Live Chat Platform

Part of the worlds-biggest-software-project initiative.

An AI-native, open-source live chat platform with real-time messaging, intelligent routing, and CRM integration.

Live Chat Platform is a real-time customer conversation system for support, sales, and customer success teams. It combines WebSocket-based messaging with AI assist, intent-aware routing, and CRM synchronisation, targeting teams that find incumbents like Intercom too expensive and tools like Chatwoot too thin on AI capability.

Why Live Chat Platform?

Mid-market and enterprise live chat is dominated by Intercom at $74+/seat/month and custom-priced enterprise tiers, putting modern AI-native chat out of reach for many teams.
Open-source options (Chatwoot) offer self-hosting and freedom from vendor lock-in but lag noticeably on AI capabilities such as autonomous resolution and intent scoring.
Tools like LiveChat, Tidio, and HubSpot Live Chat are affordable but offer limited routing sophistication and no autonomous tier-1 handling.
Several high-value capabilities remain underserved across the field: pre-chat visitor intent prediction, sentiment-driven escalation, cross-session context, and dynamic agent skill matching.
Routing intelligence (by intent, account tier, and CRM data) is becoming the key competitive battleground, but most platforms still rely on static rules.

Key Features

Real-Time Messaging Core

WebSocket-based delivery with sub-second latency
Multi-channel support across web, email, and SMS
Persistent chat history and searchable transcripts
Pre-chat forms for visitor qualification
Canned messages and quick replies

Routing and Workflow

Skill-based and team-based routing rules
SLA management and escalation
Proactive chat triggers based on visitor behaviour
Auto-assignment based on conversation criteria
Custom, brandable chat widget

AI Assist

Suggested replies surfaced as the agent types
AI-drafted responses based on knowledge base content
Visitor tracking and identification
Foundations for autonomous tier-1 resolution

CRM and Integrations

Native CRM integration (HubSpot, Salesforce)
REST API for conversations and customer data
Webhooks for real-time events
Agent mobile app for on-the-go response

Analytics

Response time and resolution rate metrics
Engagement and conversation analytics
Reporting on agent performance and SLA adherence

AI-Native Advantage

The platform is designed around AI capabilities that incumbents either charge premium prices for or do not yet offer at all: visitor intent scoring that proactively opens conversations with high-value accounts, autonomous tier-1 resolution with confidence-based handoff to humans, CRM-aware routing that reads deal stage and customer health, real-time agent assist that surfaces relevant articles and past conversation summaries, and sentiment plus churn-risk detection during live chats that can trigger escalation or retention offers.

Tech Stack & Deployment

The system is built on the WebSocket Protocol (RFC 6455) for real-time delivery. It is intended to be deployable both as a self-hosted service (for data residency and full control) and as a managed cloud offering. Integration is exposed through a REST API plus webhooks, with native connectors to Salesforce and HubSpot. Compliance is anchored in GDPR/CCPA (consent, retention, right-to-erasure), ISO/IEC 27001 expectations for enterprise buyers, and WCAG 2.1 accessibility for the chat widget.

Market Context

The live chat software market exceeds $1.5 billion and is growing at roughly 8–10% CAGR, with Gartner projecting that conversational AI will reduce global contact-centre agent labour costs by $80 billion by 2026. Pricing today ranges from free tiers (HubSpot, Crisp, Tidio) and SMB plans at $19–$29/agent/month up to mid-market tiers at $74–$200+/seat/month, with enterprise AI-agent deployments custom-priced by conversation volume. Primary buyers are customer success managers at PLG SaaS companies, inbound sales teams, support managers focused on ticket deflection, and e-commerce operators needing 24/7 coverage.

Project Status

This project is in the research and specification phase.
Contributions, feedback, and domain expertise are welcome.

Contributing

We welcome contributions from developers, domain experts, and potential users. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Important: All contributions must be your own original work or clearly attributed open-source material with a compatible licence. Copyright infringement and licence violations will not be tolerated and will result in immediate removal of the offending contribution. If you are unsure whether a piece of code, text, or other material is safe to contribute, open an issue and ask before submitting.

Licence

Licence to be determined. See discussion for context.