Guide to Co-Browsing: How It Can Improve Customer Support

Co-browsing is a real-time collaborative technology. Most businesses use it to offer an instant resolution to customer queries. Through it, your agents can view and interact with a customer’s screen (with their permission). This interactive solution reduces handling time and enhances the overall CX.

Your agent: Click the red button. 

Your customer: I cannot see a red button.

Your agent: It must be on your screen’s top left corner.

Your customer: I don’t think we are on the same webpage.

Is it something you observed while analysing your business’s customer interactions? Barriers to understanding are quite common in customer support! A study found that approximately 84% of customers reported that their expectations were not met during their last interaction with customer service.

This not only causes frustration but also prompts your customers to switch competitors. So, is there a way to achieve communication clarity? Yes, co-browsing is a technique particularly devised for this purpose. 

It allows your customer service agents to see exactly what the customer is seeing! This leads to faster resolution of customer problems with minimum resolution times. 

So, do you want to boost CX through co-browsing? In this article, let’s learn what co-browsing is and how it works. Next, we will understand some of its major benefits, and check out some of its popular use cases. Lastly, we will see how data privacy is secured in a collaborative session. 

What is Co-Browsing?

Co-browsing, or collaborative browsing, is a customer support technique. It lets your agents and customers see and interact on the same screen at the same time. This allows your customer support agent to see exactly what your customers are seeing. 

Additionally, while the customer watches, your agent can:

• Move the cursor
• Highlight areas
• Fill out forms
• Troubleshoot customer issues

A study found that companies using co-browsing increased their customer satisfaction scores by 5.1%, while those without it only saw a 1.4% increase. That’s largely because such a collaborative approach makes it easier to explain things and solve problems with minimum downtime.  

Also, please understand that co-browsing is different from screen sharing. That’s because co-browsing allows both people to take action on the screen (not just look at it).

How Does Co-Browsing Work?

Co-browsing allows your customer support agents to join a customer’s screen so that they can provide help in real-time. Let’s see how it practically happens:

• Starting a Session

1. 1. 1. Say a customer needs help during a live chat or phone call.
      2. Now, your agent asks for permission to start a co-browsing session. 
      3. The customer approves the request.
      4. They choose which screen or window your agent can see.
         

• Providing Assistance

1. 1. 1. Once the session begins, your agent can see the selected screen and guide the customer. 
      2. Your agent can:
         1. Highlight important areas
         2. Type comments
         3. Explain steps through chat.
      3. Additionally, the agent can also start a video or audio call (if needed).
         

• Recording and Collaboration

1. 1. The session can be recorded for future reference. 
   2. If necessary, the agent or customer can invite other people to join the session.

5 Major Benefits of Co-Browsing

Co-browsing significantly enhances the FCR (first call resolution) rate. That’s largely because it improves your agent’s efficiency. A study showed that co-browsing led to a 10% higher agent utilisation rate. This means agents spend more of their time actively helping customers instead of waiting or dealing with unnecessary steps. 

Let’s gain more clarity and check out some major benefits of co-browsing:

1. Instant Query Resolution

Co-browsing allows your customers to get quick answers without long phone calls or chat exchanges. When your customer faces a problem, the agent can immediately see the issue on their screen (instead of relying on the customer to describe it) and offer direct assistance. This removes confusion and speeds up problem-solving. 

2. Real-Time Assistance

Customers do not have to wait for an agent to:

• Analyse the issue
• Suggest solutions
• Go back and forth with additional questions

With co-browsing, the agent sees the problem in real-time and can start resolving it immediately. The customer gets the help they need while still interacting with the agent. This ensures that the issue is addressed as soon as possible without unnecessary delays.

3. Increase First Contact Resolution (FCR) Rates

First Contact Resolution (FCR) means solving a customer’s issue the first time they reach out (without requiring follow-ups). Co-browsing allows your agents to resolve most problems on the first contact. 

Even for complicated issues, co-browsing reduces the need for multiple calls or chats. That’s because the agent can provide step-by-step guidance in one session. This reduces frustration for customers and allows you to smartly manage the support workload of your agents.

4. Personalised Support

Co-browsing creates a more interactive and personalised customer support experience. Instead of just sending general instructions, your agents can:

• Guide customers through their specific issues

and

• Show them exactly what to do

This builds trust and strengthens customer relationships. Always remember that when customers feel they are receiving direct and personalised help rather than generic responses, they are more satisfied. 

5. Improved Customer Experience (CX)

Nowadays, most companies offer similar products and services. This makes it difficult for customers to choose. Often, they make decisions based on how well they are treated by a company. A positive CX:

• Increases loyalty
• Encourages repeat business
• Leads to positive word-of-mouth recommendations

By adopting co-browsing as a customer support technique, you can stand out in today’s tough competition. 

Common Use Cases of Co-Browsing

Research shows that organisations implementing co-browsing experience a 2.4% annual decrease in support costs. This contrasts with a mere 0.4% for those without it. Such a reduction is attributed to the efficiency gained through real-time problem-solving. 

Let’s see places where you can use co-browsing:

How Is Data Privacy Ensured in Co-Browsing?

In a collaborative session, securing user data is the utmost priority of businesses. Let’s see how most co-browsing software and platforms ensure data privacy:

1. User Permission is Required

Before a co-browsing session begins, the customer must give permission. Some systems require an additional security step, like a one-time password (OTP). This ensures only authorised agents can:

• Participate in the collaborative session

and

• View or control the screen

2. Agents Can Only See Approved Windows

The agent can only view the specific window or section the customer allows. Other open applications, documents, or personal files remain hidden. This ensures that private information not related to the support session stays confidential.

3. Sensitive Data is Hidden

In co-browsing, private details not visible to the agent, such as:

• Credit card numbers
• Addresses
• Passwords
• Login credentials

This is called data masking. It protects customer information from being seen or misused during the session.

4. Limited Agent Control

Agents cannot fully control the customer’s screen. The level of control depends on the permissions granted. For example,

• One of your customers allows your agent to only move the cursor and highlight sections. Now, they cannot click buttons or make changes without the customer’s approval.

Thinking of Training Your Staff? Let Atidiv Co-Browse For Your Business!

By training your agents on co-browsing, you can let them collaborate in real time with your customers. This approach:

• Removes communication barriers
• Speeds up issue resolution
• Boosts CX and customer satisfaction

Studies show that businesses using co-browsing report higher first-contact resolution rates and reduced support costs. 

Searching for a top-tier customer support solutions agency? We at Atidiv have a 98% Quality Assurance score and a 4.8 CSAT rating. Our team delivers exceptional omnichannel support while tracking key KPIs to drive performance. 

Partner with Atidiv today. Boost CX and ensure your every interaction is seamless and results-driven!

FAQs on Co-Browsing.

1. How is co-browsing different from screen sharing?

Co-browsing allows agents to interact with a customer’s screen but only within the allowed browser window. On the other hand, screen sharing only lets an agent see the screen without interaction. 

Also, co-browsing is more secure because private information (passwords, payment details) remains hidden, while screen sharing shows everything.

2. Will co-browsing compromise my customers’ data security?

No, co-browsing solutions have strong security features. Customers must first approve the session and agents can only see what the customer allows. 

Also, sensitive information like passwords and payment details is hidden using data masking. This ensures customer privacy is never compromised.

3. How can co-browsing improve my customer support efficiency?

Co-browsing reduces resolution time. It allows your agents to instantly see and resolve customer issues instead of relying on long explanations. This leads to:

• Fewer back-and-forth conversations.
• Increased first-contact resolution rates.
• Agents handling more customers in less time.

4. Is co-browsing suitable for small businesses with limited support staff?

Yes, co-browsing is beneficial for small businesses as it reduces the time spent on troubleshooting. Also, since fewer follow-ups are needed, it lowers overall support costs.