Secure Cobrowsing API for your Platform

Cobrowsing is a powerful addition to any platform and Upscope's Co-Browsing API is used by banking, SaaS, and health companies worldwide because of its stability and security. Below we cover key questions around integrating the Upscope Co-Browsing API into your platform.

Get started with the HelloScreen Co-Browsing API

If you're looking for a secure co-browsing API for adding co-browsing to your app or platform, with your own branding, then:

1. See Upscope's Co-Browsing REST and Javascript API Documentation and check out a blog post on getting started with the API.

2. You can also rapidly create a very simple integration using just the Javascript API to generate a co-browsing link and display that in your interface: Upscope('getWatchLink', cb);

3. Go ahead and put all your key questions to the Upscope team on live chat.

HelloScreen Co-Browsing REST API is used for integrating co-browsing into a range of apps and platforms including live chat systems, internal agent use, 3rd party platforms for finance, health, and more.

The Upscope Javascript co-browsing API is the default customizable Javascript snippet you'd need to add to your website to make co-browsing work. If you don't need a deep integration e.g. handling login on your end then you can use just the Javascript API snippet and add it to your site. The REST API is not necessary.

Solutions can vary from a simple integration using a custom attribute, full use of the REST API, or even a completely independent on-premise solution.

Example integration: Embed Co-browsing directly into your app

Add co-browsing into an iframe within your platform so agents can instantly see the customer's screen.

Brief history of Upscope

Upscope started by two experienced SaaS founders in 2015, London.

Began with integrations to live chat companies in 2017.

Integrated into software providers for banks and other financial institutions.

Expansion to major mortgage lenders, health companies, and SaaS providers.

What is co-browsing?

Co-browsing is instant, interactive screen sharing built for cloud-based apps.

There are no downloads, installs, or switching control between user and agent.

Both are active participants in an immersive interactive educational experience.

See an animated overview of co-browsing.

Why has it grown?

Co-browsing is built for the cloud just as apps have all been moving to the cloud.

The number of SaaS marketing companies alone has rocketed. The requirement for remote work tools during the pandemic grew at an unprecedented pace.

Live chat and support systems, which are all expanding, benefit from co-browsing integrations so support staff can see what their customers can see.

How is it different from screen sharing?

Co-browsing changes the speed and comfort of educating a larger number of users and when users understand how to use your app to solve their problem, they buy and stay.

What types of companies use it?

Very popular in industries like finance and health.

Many end users being supported are less technical or time-poor and require extensive onboarding, support, and further education over time.

Examples include automotive CRM systems, electronic patient record software, payment and inventory systems for retailers, gov to biz portals, insurance, realtors, teaching, and accounting software.

Who uses it the most and why?

1. Customer service and support staff
2. Account managers
3. Customer success
4. Inside sales

Account managers and customer service staff support and educate existing and new customers, inside sales staff demo their products, and customer success managers are strong advocates of co-browsing for retaining customers and lowering churn.

See how much account and customer success managers use co-browsing.

Security and data

Co-browsing itself does not require downloads or installs and is typically limited to the browser, specifically to the tab on which your own website is running in the customer's browser.

There are options to obscure fields from the agent e.g. private health information, social security numbers, transactions, etc.

Banks and health organizations in particular have stringent data protection and security requirements. Upscope Co-Browsing is ISO27001 certified and undergoing SOC2 on top having built systems specifically for the security requirements of these organizations.

There are options for data sovereignty in order to restrict data storage and processing to one country or location. There are on-premise options for having complete control over data. There's no requirement for customer data to be stored and any metadata is wiped after 24 hours, 7 days, or max 30 days depending on features chosen.

See more information on Upscope's security infrastructure.

• 19% increase in first call resolution.
• 4 times more positive customer mentions within social media channels.
• 10% reduction in future support calls.

Underlying trends point to a strong future for co-browsing

As the ‘get them into the funnel’ attitude has switched with increased competition, we’re now seeing a greater emphasis on retention and lowering churn.

The rise of customer success as a core strategic philosophy adds to the focus on retention and churn leading to a search for interactive and fast educational tools like co-browsing.

Co-browsing is built for cloud-based apps whereas traditional screen sharing was built for desktop apps. As apps continue to move to the cloud, co-browsing grows with it.

Co-browsing API for Banking, SaaS, and health platforms

Upscope has been directly integrated into existing customer service platforms by software developers in banking, health, and SaaS industries.

The implementation varies.

You can have on-premise implementation of the core co-browsing solution so that you host and control the co-browsing feature entirely.

Alternatively, a simpler integration is to use the REST API and have your own login system so that, while screen sharing is done via Upscope, support agents don't use the Upscope login system but come via your own security setup. You then brand it under your own name entirely.

Live chat and CRM platforms with HelloScreen Co-Browsing

Below are some of the live chat and CRM integrations Upscope currently has. This list is constantly being added to. New integrations can, in some cases, take only a few minutes.

• Intercom
• Zendesk
• LiveChat
• Salesforce
• Amazon Connect
• Twilio
• Drift

Co-browsing REST API docs

See the full Upscope co-browsing REST API docs or the Upscope Javascript screen sharing API docs for a potentially simpler integration.

Key benefits

More time spent engaged on your platform, lower churn.

As we add more features that help employees educate, onboard, and demonstrate their products to clients, that initial engagement will strengthen and expand.

The quality of co-browsing technology varies greatly across providers

The quality of a co-browsing tool can vary greatly depending on the number and variety of companies the co-browsing company has had to work with and over what length of time.

The technology in its purest form requires passing the code from a client’s app and rendering it for a support agent, including all changes made, as they happen. This means dealing with all the different dynamic languages and frameworks that sites are built with these days.

It takes years to make it work across those different technologies smoothly and so co-browsing companies vary greatly in their level of progress especially those for whom co-browsing is a feature and not their core focus.

Upscope's key advantages

It takes years to get co-browsing right.

Before launching in 2017, Upscope spent a full year in beta as a free site to develop the technology so that co-browsing works securely across all major technologies, browsers, unique image formats, and more.

At Upscope, there's a focus on getting co-browsing right as the core technology rather than as an add-on to a wider platform.

There has been an early emphasis on building a secure platform for a client base that needs control over its data, including organizations holding banking and patient health information.

Upscope is built for speed, security, and stability. There are servers around the globe and within regions for maximum speed (it matters!). Upscope is ISO27001 and SOC2 certified because if you're adding code to your website, you want to know it's secure. Upscope's uptime is 99.998% and can handle organizations with thousands of agents.

Get started with co-browsing

Click here to book a demo and ask the Upscope team your key questions.

Talk to us using live chat on our co-browsing API page.