Last updated on January 16th, 2024

Secure Cobrowsing API for your Platform

Pardeep Kullar
Pardeep Kullar
Secure Cobrowsing API for your Platform

Cobrowsing is a powerful addition to any platform and Upscope's Cobrowsing
API
is used by banking, SaaS and health
companies worldwide because of its stability and security. Below we cover key
questions around integrating the
Upscope cobrowsing API into your
platform.

Get started with the Upscope co-browsing API


If you're looking for a secure co-browsing API

for adding co-browsing to your app or platform, with your own branding, then:

  1. See Upscope's Co-browsing REST and Javascript API
    Documentation
    and check out a blog post on getting
    started with the API

  2. You can also rapidly create a very simple integration using just the
    Javascript API to generate a co-browsing link and display that in your
    interface: Upscope('getWatchLink', cb);

  3. Go ahead and put all your key questions to the Upscope team on live chat

Upscope co-browsing REST API is used for integrating co-browsing into a range
of apps and platforms including live chat systems, internal agent use, 3rd
party platforms for finance, health and more.

The Upscope Javascript co-browsing API
is the default
customisable javascript snippet you'd need to add to your website to make
co-browsing work. If you don't need a deep integration e.g. handling login on
your end then you can use just the Javascript API snippet and add it to your
site. The REST API is not necessary.

Solutions can vary from a simple integration using a custom attribute, full
use of the REST API or even a completely independent on-premise
solution
.

Example integration: Embed Co-browsing directly into your app

Add co-browsing into an iframe within your platform so agents can instantly
see the customer's screen.

integrate_cobrowsing_1

integrate_cobrowsing_2

Brief history of Upscope


Upscope started by two experienced SaaS
founders in 2015, London.

Began with integrations to live chat companies in 2017.

Integrated into software providers for banks and other financial
institutions.

Expansion to major mortgage lenders, health companies and SaaS providers.

What is co-browsing?


Co-browsing is instant, interactive screen
sharing built for cloud based apps.

There are no downloads, installs or switching control between user and agent.

Both are active participants in an immersive interactive educational
experience.

See an animated overview of
cobrowsing

Why has it grown?


Co-browsing is built for the cloud just as apps have all been moving to the
cloud

The number of SaaS marketing companies alone has rocketed. The requirement for
remote work tools during the pandemic grew at an unprecedented pace.

Live chat and support systems, which are all expanding, benefit from
co-browsing integrations so support staff can see what their customers can
see.

How is it different to screen sharing?


Co-browsing changes the speed and comfort of educating a larger number of
users and when users understand how to use your app to solve their problem,
they buy and stay.

What types of companies use it?


Very popular in industries like finance and health.

Many end users being supported are less technical or time poor and require
extensive onboarding, support and further education over time.

Examples include automotive CRM systems, Electronic patient record software,
payment and inventory systems for retailers, gov to biz portals, insurance,
realtors, teaching and accounting software.

Who uses it the most and why?


  1. Customer service and support staff

  2. Account managers

  3. Customer success

  4. Inside sales

Account managers and customer service staff support and educate existing and
new customers, inside sales staff demo their products and customer success
managers are strong advocates of co-browsing for retaining customers and
lowering churn.

See how much account and customer success managers use
co-browsing

Security and data


Co-browsing itself does not require downloads or installs and is typically
limited to the browser, specifically to the tab on which your own website is
running in the customer's browser.

There are options to obscure fields from the agent e.g. private health
information, social security numbers, transactions etc.

Banks and health organisations in particular have stringent data protection
and security requirements. Upscope co-browsing is
ISO27001 certified and undergoing SOC2 on top having built systems
specifically for the security requirements of these organisations.

There are options for data sovereignty in order to restrict data storage and
processing to one country or location. There are on-premise options for having
complete control over data. There's not requirement for customer data to be
stored and any meta data is wiped after 24 hours, 7 days or max 30 days
depending on features chosen.

See more information on Upscope's security
infrastructure
.

Key statistics


65% reduction in time to convert new customers to new products.

19% increase in first call resolution.

4 times more positive customer mentions within social media channels.

10% reduction in future support calls

Underlying trends point to a strong future for co-browsing


As the ‘get them into the funnel’ attitude has switched with increased
competition, we’re now seeing a greater emphasis on retention and lowering
churn.

The rise of customer success as a core strategic philosophy adds to the focus
on retention and churn leading to a search for interactive and fast
educational tools like co-browsing.

Co-browsing is built for cloud based apps whereas traditional screen sharing
was built for desktop apps. As apps continue to move to the cloud, co-browsing
grows with it.

Co-browsing API for Banking, SaaS and health platforms


Upscope has been directly integrated into existing customer service platforms
by software developers in banking, health and SaaS industries.

The implementation varies.

You can have on-premise implementation of the core
co-browsing
solution so that you host and
control the cobrowsing feature entirely.

Alternatively, a simpler integration is to use the REST API and have your own
login system so that, while screen sharing is done via Upscope, support agents
don't use the Upscope login system but come via your own security set up. You
then brand it under your own name entirely.

Live chat and CRM platforms with Upscope co-browsing


Below are some of the live chat and CRM integrations Upscope currently has.
This list is constantly being added to. New integrations can, in some cases,
take only a few minutes.

Intercom

Zendesk

LiveChat

Salesforce

Amazon Connect

Twilio

Drift

Co-browsing Rest API docs


See the full Upscope co-browsing REST API
docs
or the Upscope javascript screen
sharing api docs
for a potentially
simpler integration.

Key benefits


More time spent engaged on your platform, lower churn.

As we add more features that help employees educate, onboard and demonstrate
their products to clients, that initial engagement will strengthen and expand.

The quality of co-browsing technology varies greatly across providers


The quality of a co-browsing tool can vary greatly depending on the number and
variety of companies the co-browsing company has had to work with and over
what length of time.

The technology in its purest form requires passing the code from a client’s
app and rendering it for a support agent, including all changes made, as they
happen. This means dealing with all the different dynamic languages and
frameworks
that sites are built with these days.

It takes years to make it work across those different technologies
smoothly
and so co-browsing companies vary greatly in their level of
progress especially those for whom co-browsing is a feature and not their core
focus.

Upscope's key advantages


It takes years to get cobrowsing right.

Before launching in 2017, Upscope spent a full year in beta as a free site
to develop the technology so that co-browsing works securely across all major
technologies, browsers, unique image formats and more.

At Upscope, there's a focus on getting co-browsing right as the core
technology rather than as an add-on to a wider platform.

There has an early emphasis on building a secure platform for a client base
that needs control over its data, including organisations holding banking and
patient health information.

Upscope is built for speed, security and stability. There are servers around
the globe and within regions for maximum speed (it matters!). Upscope is
ISO27001 and SOC2 certified because if you're adding code to your website, you
want to know it's secure. Upscope's uptime is 99.998% and can handle
organizations with 1000s of agents.

Get started with co-browsing


Click here to book a demo and ask the Upscope
team your key questions.

Talk to us using live chat on our co-browsing api
page
.

Pardeep Kullar
Pardeep Kullar

Pardeep overlooks growth at Upscope and loves writing about SaaS companies, customer success and customer experience.