Top 7 customizable chat apps for every use case

In-app messaging has become integral to most businesses across industries due to its convenience and efficiency. For example, in the healthcare industry, live chats can help patients schedule appointments, ask medical questions, and receive timely updates about their health status.

Therefore, real-time in-app messaging is no longer a nice-to-have but a must-have. Moreover, companies now opt for customizable chat options to enhance customer satisfaction, boost sales, and simplify communication channels across different industries.

In this blog, we will explore the benefits of customizable chat apps and some of the best options you can choose. 

What is a customizable chat?

A customizable chat is a messaging interface businesses can customize per their unique needs. You can use the chat experience to suit your brand and customer needs.

Customizable chat interfaces can be used in various ways, such as:

• Facilitating real-time messaging between team members
• Providing customer support through live chat functionality
• Personalized assistance and query resolving

Businesses can integrate the chat feature into their existing systems or apps using chat APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and SDKs (Software Development Kits).

Customizable chats can be designed to match a business's branding and programmed with specific features, such as automated responses, chatbots, and file-sharing capabilities. 

Moreover, open-source customizable chat apps offer even greater flexibility, allowing businesses to modify the code as required for greater control over the chat interface.

Why go for a customizable chat?

Customizable chats offer several benefits over building a chat interface from scratch. Here are some reasons why businesses may choose to go for a customizable chat:

• It is cost-effective as compared to building a chat interface from scratch.
• Customizable chat interfaces can be deployed much more quickly because much of the development work has already been done, and businesses can focus on just customizing the interface.
• It enables businesses to provide more personalized recommendations to their customers.

Key features for customizable chat

While selecting a customizable chat app, consider the following key factors:

1. Instant messaging

It is a basic feature for users to communicate with each other instantly.

2. Video conferencing

Video conferencing allows users to connect through live video and audio. This feature is particularly useful for remote teams or for holding meetings with clients or partners who are located in different locations.

3. Files sharing

Users to easily share files such as documents, images, videos, and audio recordings with other team members. It helps to improve productivity by eliminating the need for separate file-sharing applications.

4. Voice notes

Voice notes are a useful feature to quickly record and send short voice messages.

5. Threads/teams/channels

Threads, teams, or channels are features that allow users to organize their conversations into specific groups.

6. Advanced security features 

Security is a crucial consideration for any chat application. Look for advanced security features such as end-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication, and data protection to maintain the privacy and security of your app.

7 Best customizable chat apps for you

Several customizable chat apps are available for businesses of all sizes. But which ones work best for you will depend on your specific requirements. 

Let’s explore some popular customizable chat apps that you may find helpful:

1. Rocket.Chat

Rocket.Chat is a versatile open-source app that puts the power of customization in your hands. It lets you create unique messaging experiences for users.

Its omnichannel capabilities let you reach customers on whatever medium they are. Additionally, its comprehensive analytics and on-premise deployment options give you complete control over your data and security.

Key customization features

Rocket.Chat offers a range of customizable features for businesses to create a messaging experience that aligns with their brand. 

Here are some of the key customization features:

• Custom themes

You can create custom themes to match their brand and style. You can choose from various pre-built themes or create your own custom theme using CSS and HTML.

• Layout

Rocket.Chat's layout is fully customizable. You can also add or remove widgets, change the position of elements, and more.

• Custom fields

Add custom fields to user profiles, channels, and messages. This feature enables businesses to capture and store additional information about their users or conversations, allowing for better segmentation and targeting.

Some use cases of Rocket.Chat

Rocket.Chat’s customizable chat app has many use cases across different industries and businesses. Here are some of the most common use cases:

• E-commerce

Customizable chat apps like Rocket.Chat can facilitate sales and customer service for eCommerce companies. It provides customers with a seamless shopping experience and assists them throughout their purchase journey.

• Customer Support

Customizable chat apps can be used for real-time customer support, tailored to a business's needs. You can seamlessly integrate it with existing customer support systems for efficient management of inquiries and improved support delivery.

• Healthcare

Healthcare organizations can benefit from customizable chat apps by facilitating communication between patients and healthcare providers.

• Education 

You can integrate customizable chat apps with learning management systems to meet the specific needs of educators and students.

2. MirrorFly

MirrorFly provides customizable chat solutions that businesses can integrate into their existing apps and websites.

It offers custom branding and design features to match your branding and user interface. You can also create custom workflows to match your processes.

For example, a chat app for a healthcare provider could include custom workflows for patient scheduling and appointment reminders.

3. Apphitect

Apphitect is a customizable chat app platform that offers self-hosted video, voice, and chat solutions to develop customizable communication apps.

It provides 100% customizable messaging APIs and SDKs, white-label solutions, and high scalability chat APIs and SDKs, making it a multi-faceted chat API and messaging SDK that supports building instant messaging apps that power real-time experience.

Additionally, the platform offers telehealth, real-time education, banking and finance, on-demand services, gaming, and community solutions to enhance digital communication experiences across sectors.

4. Sendbird

Sendbird offers customizable chat APIs that help businesses build engaging in-app chat experiences for their users. With easy-to-use SDKs, businesses can quickly launch chat capabilities.

The platform is also scalable, secure, and global, allowing businesses to scale to millions of users. One unique feature of Sendbird is its Notifications product, which offers businesses an alternative to SMS messaging at 1/2 the cost and 2X the conversion rate.

Additionally, the platform offers a Salesforce Connector to boost customer satisfaction and agent productivity, making it easy to launch in just a few hours.

The platform has been successful in industries like financial services, digital health, marketplaces, on-demand services, retail, and social and communities, with significant improvements in metrics like booking cancellations and user retention.

5. GetStream

Stream Chat is a chat API that provides a platform for building real-time chat messaging. It claims to offer an unmatched level of performance and UX that enables users to rapidly build in-app chat messaging.

The API is fully customizable and offers features such as reactions, threads, URL enrichment, typing indicators, and read state, which provide users with a familiar in-app chat experience. 

Also, Stream Chat supports over 5 million concurrent connections in a single channel and has full multi-tenancy support, enabling users to have silo access to chat with their customers.

Stream Chat provides examples of the best chat API in action and has components, APIs, and cloud components that were developed to enable teams to quickly ship a full-featured, high-fidelity, in-app chat experience in days that would typically take years to build in-house.

6. Troop Messenger

It is a customizable chat app that provides instant messaging, audio and video calling, and other communication platform features.

The app offers unique productive features that make work conversations faster and better, and it has affordable plans for every organization, including startups, SMEs, and large enterprises.

Troop Messenger also provides solutions for every industry, including startups, enterprises, defense, government, etc. Users can download the PC and mobile app and schedule a free personalized demo.

7. PubNub

PubNub is a real-time messaging and communication platform that offers various solutions such as in-app messaging, presence, mobile push notifications, access management, app context, functions, events & actions, file sharing, and messaging network.

PubNub provides solutions for several industries, including live events, gaming, social, transport & delivery, web3, and more. PubNub also offers advanced security and compliance features to ensure the safety and privacy of users' data.

Get a secure, flexible, open-source chat and customize it to your needs

If you want a customizable chat platform, explore Rocket.Chat.

Rocket.Chat is an open-source, white-labeled chat engine that allows you to build a customized in-app chat solution. It also offers all the essential features you should look for in a suitable chat app for your business. 

With Rocket.Chat, you can quickly and seamlessly customize your chat system without extensive development needs, thanks to its pre-built chat options.

Build an engaging chat solution for your app today and deliver your customers the excellence they deserve. 

Try Rocket.Chat now.