A chat platform API is defined as an application program interface that lets developers access a back-end chat service and server infrastructure that offers distinctive features to integrate real-time chat in your application or website regardless of its scale.
The Massive Potential of Chat API
There are several use cases of chat API for personal as well as business needs. Some of these include ride-sharing, marketplaces, delivery, communities, education, healthcare, live streaming, and more.
A real-time chat messaging sdk lets you consolidate a live chat block and messaging with your mobile application, web page, gaming platform, or other services.
You can also use a chat API for marketing the core strengths of your product or resolving disputes swiftly, leading to meaningful conversations with customers. According to a report by Deloitte, chatbots can resolve queries with up to 90% accuracy.
Chat API – Various Channels of Communication
Here are the different channels of communication that are achievable by integrating a chat API with your online platform –
- User-to-User
User-to-user is the most acquainted setup of online chat, where users interact in real-time in a game, dating app, social media, and team collaboration apps such as Slack or other messenger apps. This communication channel is of the casual kind that does not involve any professional dealing or broadcasting.
- Service Provider-Users
This form of communication happens between a service provider and the end-user or customer at a financial establishment, ride-hailing business, healthcare provider, or any other on-demand service provider.
- Marketplace-Seller-Buyer
This form of communication happens on an e-commerce platform, where the marketplace, seller and buyer interact to execute meaningful purchases, resulting in the platform’s revenue generation, seller’s profit, and buyer satisfaction.
- Broadcaster-Audience
Communication between a broadcaster and audience is live-streamed, where the streamer might be in the entertainment industry, education sector, or any other that demands live video telecasting. The audience consumes content in real-time while the broadcaster streams it to thousands of people worldwide.
Use Cases of Chat API
Here are some use cases of implementing a chat API in your application, website, or any other online platform –
On-Demand Service Providers
On-demand services have several details across different service providers, which require direct communication between the customer and the provider. This gap can get bridged by integrating chat API on the platform. It is also relatively easy to keep track of information and have it consolidated in a chat window.
E-Commerce
E-commerce sellers can interact with users on the site or in-app via the in app chat sdk to provide personalized recommendations. Chat platforms also let sellers deliver creatively designed multimedia cached in-app messages. These messages have a higher conversion rate than regular text messages.
Besides, chat-based customer support lets users interact with agents in real-time and receive a swift resolution of their complaints, considering that 28% of consumers expect a live chat reply within 5 minutes, according to Zendesk.
Media Consumption
Integrating a chat window next to your content window helps drive audience engagement and increases shareability amongst users. Besides, certain studies show that in-app chat windows ensure better customer retention since their issues get resolved faster, and their questions get answered in real-time.
Healthcare
Real-time online chat between a patient and the consultant has eliminated the need to fill out pen-and-paper forms and visit the medical facility in person.
Besides, sharing certain intimate information about symptoms with the consultants has become easier than ever. This benefit can be attributed to online chatting, voice or video calls using the video chat sdk, where patient confidentiality gets prioritized.
Features That a Decent Chat API Must Possess
Finalizing a chat API can get tedious, especially when there are a plethora of options available in the market. However, any decent chat API must offer the following fundamental features in today’s competitive era.
- User-to-user, group chat, and open channel chat.
- File & custom-data transfers
- Chat history and push notifications
- Multi-platform support with native chat sdk for mainstream platforms like Android, iOS, JavaScript, .Net, and some others.
- Webhooks to deliver real-time chat events and information on your server
- Read receipts, typing indicators, and delivery status.
- User blocking
- Online/offline status
- Chat data analytics
If your preferred chat platform provides all the above-stated features and you are having trouble making the final purchase decision, here are some advanced features that might be of interest to your business needs.
- APIs for data and message exporting.
- Auto-thumbnail creation for rich media.
- In-built interface to include chatbots into the chat stream
- File encryption
- Auto-translation
- Spam flood checker
- Creating marketing or admin announcements
- Channel auto-partitioning and smart message throttling of messages
If you are still baffled about picking a secure messaging sdk for your business needs, visit Applozic online. It is a chat sdk and messaging suite solution that brings in-app communications for businesses of different scales.
Final Words
Real-time chat platform APIs offer distinctive benefits for various industries from different sectors, such as e-commerce, healthcare, service providers, and more. Chat integration with online platforms has bridged communication gaps between two or more parties, both at casual and professional levels.
Different APIs offer unique features, which might or might not comply with your company’s needs. Therefore, you must evaluate each API’s offerings and finalize a choice based on your scale of operation, market demand, use cases, and other factors.
