Olark versus POWR

Founded in 2008, Olark has seen the rise of chat software for over a decade. After getting funding from the famous YCombinator incubator Olark launched their first live chat platform.

Olark is committed to developing accessible software and is actively testing improvements in assistive technologies. It’s awesome to see a provider care about this often-overlooked aspect of customer service.

Besides live chat, Olark also markets as a customer metrics company. Since putting a widget on your platform gives you a lot of valuable data.

To ensure that every user always gets the right answer, the chatbot can transfer to a human employee at any time. This Human Handover is possible via Live Chat or E-Mail.

POWR offers a complete suite of no-code eCommerce solutions with more than 60 apps and plugins, mostly aimed at platforms like WordPress, Squarespace, and Shopify. They have apps for social media tools, form builders, surveys, popups, payment buttons, website media, and of course, live chat.

Their live chat app connects through Facebook Messenger. A Facebook page and Messenger are required for the live chat app to function. Meaning, POWR live chat is not a suitable option for businesses that do not use Facebook or have compliance requirements that conflict with Meta’s policies and reputation.

The POWR website can be difficult to navigate and find all information you need, especially regarding the live chat and its features. The customization tool for the chat widget is easy to use and offers a lot of options. However, most options are only available in the more expensive plans.

Customers of POWR are mostly small businesses. A few of them share their success stories on the POWR.io website.