Co-browsing lets an agent see the web page a customer is looking at, inside the customer's browser. Screen sharing lets either side show a whole screen, a window or a tab, and in TrueEngage it runs in both directions, with the agent able to draw on what the customer shows. Both exist on Genesys Cloud. This article explains what each one does, how each runs on Genesys Cloud, and how to choose.
Co-browsing is a shared view of one web page. The customer is on your website or portal, an agent joins, and the agent sees the same page the customer sees, in the customer's own browser session. Nothing is installed, and the view stays inside that page: the agent does not see other tabs, other applications or the desktop.
Genesys Cloud includes co-browse. It is set up through a Messenger deployment, it runs customer-to-agent, and it is available on chat and on voice interactions. On Genesys Cloud it is the simplest way to help a customer through a form on your own site.
Screen sharing shows a whole screen, a window or a browser tab rather than one page. TrueEngage screen sharing runs both ways: the customer can share their browser, a tab or their desktop, and the agent can share theirs. The agent can draw on the customer's screen to point at a field or a button. It works on chat, voice and video interactions that started through the TrueEngage widget.
Both start from an interaction that is already queued and routed in Genesys Cloud, so the agent handling the chat or call is the one who joins the session. Genesys Cloud co-browse is enabled on the Messenger deployment. TrueEngage screen sharing is an add-on to the TrueEngage layer; it is switched on per account, the Genesys iframe permissions for the TrueEngage Agent App include camera, microphone, clipboard and display capture, and the agent starts it from the TrueEngage Agent App inside Genesys Cloud. Screen sharing is metered at two tokens a minute.
| What the customer needs help with | Co-browsing | Screen sharing |
|---|---|---|
| A form or page on your own website | Yes | Yes, with more than they need |
| A page on another website | No | Yes |
| A desktop application or a settings screen | No | Yes |
| The agent showing the customer something | No | Yes |
| Channels | Chat, voice | Chat, voice, video |
If the question is about your own website, co-browsing is enough and it is already part of Genesys Cloud. If the customer needs to show something outside that page, a desktop application, an error on another site, a configuration screen, screen sharing is the tool. If the agent needs to show the customer something, screen sharing is the only option of the two. Most teams that add TrueEngage screen sharing keep Genesys Cloud co-browse on as well and let the agent pick in the moment.
No. Genesys Cloud co-browse stays available on chat and voice through the Messenger deployment. TrueEngage screen sharing adds two-way sharing with annotation on chat, voice and video interactions started through the TrueEngage widget. The two run side by side.
No. Screen sharing runs in the customer's browser, which asks the customer which screen, window or tab to share. The customer chooses and can stop sharing at any time.
Screen sharing is an add-on to a TrueEngage subscription and uses two tokens a minute from the token allowance included with the subscription. Billing goes through Genesys.