Hey everyone, welcome back today.
We're taking a deep dive into something pretty cool.
Yeah, chat.
Woo.
We're going to see if it can really be the open source alternative to all
the big names out there, right?
Intercom or Zen desk.
Yeah.
And what really caught my eye is that they claim to be both user
friendly and AD open source.
Yeah.
How do they do that?
That's the magic question.
Well chat, it's built to be like the central hub for all your customer engagement.
Okay.
So think omni-channel support, right?
We're talking email, live chat.
You've got your social media, even WhatsApp all together in one place.
And they've really gone all out on the features, you know, team collaboration
tools, built-in automation, chat bot integrations, you name it and
customizable dashboards.
Okay.
So they're not messing around.
They're not messing around.
And the fact that over 15,000 organizations are already using it.
15,000.
Yeah.
That's a big deal.
That is a big deal.
Okay.
So I got to ask, right.
The open source thing, it's a huge plus, right.
For data ownership and all that.
Absolutely.
But how does that actually work in practice?
Like say for a business that deals with super sensitive data, like a
healthcare company, that's a great question.
And a perfect example for industries like healthcare, where data privacy is
absolutely paramount, I think GDPR, IPAA, all those regulations, chat
whoop being self-hosted, it's a game changer.
They have complete control over their data.
No more worries about third party servers or potential preaches.
And the best part, it's open source, right?
So developers can actually go in and tailor the platform to fit their
exact needs using APIs and stuff.
So you can just build what you need.
Exactly.
You need some special integration with say an electronic health record system.
No problem.
You can just build it yourself.
That's amazing.
But now sometimes open source gets a bit of a bad rap for being kind
of clunky or hard to use.
So is chat would actually easy to use for the average person?
That's a good question.
You definitely don't need to be a coding whiz to use chat.
Okay.
They've clearly put a lot of effort into making it user friendly.
You've got things like canned responses, right?
Yeah.
For those common questions, keyboard shortcuts to speed things up and even
private notes.
So your support team can collaborate, you know, behind the scenes seamlessly.
That's really smart.
It's all about making things easier, not harder, right?
Right.
And speaking of making things easier, they really highlight their customizable
live chat widget on their website.
Yeah, I saw that.
And I get it right.
Nobody wants some generic chat box popping up on their beautifully designed website.
Definitely not.
It's all about a seamless customer experience.
Exactly.
It's all about that seamless experience, but they didn't just stop at chat, right?
Yeah, they do.
They actually offer some pretty robust CRM capabilities too, don't they?
That's right.
They've got contact notes, custom attributes to keep track of all sorts of customer
info and a whole bunch of reporting features.
Nice.
They really want to be your one-stop shop for customer engagement.
It sounds amazing, but what are people actually saying about, right?
Does it live up to the hype?
Yeah.
What's the word on the street?
Well, the testimonials I've seen, they're overwhelmingly positive.
I even saw one user who said Chatwoot was so much better than Zendesk.
Wow.
That's a bold statement.
Right.
Yeah.
But others are raving about how much money they're saving compared to those
big proprietary solutions and how easy it is to use, no matter how big or
small their business is.
So it sounds like they're hitting the mark on a lot of fronts.
They really are.
Easy to use, cost-effective, powerful features.
It's like the dream checklist.
It does sound pretty good.
But, you know, you're the tech expert here.
Well, I try.
So I have to ask about the developer experience.
Yeah, of course.
You always say good documentation is key.
It is.
And ChatWoot, they definitely don't disappoint there.
Okay, good.
Their documentation, it's thorough and they've got tons of developer resources.
Okay.
Their GitHub repository is super active, over 17,000 stars.
Wow.
That's a clear sign of a thriving community and constant development.
That's amazing.
Right.
They offer flexible deployment options, clear API documentation.
It's a dream come true for any developer who wants to customize
and build integrations.
So it seems like they've thought of everyone.
They really have.
From casual users to the hardcore developer.
Absolutely.
So it's not just about the software itself.
No.
It's about building a whole community around it.
Exactly.
Open source projects thrive when you've got a passionate community, right?
Contributing code, documentation, support.
And that's what we see with Chatwood.
It's pretty impressive.
It is.
So what kind of businesses are actually using Chatwood?
Is there like a specific industry or size they're attracting?
What's really interesting is the diversity.
You see everyone from small startups and nonprofits to established businesses
that are switching over from platforms like Intercom.
Wow.
The need for data ownership and customization, it seems to be universal.
That makes sense.
No matter the industry.
It does.
When you think about it, yeah.
Yeah.
Your customer data is valuable no matter what you do.
Exactly.
And you know, if we zoom out a bit, this is part of a bigger trend.
We're seeing more and more businesses wanting more control over their
technology and open source solutions like Chatwood, they give them that
control without having to sacrifice, you know, functionality or ease of use.
I like that.
It's a win-win.
So Chatwood seems to be doing a lot of things right.
It does.
It's open source.
It's user friendly.
Yeah.
It's got tons of features and it's backed by this amazing community.
Yeah.
But is there anything they could do better?
That's a good question.
Are there any potential downsides we should think about?
Hmm.
Let's see.
It almost does sound too good to be true.
Right.
There's got to be a catch.
Yeah.
Like self hosting.
Yeah.
That sounds great.
In theory, you have all this control, right?
Yeah.
But doesn't it also mean you're responsible for all the maintenance and
the updates and everything?
Yeah.
Wouldn't some businesses just rather have the ease of a cloud based platform?
Right.
Even if it means giving up a little control over their data.
Yeah.
I think that's the trade-off, isn't it?
Convenience versus control is a classic dilemma.
And honestly, there's no one size fits all answer.
Right.
Some businesses might find the whole self-hosting thing a bit overwhelming.
Yeah, that makes sense.
Especially if they don't have a huge IT team or whatever.
Right, right.
But for others, that control, it's non-negotiable.
Yeah.
Especially when you're talking about sensitive data.
Exactly.
Like in healthcare or finance.
Exactly.
Right.
So for some businesses, that peace of mind of knowing where their data is, it's
worth that extra effort.
Definitely.
But what about businesses that don't have a lot of tech resources?
That's a good point.
Could they realistically handle a self-hosted solution like ChatWoot?
Well, I think ChatWoot recognizes that they've been trying to simplify the
deployment process, you know, they're offering one-click deployments on
platforms like Heroku, DigitalOcean, making it a lot more accessible for
businesses that maybe don't have a whole IT department.
So they're trying to make it easier for everyone.
Exactly.
That's great.
Yeah.
Okay.
So let's go back to the features for a second.
Sure.
Talk about the main ones.
Yeah.
But is there anything else that really stands out to you?
You know, one thing that I thought was pretty cool is their
focus on conversation continuity.
Okay.
What does that mean?
So let's say a customer starts chatting on your website, right?
Then they decide to give you their email address.
ChatWoot, it just seamlessly transitions that whole conversation to email.
Oh, wow.
Keeps all the context, the history, everything.
That's cool.
No more going back and forth or having to repeat yourself.
You know what?
That's one of my pet peeves as a customer.
Oh yeah.
When I have to re-explain everything just because I switched from
chat to email or something.
Yeah.
It's so frustrating.
It's the worst.
It seems like a small thing.
Yeah.
But it makes a big difference in the customer experience.
Totally.
It's those little things that make a platform great.
Exactly.
Speaking of little things, I noticed they also have a whole
library of canned responses.
Oh yeah.
The canned response.
That seems like a huge time saver.
Absolutely.
For support teams.
Especially if you're getting a ton of the same questions over and over.
Right.
It's a lifesaver.
And didn't you say they have keyboard shortcuts for those too?
Yeah.
They've got keyboard shortcuts to access those canned responses super quick.
That's so smart.
They really put a lot of thought into making things efficient for the agents.
Yeah.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
Okay.
So let's wrap this up.
Considering everything we've learned.
Yeah.
What's the main takeaway here?
The main takeaway.
Yeah.
I think ChatWut is a real contender in the customer engagement world.
Okay.
It offers that open source flexibility with a user friendly design.
Right.
And a really comprehensive set of features.
Yeah.
It's not just a chat tool.
Right.
It's a platform that can grow with your business.
I like that.
You know, adapt to your specific needs.
Yeah, that makes sense.
Yeah.
And to our listener, as you're learning more about ChatWut, I want you to think
about this, how could this whole open source approach empower your organization
to build like truly custom solutions?
That's a great question.
What kind of workflows could you create?
Yeah.
What integrations could you build to really make this platform work for you?
Yeah, because ChatWut gives you the tools, but the possibilities, they're
really only limited by your imagination.
I love that.
It's true.
That's a great way to put it.
Yeah.
It really is like, they give you all the pieces and say, go build whatever you want.
Exactly.
So last question.
Okay.
For someone who's listened to this and thinking ChatWut sounds pretty cool.
Yeah.
What's their first step?
Where should they go to learn more?
Well, the great thing about open source is that all the information's right there.
Right.
I'd say head over to their website, ChatWut.com.
Okay.
Get a feel for the platform.
You've got a demo you can try out and their blog has tons of resources
and use cases.
And their GitHub too, right?
Oh, absolutely.
That's where you can really see the community in action and get a look under
the hood, you know?
It's the best way to see how healthy the project is, how actively it's being
developed, plus you can connect with other users and developers and tap into
all that knowledge.
It's a great resource.
It really is one of the best parts of open source.
Awesome.
Well, I think we've covered a lot today.
We have.
From data ownership, customization, all those developer friendly features.
Yeah, it's pretty impressive.
And all the positive feedback we've seen.
It really is.
I'm genuinely impressed with what Chatwood is doing.
Me too.
It's exciting to see a platform like this shaking things up, giving businesses
more control over their tech.
I can't wait to see what they do next.
Yeah, it'll be interesting to follow their journey.
So to our listener, I hope this deep dive is giving you everything you need to
decide if Chatwood is right for you.
And remember the best part of open source is that you can explore, experiment,
and decide what works best for you.
Exactly.
Don't be afraid to jump in and get your hands dirty.
I love that.
Thanks for joining us today on this deep dive into Chatwood.
It was my pleasure.
We'll catch you next time for another exciting exploration.