A feature that prompts customers to use Chat instead of calling. When customers shift volume from phone to chat, this reduces costs and improves the customer experience. When customers tap a phone number, phone button, or any other entry point that the customer company chooses, ASAPP triggers an intercept that gives the customer the option to chat or to call. In order to enable this feature, please:

  1. Identify Entry Points. Contact your Implementation Manager to determine the best entry point to Chat Instead on your website. On Mobile, the best entry point is a “Call” button or a clickable phone number. On Desktop, the best entry point is a “Call” button.

ASAPP recommends that you modify your website to display a “Call Us” button (or other similar language) rather than displaying the phone number, and the “Call Us” button should invoke Chat Instead.

ASAPP recommends that you also make all entry points telephone links (href=“tel” number).

The customer company must specify the formatting to display for the phone number that they pass to the showChatInstead API: (800) 123-4567

Example Use Case:

<a href="tel:8001234567" onclick="ASAPP('showChatInstead', {'phoneNumber': '(800) 123-4567'})">(800) 123-4567</a>
  1. Integrate with the showChatInstead API.
  2. Chat Instead receives configuration information from ASAPP’s Backend (BE), in addition to the channels to display and the order to display them in. Contact your Implementation Manager to turn on Chat Instead and configure these options. If you would like to use Apple Business Chat or other messaging application as an option within Chat Instead, please inform your Implementation Manager. This feature is currently available in the mobile Web SDK and desktop Web SDK.

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