Picking live chat software is the easy part. The real cost is the person who has to answer it. This guide covers what to look for in a tool, and the calculator below shows what staffing it costs on your numbers.
Live chat software puts a chat box on your website so visitors can message you in real time. Many tools have a free or low-cost plan, but someone has to watch the chat for every hour it’s switched on and reply within a minute or two. For most small businesses that staffing time is the biggest cost, which is why many switch chat off after hours or use an AI chat agent to answer first.
Bec runs a three-person physio clinic in Brunswick. She added a free live chat tool to the clinic website, set the app on her phone, and promised visitors “a reply within minutes”. Within a fortnight the chats were arriving mid-treatment and at 9pm, half got answered the next morning, and two people left a one-star note that nobody replied. She switched the chat to a message form after hours and started looking at who, or what, could answer the rest.
Illustrative composite based on common patterns, not a single client.
Put in your own numbers. Use what a staff member actually costs you per hour, including super and on-costs (the Fair Work pay guides give the award minimums).
Covering chat means someone watching it for every hour it’s switched on, not just the minutes spent typing. That gap is why most small businesses switch live chat off after hours, when a lot of visitors are browsing. Your numbers stay in your browser.
Compare that with an AI chat agent, which answers every hour of the week for a flat monthly fee. Ours starts with a one-off build; the plans are on the AI chatbot page.
Related guides: designing the chat widget itself, the free live chat options and using a chatbot for repeat customer questions. If your phone is the bigger problem, see the AI receptionist.
It's the tool that puts a chat box on your website and lets your team reply to visitors in real time from a dashboard or phone app. Most tools also save transcripts, show who's on your site, and turn the chat into a message form when nobody is online.
Most live chat tools have iOS and Android apps. The catch is that someone has to have their phone out and reply within a minute or two, which is hard if you're with a customer, on a job or driving. That's the gap an AI chat agent fills.
Software is the tool; your own staff reply. A live chat service supplies the people who reply for you, usually charged per chat or per hour. An AI chat agent is a third option: software that replies on its own and hands over to you when needed.
Within a minute or two. Visitors who open a chat expect a near-instant answer, and research on web leads found the odds of making contact drop sharply once a reply takes longer than a few minutes.
It can. Chat widgets are third-party scripts. Load them after the page (deferred or on interaction), check your mobile speed in Google PageSpeed Insights before and after, and remove any old chat script you no longer use.
If you're covered by the Privacy Act 1988, your privacy policy should cover the personal information you collect through the chat, why, and who processes it (including overseas providers). The OAIC's guidance on the Australian Privacy Principles explains what to include.
Most can push leads to the popular CRMs or by email. Check the specific connection before you buy, because some only sync on higher plans.
Only the hours someone can genuinely answer within a couple of minutes. A chat that says 'we'll be right with you' and then goes quiet does more harm than a clear 'leave a message' form. Outside those hours, use a form or an AI agent.
We build and run a custom AI chatbot for your website: $299 one-off setup, then from $29.99 a month (AUD, ex GST), month-to-month. See how we build and price an AI chatbot for websites.