Why we built live human chat
AI answers most support questions well. It finds the right article, walks people through a fix and creates a ticket when it cannot solve the problem. But some visitors simply want to talk to a person. Maybe the question is sensitive, maybe they have already tried the article, or maybe they just prefer a human.
Until now, the AurionAI chat widget answered with AI and logged a ticket when it could not help. That works, but it makes the visitor wait for an email reply. Live human chat closes that gap: when a visitor asks for a person, an agent from your team joins the chat and answers in real time.
The AI still answers first. Your team only steps in when someone asks for them.
How it works for the visitor
A visitor opens the chat widget on your website or in your help center and asks a question. The AI answers from your knowledge base, as before.
When the visitor wants a person, they can say so in their own words or press the button in the widget. AurionAI then looks for an available agent within your business hours:
- An agent is free. The chat is offered to that agent, who accepts it and joins. The visitor sees that a person has joined and the conversation continues live.
- All agents are busy. The visitor waits in a short waiting list, and the first agent who becomes free takes the chat.
- Nobody is available. The AI asks one or two questions and logs a ticket with the conversation, so your team can follow up.
While a person is waiting or chatting with an agent, the bot never answers. No email is sent while the chat is live. The visitor sees a clear notice: "A human may read this chat."
If the visitor goes quiet, the chat checks in with them after a few minutes and ends if there is still no reply. When the chat ends, the visitor can rate it as good or bad, add an optional comment, and get an email copy of the conversation.
For agents
Live chats arrive in the AurionAI Inbox, next to email, WhatsApp and voice conversations. There is no new tool to learn.
- Offers. When a visitor asks for a person, an available agent gets an offer and has 30 seconds to accept it. If they do not, the chat moves on to the next available agent.
- Waiting list. Chats that are waiting show in a list. A supervisor, admin or owner can press Take to pick one up, or assign it to an agent.
- Capacity. By default, each agent handles up to 3 live chats at the same time.
- Transfer. An agent can hand a chat to another agent or to a team.
- End chat. The agent closes the chat when the question is answered.
- Turn into a ticket. If the issue needs more work, the agent turns the chat into a ticket without losing the conversation.
The full conversation, including what the AI said before the agent joined, is visible in the chat. The agent does not need to ask the visitor to repeat anything.
If an agent leaves a live chat without a reply for 3 minutes, they get an alert. After 3 more minutes, a supervisor is alerted too. Visitors are not left waiting in silence.
For admins
Admins control how live chat runs from the dashboard:
- Hours. Set the business hours when live chat is offered.
- Teams. Choose which team answers live chats on each support line.
- Capacity. Set how many live chats each agent can handle at once.
- Timers. Adjust the offer time, the wait limit and the idle checks.
- Texts. Change the messages the visitor sees.
The default waiting list holds up to 10 visitors, and a visitor waits up to 5 minutes before the AI logs a ticket instead.
A live chat report shows chats per day, wait time, first reply time, missed chats and visitor ratings. You can see whether your team keeps up and when you need more agents online.
Who gets it
Live human chat is included at no extra price on the Helpdesk and Voice + Helpdesk plans: Free, Starter and Pro.
It needs the built-in AurionAI Inbox, because that is where your agents answer the chats. It is not available on AI Voice-only plans, and it is not available when Freshdesk or Zendesk is your helpdesk.
Live human chat works in the website chat widget and in the help center. It does not cover WhatsApp, the mobile app or voice calls.
Getting started
Live human chat is off by default, so nothing changes for your visitors until you decide.
- Open the AurionAI dashboard as an admin.
- Go to the live chat settings and turn live chat on.
- Set your business hours, choose the team that answers live chats, and check the capacity and timers.
- Make sure your agents are online in the Inbox during those hours.
From then on, the AI keeps answering first. When a visitor asks for a person, one of your agents joins the chat.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is live human chat in AurionAI?
- Live human chat lets a visitor on your website widget or help center ask for a person. An available agent accepts the chat and replies live from the AurionAI Inbox. While a person is waiting or chatting with an agent, the AI does not answer.
- Which plans include live human chat?
- It is included at no extra price on the Helpdesk and Voice + Helpdesk plans, including Free, Starter and Pro. It needs the built-in AurionAI Inbox. It is not available on AI Voice-only plans, or when Freshdesk or Zendesk is your helpdesk.
- What happens if no agent is free?
- If nobody is available, the AI asks the visitor one or two questions and logs a ticket with the conversation, so your team can follow up.
- Where does live human chat work?
- It works in the website chat widget and in the help center. It does not cover WhatsApp, the mobile app or voice calls.
- Is live human chat on by default?
- No. It is off by default. An admin turns it on in the dashboard and sets the hours, teams, capacity and timers.
