How it works

How ZChat works

ZChat connects your website visitors to your team in real time through a chat widget - and because it's self-hosted, the whole workflow runs on infrastructure you control. You install the server once, drop the widget on your site, and your team answers chats from any browser. No desktop client for agents, no download for visitors, and every conversation stays in your own database.

Download Free Evaluation Read the Install Guide

Step 1

Install the server

Run the ZChat server on your own Windows or Linux host and point it at a SQL Server database. It's a one-time setup on infrastructure you own.

Step 2

Add the widget

Paste a small snippet into your website and the chat widget appears, styled to your brand. No download or plug-in for your visitors.

Step 3

Answer from any browser

Agents sign in to the web console - no desktop app - and handle live conversations, see who's on the site, and route chats to the right team.

Step 4

Own the data

Every transcript, rating, and audit record lands in your own database. Nothing routes through a vendor cloud, so the data stays yours.

1. What visitors see on your website

The chat entry point is embedded on your site and adapted to your brand - you control the wording, theme, button treatment, and where it appears in the customer journey. When your team is online, a visitor can open a live conversation or respond to a proactive invitation. No download, account, or browser plug-in is required.

Online

Visitors start a live chat, optionally after a short pre-chat form that collects just what you want to know.

Proactive

On pages you choose, a proactive message can invite the visitor to ask a question at the right moment.

Offline

When no one is available, visitors leave a message so the request is captured instead of lost - and your team follows up later.

2. What agents and administrators see

Agents sign in to a browser-based console - there's no desktop client to install or keep updated. From there they see live visitors, chat status, and team activity, and can accept or route conversations in real time. Administrators manage agents, departments, operating hours, and settings from the same web dashboard. This is where self-hosted ownership becomes practical: the workflow feels modern, but the deployment belongs entirely to your organization.

The agent console

Live visitor list, conversation tabs, canned responses, file sharing, transfer to another agent, and presence (online, away, busy) - all in the browser.

The admin dashboard

Agents and roles, departments and routing, operating hours, reports and CSAT, an audit log, and privacy tools - managed from any browser.

3. What happens during a live conversation

Multiple simultaneous sessions

One agent can handle several active chats at once, each organized in its own working area so nothing gets crossed.

Typing indicators and live context

Both sides can see when the other is typing, while agents keep the visitor's page context, history, and details close at hand.

AI first, human handoff

If you enable it, the AI chatbot can answer first and hand the conversation to a person - with the full transcript - when it's needed. The AI can run on a local model so nothing leaves your network.

One install, all in your control

Modern workflow, your infrastructure

Visitors get a polished chat experience, agents work from the browser, and administrators run everything from a dashboard - all served by a single server you host. Compare the trade-offs in self-hosted vs cloud, or see exactly where your data lives.

Download Free Evaluation Install Guide

Do agents need to install a desktop app?

No. Agents sign in and answer chats from a web console in any modern browser - there is no desktop client to install or keep updated. The only thing you install is the ZChat server, once, on your own machine.

Do visitors have to download anything?

No. Visitors chat through a lightweight widget embedded on your website. There is no download, plug-in, or account required for them to start a conversation.

Where does the whole thing run?

On infrastructure you control. The ZChat server runs on your own Windows or Linux host, stores conversations in your own SQL Server database, and serves both the widget and the agent console from there. Nothing routes through a vendor cloud.

What happens when all agents are offline?

The widget switches to an offline state and lets visitors leave a message, so the request is captured instead of lost. Your team follows up later from the console, and you can set up a daily digest of missed chats.

Can an AI answer before a human does?

Yes, if you enable it. ZChat's AI chatbot can answer first and hand off to a human agent - with the full transcript - when the visitor asks for a person or the conversation needs one. The AI can run on a local model so nothing leaves your network.

Owned customer support software

Deploy live chat on your own terms, not on someone else's pricing model.

ZChat gives you the installable server, web dashboard, website widget, and desktop agent tools in one self-hosted product you buy once and keep. Run it on infrastructure you trust and connect AI only if and how you want it.

Download ZChat See Product Demo

Deployment

Install on Windows or Linux, behind IIS or Nginx, in a VM, or in Docker if that fits your stack.

Commercial model

One-time purchase, perpetual license, and no monthly per-agent bill attached to growth.

AI Flexibility

Use Ollama locally or connect OpenAI and Anthropic with your own provider accounts.