How is co-browsing different from desktop screen sharing or remote assistance?
Co-browsing allows both consumer and agent to control and interact
Co-browse goes far beyond simple screen sharing, which is often a one-way share. With co-browse, an agent can also control the app or website of the user through a simple point and click. The remote control allows the agent to navigate menus, scroll to specific areas, or walk the consumer through a process. The agent can help the user complete forms, share files on-screen, and even highlight or mark areas of the screen. This can all be done without taking total control of the consumer's screen.
Co-browsing can hide sensitive information from the agent
Unlike a screen sharing session, co-browse can hide the content of specific fields or parts of the application. This allows you to mask fields or regions that have sensitive information. The agents will not see this content when they view the user’s screen.
Co-browsing and remote assistance have different use cases
In remote assistance, someone who needs help shares screen with an IT staff member or co-worker, who can take control and solve a problem. Remote desktop assistance as a means of support is intended for an agent who would have physical access to the consumer's machine, if that machine were present. A typical use case for this is an IT staff member assisting a line-of-business employee in the same organization. The machine is an asset of the organization; therefore, the IT department has full access to its contents.
The same relationship does not apply in a typical business to consumer support scenario. It is important for the agent to build and maintain the customer's trust. Co-browse does not allow the agent to manipulate the content on the customer's device or in another browser tab. The agent can only control and interact with the website or app where Live Assist is enabled. This prevents any misunderstandings between consumer and agent. It also helps the consumer feel more willing to allow a co-browse session.
What an agent needs to know
Since these features are different, some aspects of them are different as well. You may find that some things your agents have learned from remote assistance and screensharing do not translate to co-browse. Be alert to the following nuances.
Pop-out engagements do not support co-browse or Voice & Video calls
In the Engagement Studio, you can configure the engagement window to remain embedded in the source page, or to pop out in a separate window. Pop-out engagements do not support the co-browse or Voice & Video features, because they take place in a new page where the Live Assist tag is not embedded. Only use a pop-out engagement if you are sure that the Escalate to co-browse feature or a Voice & Video call is not part of the workflow that you are building.
File upload input
Web pages may contain the ability for the visitor to upload files; for example, to attach articles to a knowledge base, or to upload images to a photo sharing site. The following is an example of a file upload input element:
<input type="file" name="img">
This appears on the web page as follows:
When an element like this appears on a page during a co-browse session, it is not visible to the agent. It appears as a blank space, and the agent cannot interact with it.
Right click, and keyboard shortcuts
The agent does not have control of the customer's browser, so the agent cannot trigger some events, for example, mouse right-clicks, and keyboard shortcuts. If the agent wants to trigger one of these events, they need to ask the consumer to do so on their behalf.
Agent console refresh
If the agent refreshes their CRM Console (that is, Web or Unified Service Desk) while a co-browse is active, the co-browse session ends. However, there is no state preserved in a co-browse session, so the agent can simply send another invitation to the consumer, to resume co-browsing without any data loss.
Icon fonts
Agents need to be aware that when a consumer is using Apple’s Safari browser, some icon fonts may not be replicated or displayed to the agent, or they may appear as empty boxes.
Supported File Types for Document Sharing
Live Assist supports the following file types for Document Sharing. The file selector dims the listing for files that have unsupported formats. If the agent selects one of these dimmed files, an error is displayed.
- JPG
- PNG
- GIF