Cobrowsing 101: How It Works & How to Use It
Cobrowsing is a secure way for users to collaborate on screen with a visitor. Users will see the visitor’s screen in Acquire, and depending on settings, be able to interact with the page by scrolling, clicking, entering text, and annotating.
In this article:
- How Does Cobrowsing Work?
- When to Use Cobrowsing
- Collaborating on Screen
How Does Cobrowsing Work?
Acquire Cobrowse uses a secure, peer-to-peer (P2P) connection to view the visitor’s browser tab without the need for additional software. Other popular uses of P2P connections include file-sharing of multimedia like music and video (think Napster) and some cryptocurrencies.
The benefits of cobrowsing are that it’s easy to use (no downloads necessary), more secure than standard screen sharing (no need to see their desktop), and it’s interactive for the visitor and the user.
When to Use Cobrowsing
Cobrowsing has a variety of applications. For example, you could use cobrowsing to:
- Help a visitor navigate through your website
- View an error message or bug a logged-in user is experiencing
- Help someone complete online processes such as checkout
- Highlight new products or plans
Cobrowsing is a great companion tool for live chat, voice, and video calls because it eliminates the need to ask “Do you see … on your screen?”
Collaborating on Screen
There are two ways to begin a cobrowse session:
- Requesting a session
- Using a code to access the visitor’s browser
How to Request a Cobrowse Session
From the conversation window, click on ‘Cobrowse’ and then the ‘Request User Cobrowse’ button.
The visitor will receive a pop-up
asking if they want to start the session.
How to Cobrowse by Code
Ask the visitor to navigate to the area of your website where they can access a cobrowsing code. This may be in your chat widget, the footer, or wherever else it was placed during setup. Then, have the visitor provide you with the code, which you’ll enter in the bar in the upper right corner of the Acquire dashboard.
Visitors will see a box appear with a code inside of it. They should share this code via a chat or call.
Agents may input the code in the top right portion of the dashboard next to the voip call button.
Interacting with the Visitor and Screen
Once the session launches, you’ll be able to see the visitor’s browser within the conversation window.
In the cobrowse, you can scroll and click, annotate (draw and highlight), and enter text.*
Some fields will not allow you to enter information or view what the visitor has input—this is data masking in action to protect their privacy. By default, Acquire masks passwords and credit card details.
When you are done with the session, click the X in the URL bar to end it.
*If you're unable to perform these actions, check your Acquire settings.
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