes	Visitors can be banned. If blocked they won't be able to start a chat for 30 days.
-Log creation	Yes	Creates transcripts for all conversations
Support	Live chat, email and FAQ	Overall excellent personal support, the help section also covers the most important topics.
Overall rating	3.6/5	Uncluttered and easy to use. If you can do without live analytics go for it!

© ChatToolTester Matrix

Conclusion

SnapEngage is definitely an interesting option. Compared to tools like Zopim and Olark we are missing an analytics function combined with a possibility to manually start a chat. However, many of you probably won't even miss this option.

One thing they have going for them is the cobrowsing feature (similar to screensharing). Most of the other live chat tools had to remove it when Firefly, an external provider, stopped supporting them. SnapEngage is the only live chat software we know that is still offering it. 

Its strengths are definitely ease of use and their very efficient web client that gives easy access to all the important functionalities. Visitors can even request a phone call that will then be routed through SnapEngage's infrastructure (USA and Canada only). If all that sounds good to you, simply give it a go!
 

> Try SnapEngage yourself for free (15-days free trial)
 

Updates

04 Dec 2017 - Some general updates
19 May 2014 - Added information on cobrowsing
27 Sep 2012 - Pricing update: Free, Startup and Basic plan have been removed.
16 Aug 2012 - Initial tests
 

Last updated: 04 Dec 2017 | Robert Brandl