Salesforce Chat – lessons learned

This deck covers key differences between Salesforce’s Chat and Messaging for In-App and Web products, focusing on considerations for replacing Chat and setup best practices.

• Chat offers real-time, session-based interactions, whereas Messaging is asynchronous and persistent, allowing conversations to continue across devices and time.
• While Chat has useful features like pre-chat forms, agent workspaces, and routing, deployment limitations exist due to Metadata API constraints.
• Best practices for Chat setup include assessing dependencies, testing in sandboxes, and consulting Salesforce documentation.
• The Chat Setup Wizard simplifies initial setup but lacks flexibility for later adjustments.
• For displaying past chats with Leads (instead of Contacts), a custom LWC or Screen Flow is recommended.
• Embedded Service deployment works best with Experience Cloud and can be extended with code.
• Pre-chat forms gather customer information and can be customized, even rebuilt with JavaScript for UI changes.
• Chat routing options include Omni-Channel Flow (advanced) for dynamic routing logic.
• Salesforce Surveys capture post-chat feedback for various use cases.
• The deck concludes by recommending Messaging for In-App and Web (if possible), sticking with Chat as a compromise if needed, utilizing Experience Cloud, and conducting thorough UAT.
• Overall, the deck provides valuable insights and practical guidance for implementing and optimizing chat functionality in Salesforce.