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Whether you're helping a user navigate a checkout flow, walking a lead through a product demo, or resolving a technical issue, co-browsing creates a shared, interactive space, without the friction of downloads, plugins, or screen-sharing tools.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through the 4 steps to implement co-browsing in your business:
- Identify where co-browsing fits into your workflow
- Align with your internal requirements
- Choose a vendor built for your case
- Pilot measure and scale
If you're looking to improve customer experience and increase efficiency, here's how to get started with co-browsing today.
Step 1: Identify where co-browsing fits into your flow
Before choosing any tool, you need to identify where co-browsing will have the most impact in your digital experience. Think about the moments where real-time interaction can make or break the user journey.
Some common places where co-browsing helps:
- During onboarding: to guide new customers through complex setup steps or dashboards
- In customer service chats: to help users fill out complex forms or troubleshoot account issues
- In sales conversations: to walk prospects through pricing pages, proposals, or contracts
- In claims or financial processes: to assist with sensitive transactions in secure environments
- Alongside AI co-pilots – to step in when automated systems need a human touch, future-proofing your CX with both intelligence and empathy
You might also consider internal use cases. Co-browsing can help new employees or agents shadow coworkers in a remote-first company.
Mapping out the customer journey and pinpointing moments of friction or confusion will help you decide where co-browsing belongs. This clarity ensures you implement with purpose, not just out of curiosity.
Step 2: Align with your internal requirements
Rolling out co-browsing isn't just about plugging in new software. It requires internal alignment across your technical, legal, and operational teams.
Here’s what to cover internally:
Compliance and privacy
Co-browsing sessions often involve personal information, especially in industries like finance, insurance, or healthcare. Your vendor must support features like field masking, data redaction, session logging, and full GDPR or HIPAA compliance.
IT and integrations
Evaluate how the tool integrates with your current systems such as your live chat, CRM, helpdesk software, or your website’s frontend. Ideally, you want a solution that doesn’t require heavy coding or infrastructure changes.
For instance, with co-browsing software like Surfly, agents can launch sessions with a single URL, making integration nearly effortless.
Team training
Make sure your support or sales teams are trained on when and how to use co-browsing. Co-browsing should enhance the user experience, not make customers feel watched or confused. Clear usage policies and scripts can help set expectations.
Stakeholder buy-in
You’ll also want to involve stakeholders from security, legal, product, and CX teams early on to avoid slowdowns later. Having everyone on board ensures a smoother pilot and rollout.
Step 3: Choose a vendor built for your use case
Once your requirements are clear, it’s time to evaluate co-browsing vendors. Not all solutions are created equal. Some are screen-sharing tools repackaged as co-browsing but there are actually many differences between simple screen-sharing and co-browsing software. Fortunately, there are solutions out there (like Surfly 😉) that are purpose-built for secure, browser-based collaboration.
Look for these non-negotiables:
- No downloads or plugins required
The solution should launch instantly in the browser, so users aren’t required to install anything. - Field masking and session security
Ensure sensitive information can be hidden or redacted. This is essential for trust and compliance. - Agent and user control options
A good co-browsing tool allows agents to guide, not hijack. Users should feel supported, not overridden. - Analytics and session logs
Detailed reporting helps your team understand how co-browsing impacts KPIs like resolution time, satisfaction, and conversions. - Ease of integration
Your chosen solution should work with your current tools without the need for heavy development.
Choosing a vendor that delivers on all of the above, like Surfly, means you’re not just adding another tool, you’re investing in a smoother, safer experience for both your team and your customers.
Step 4: Pilot, measure, and scale
Rolling out co-browsing company-wide is exciting, but starting with a focused pilot helps you test, learn, and optimize before scaling.
Define Your Pilot Scope
Begin with a specific team and use case. For instance, Agirc-Arrco, France’s joint supplementary pension scheme, transitioned from phone-based assistance to Surfly’s co-browsing technology to enhance their customer support. The ease of use and quick deployment led to a full-scale rollout.
Set Clear Success Metrics
Identify what success looks like. Empire Life, for example, integrated Surfly’s co-browsing technology to unify their sales process, enabling real-time collaboration with clients. This transformation not only boosted satisfaction but also saved significant time and resources.
Gather Feedback Continuously
Collect insights from both agents and customers. Suitsupply utilized Surfly’s co-browsing and video chat technology to offer personalized, in-person services online, allowing shoppers to provide specifications and choose items remotely. This approach helped them create a seamless online merge offline (OMO) customer experience, boosting remote sales.
Scale Intentionally
Once results are in, expand with purpose. HSBC Life enabled thousands of agents to remotely connect with customers and complete policies using Surfly’s co-browsing and video chat technology. This allowed agents to recreate the in-person meeting experience remotely, facilitating policy creation and finalization without additional software downloads.
Piloting with intent and learning from those who’ve done it before, helps ensure your rollout is both strategic and successful.
Why Surfly is the fastest way to get started with co-browsing
If you're looking to implement co-browsing without delays or complexity, Surfly is built to help you launch quickly and scale confidently.
Here’s what makes Surfly stand out:
- No installations required: it works instantly in any browser
- Zero-code setup: embed or link sessions without needing developers
- Compliance ready: with field masking, role-based permissions, and audit trails
- Deep integrations: works with leading platforms like Salesforce, Zendesk, or your own stack
- Built for collaboration: let agents guide without taking over, maintaining user trust
- Proven at scale: trusted by banks, insurers, telcos, and software companies worldwide
Plus, our team offers hands-on support and resources to help you get started with co-browsing faster than any other provider.
