Work From Home Chat Agent Jobs

Chat agent jobs are popular telecommuting options for customer service pros.

As a chat agent, you answer customer questions through a series of chat exchanges. Many people are interested in chat agent jobs because they typically require no phone work, offer flexibility, and pay pretty well.

In recent years, there’s been a rise in the number of companies advertising Chat Agent Jobs. Customers want answers to their questions quickly and at any hour of the day.

To meet the demand for around-the-clock customer service, many companies are using work-from-home chat agents. Chat agents are able to answer customer questions quickly and more conveniently than having to pick up the phone.

Chat Agent Jobs and Where to Find Them

Let’s face it, it’s much easier to get a simple question answered via chat instead of having to pick up the phone, listen to recorded prompts, press 0, and be connected to an agent where you will wait on hold listening to background music.

Sure, sometimes you need to make a phone call as a customer like when you need to get in touch with your bank, cable or insurance company regarding an important or sensitive matter. But for all the other little questions we have as consumers, the idea of being able to initiate a chat session with a customer service rep makes the process so much simpler.

The convenience and ease of seeking help from companies via online chat is gaining popularity and companies are taking notice. This means lots of legitimate work from home chat agent jobs.

What is a chat agent?

A chat agent is a company representative who answers customer inquiries through an online chat platform. For example, I recently ordered an instant video on Amazon. There was a minor issue with getting the video across several devices. This wasn’t an urgent matter. So I contacted Amazon’s customer support center. Once there, Amazon recommended that I seek help via their online chat system:

In a matter of seconds, I was connected with an Amazon representative who was able to solve my issue. Plus, while I was waiting for the chat agent’s responses, I was able to get other work done in a different window.

Amazon isn’t alone. Many companies, large and small, are turning to chat agents to provide quicker customer support to their customers.

As you can see, a chat agent works remotely to help answer customer questions or address their concerns. Chat agent jobs may involve customer service, technical support, or a combination of the two.

Do I need experience to apply for chat agent jobs?

You don’t necessarily need prior chat support experience to apply for chat agent jobs. You should, however, have previous customer service experience and a demonstrated ability to successfully resolve customer questions or complaints. It’s a bonus if you have technical support experience or are computer savvy enough to be able to troubleshoot issues remotely.

For the most part, companies want to know that you are comfortable interacting remotely with customers and are able to provide a positive experience for them. If you can do that, you can be a successful work from home chat agent.

And since you will be writing everything you ‘say,’ you’ll need to be able to put together coherent sentences. Being able to type quickly and accurately will also be essential as you may be managing multiple chat windows at once.

Are there any technical requirements for chat agent jobs?

Each chat agent job is different, but most of them will have certain technical requirements. For example, to apply for chat agent jobs, you will need a high-speed internet connection that is hardwired. This means no WiFi. There will also be speed requirements that your computer will have to pass including upload and download speeds.

You might also need a computer running certain versions of Windows or have a particular internet browser installed. Again, technical requirements will vary from job to job, but I have always seen high-speed, hardwired internet connections as being a must across the board.

Where can I find Chat Agent Jobs?

If you’re fairly certain you would make an amazing chat agent, good news, there are companies who routinely advertise chat agent jobs. Keep in mind, work from home chat jobs aren’t always available at these companies, but they do offer legitimate work from home chat opportunities when hiring.

Amazon

As you already know, Amazon hires remote chat agents to work from home. Amazon work from home chat agents are considered employees which means you could receive benefits (did I mention one of the benefits is employee discounts!?!?).

Amazon isn’t always hiring for remote customer support. They will ramp up hiring in the coming months as they prepare for holiday shoppers. In addition to work from home online chat jobs, they also offer email and phone support positions that work from home. Some of the chat agents jobs at Amazon are considered temporary. However, if you perform well, you may have the option to be hired on permanently!

Sometimes, Amazon has virtual (or “work-from-home”) positions available to qualified individuals who live in some areas. So if you aren’t near a physical Amazon location, or just want to see if there are virtual opportunities in your area, you’re in the right place.

If you’re really interested in working for Amazon as a virtual chat agent, it’s a good idea to bookmark their careers page and check it frequently. When they are hiring, they typically advertise chat agent jobs for a short time to cut down on the number of applications received.

Apple

Apple frequently advertises work from home chat agent jobs. These are known as At Home Advisors. As an AppleCare At Home Advisor you can provide a combination of customer service and technical support. Apple’s AppleCare Support is available 24/7/365. This means you may be required to work nights, weekends, and holidays.

Apple hires chat agents directly, but there are also companies that contract with Apple to provide customer support. If you are hired directly through Apple, you are an Apple employee with benefits. If hired by another company, you’re not. I always recommend waiting to apply until Apple is hiring since the pay is higher and the benefits greater (like an iMac and product discounts!)

You’re a problem-solver and amazing with customers! You’re enamored by the way things operate, and have the ability to figure out how technology works when things go wrong. You can multitask across systems and applications, analyze and resolve a variety of complex technical issues, and comfortably navigate a technical environment. You’re not only here to help fix technical issues, but also provide an incredible customer experience. Because you’ll work independently from home, you’ll need the discipline and ability to work remotely from coworkers and management. If this sounds like you, you could be the next At Home Advisor for our Chat teams.

When you search for “chat” openings on Apple’s Job’s Page, you’ll see a list of At Home positions by city and state. Please note, you do not have to actually reside in the city or state listed. Apple takes applications from candidates across the U.S.

Live Sales Staff

Live Sales Staff is a company that offers 24/7 chat services to companies. They contract with businesses who want to provide their customers the option to chat with a company representative should they have a question while browsing a website. This means as a chat agent for Live Sales Staff, you may be handling customer questions from several companies at once.

LSS is always looking to improve our already impressive family of superstars. If you think you have what it takes contact us, come online and show us what kind of skills you have.

If you’re interested in learning more about chat agent jobs at Live Sales Staff, you will have to inquire with them. It would be a good idea to write a cover letter that reflects your interest in working as a chat agent to submit with your inquiry!

Needle

Needle offers unique work from home chat agent jobs. If you’re interested in chat work at Needle, you need to fill out a profile. Then you will be asked to complete a series of skill and knowledge quizzes. Needle will review your profile and quizzes and see if you are a good fit for any available contracts. If you are, you will need to complete certification before you start working.

Needle has contracts with several companies and will match up candidates to these companies based on interests. For example, if you have a love for all things interior design you may be matched up with a company like Wayfair. If you are a fashionista, you might be a good fit for Coach. The idea is that your passion for products and/or companies, will make you a great chat agent representative for them.

Is there a brand or product that you can’t wait to tell others about? Do you consider yourself an expert? Do your friends and colleagues turn to you for advice? Consider becoming an Advocate, and help visitors to a brands website find the right product by giving your expert advice through chat. Earn money, product, and recognition from the brands you love.

If you get hired on at Needle as a Needler, you will be considered an independent contractor. In addition to an hourly rate, you will earn points which you can use to redeem products. This is pretty flexible work. You will be able to set your own schedule and chat with customers to help them find products they love.

Talk2Rep

NOTE: Some applicants are reporting that Talk2Rep is asking them to pay some kind of a training fee to get started. This is not okay! Talk2Rep used to not do this. If you go through the application process and Talk2Rep asks you to pay any kind of fee, I advise not to do it.

Talk2Rep provides custom chat windows for websites. This gives site visitors the opportunity to engage in a chat session should they have any questions or concerns. Visitors are able to easily ask questions and get answers in real time. By offering these services, the idea is that visitors can more easily convert into customers.

From time to time, Talk2Rep will have openings available for chat agent jobs. Most of these positions are sales oriented. You would be paid a bonus for any sales that you make via chat.

Sales Chat Agents play a vital role, liaising between various customers and the business entities in which we represent. As a Sales Chat Agent, you would be chatting with existing and/or non-existing customers of one of the top telecommunications companies in the nation! You would consult these customers and assist them in trying to see which products are offered that would benefit them. Enjoy answering customer questions, receiving bonuses for your sales and being a part of an up and coming trend  – which is Chat!

If interested, you must go through their online application. Please note, Macs are not compatible with Talk2Rep’s chat platform. You must have a Windows PC to apply. If you have prior sales experience, you are encouraged to apply!

Support.com

At Support.com, you’ll work to support the people who support technology. In other words, you’ll be helping customers of technology companies (think internet service providers).

They’re not always hiring for their chat agent role. However, when they are, it is very much entry-level support work — i.e., no previous experience required.

This is an exciting work from home opportunity requiring you to work and engage with others in a virtual environment, while providing our customers with a high quality customer service experience.

This is an employee position which means you’ll be entitled to benefits! The pay rate starts at $10.50/hour. You’ll also earn an additional $0.50 for each hour worked to help cover your home office expenses.

Site5

Site5 is a hosting provider. If you’re not familiar with the term, ‘hosts’ are the landlords of all the websites you see online. Website owners pay a small fee each month to park their websites on the servers of the many different hosts out there.

And since Site5’s customers are mainly website owners, their chat agent role is specifically meant to support them. This means you’d be helping answer everything from billing questions and presales inquiries to resolving tech support issues.

Site5 does not list openings directly on their website. Instead, you’ll have to keep an eye on Indeed. I recommend setting up an alert so you’ll be notified the next time Site5 is accepting chat agents — it’s easy and free.

What else should I know about work from home chat agent jobs?

It can be competitive to get into a work from home chat agent role. The companies who routinely hire chat agents receive an overwhelming number of applications. Your best bet to get hired on is to make yourself standout as an ideal chat agent amongst the sea of candidates.

How to showcase yourself as an ideal chat agent:

• Highlight any previous customer service experience you have (virtual or not)
• Note any sales experience (many times these chat agent jobs mix in a bit of sales with support)
• Mention your typing speed (most companies want you to type 50WPM or more)
• Show your writing skills (chat agents do a lot of writing, you need to have good spelling and grammar skills!)

In addition to the companies listed above, you should also remember to check Indeed Jobs. There you can find a number of different companies advertising chat agent jobs. In fact, just recently OkCupid was seeking email and chat support reps to work remotely.

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