Embedded Chat

What Is Embedded Chat?

Embedded chat refers to a chat box that is placed directly on a webpage or on a screen in an application. The user gets to view the content as well as the chat in one single window, without the need to open a different application or a pop-up window. The chat can be placed at the bottom of a video, next to a dashboard, inside a help page, or in any other fixed area of the layout.

Unlike a separate messenger, embedded chat looks and feels exactly the same as the rest of the page, including the layout and design, and it stays tied to the context of what the user is looking at.

Embedded Chat vs Other Chat Formats

In the case of a messenger or a floating widget, the chat window usually appears on top of the content the user is looking at. If the user opens a pop-up that covers the page, or switches to Discord or Telegram, part of their focus moves away from the product.

With embedded chat, the user can read, watch or work and, at the same time, follow the chat. The chat stays attached to the page or object the user is working with.
Embedded chat is a specific way to place in-app chat. In-app chat describes messaging inside the product in general, while embedded chat describes a chat area that is fixed in the layout next to a particular piece of content, instead of appearing as a separate screen or a floating bubble.

Typical Uses of Embedded Chat

Product developers typically use embedded chat when they want the conversation to stay close to what is on the screen. Common examples include:

• chat next to a live stream, a webinar or a sports event;
• chat on a help centre or documentation page;
• chat inside a product dashboard or internal tool, when the user wants to discuss a report, a customer or a ticket directly on the page for that object.

Read more about ways to implement chat in your platform without affecting your UX and UI