Are you looking for remote chat agent jobs where you don’t have to talk on the phone? Keep reading; this post has you covered.
Back when I was in college, I worked for a telemarketing company. While the gig itself was flexible and paid well, it exhausted me. More often than not, people did not want to converse on the phone (which I get), so I would have to deal with their anger, irritation, and lots of curse words and hang-ups.
Over time, I dreaded going in to work. After college, I worked for Medicaid doing prior authorization for nursing visits and home medical equipment. Again, I was on the phone for long periods dealing with disgruntled providers — no fun!
While many work-at-home jobs are phone-based, the Internet has opened up a new breed of customer service that does not require being on the phone. In fact, live customer service chat is becoming more and more popular every day. Some of these chat agent jobs require background knowledge of a specific area, and many of them require you to type a certain number of words per minute, so make sure you read all of the fine print before applying.
What Are the Requirements For Being a Remote Chat Agent?
To become an online chat agent, most companies require applicants to have a high school diploma or GED, excellent written communication skills, and a fast and accurate typing speed. Many companies also require at least one year of customer service experience; however, there are some companies that will hire beginners without any experience. You’ll also need a computer or laptop, a hard-wired, reliable internet connection, and a quiet workspace free from distractions.
16 Remote Chat Agent Jobs You Can Do From Home
Remote chat agent jobs are in high demand. There are usually more applicants than there are open positions. If you’re set on being a chat agent, you’ll need to check with these companies frequently to see if any new openings arise. If they offer email job alerts, I highly suggest signing up for them so that you don’t miss any new openings.
1. The Chat Shop – Live Chat Agent
The Chat Shop occasionally has openings for live chat agents. For these work from home positions, you must meet the following criteria:
- You must be a fast and accurate typist (65 WPM to 80 WPM) with excellent communication skills.
- The Chat Shop only hires in the UK, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas.
- According to Glassdoor.com, the average salary is $21 per hour; these are W2 positions.
2. Concentrix – Home Agent
Concentrix provides business solutions to a wide variety of companies, and sometimes they contract with companies who need remote chat agents. These positions tend to fill fast, so you’ll want to check with them periodically for openings.
- Online chat associates are responsible for providing basic to complex customer and technical support.
- Hires in most states in the US, as well as global locations.
- Pay is at least $10 per hour; these are W2 roles.
3. Guitar Center – CHAT Agent
Guitar Center occasionally has full-time remote and hybrid job openings for remote chat and sales agents. These positions tend to be location-dependent, and agents must have the following qualifications:
- Applicants need to be music lovers and have a passion for helping people.
- You’ll need a high school diploma or GED and at least two years of experience.
- You must be able to type 30 words per minute (WPM).
- Use the keyword remote when you’re searching on their website.
4. LiveChat – Support Hero
LiveChat occasionally has remote job openings for support heroes (chat agents). The pay rate for this role is unknown, but LiveChat receives a 3.9-star rating on Glassdoor.com.
- You’ll need fast and accurate typing skills, at least 40 WPM.
- Must have a perfect command of the English language.
LiveWorld hires part-time social media agents to perform tasks like social media moderation, customer support, engagement, and monitoring.
- Must have 2-3 years of experience in online moderation and strong typing skills.
- Must have the availability to work some nights, weekends, and holidays.
- I heard from a reader that this position pays minimum wage.
6. ModSquad – Mods
ModSquad contributors specialize in digital engagement, such as moderating content, chatting with customers, managing communities, handling customer support, and updating social media accounts.
- In this role, you’ll work as an independent contractor.
- You can create your own schedule and pick the projects you work on.
- Currently has contractors in 90 countries around the world in 50 different languages.
- The average pay is $21 per hour.
Related Content: Remote Forum and Chat Moderator Jobs
7. The Trevor Project – Chat and Text Counselors
The Trevor Project is a resource for LGBTQ youth who need emotional support. They hire online chat and text counselors to help LGBTQ youth around the clock.
For these positions. you must:
- Have excellent, fast, and assertive communication skills.
- They hire in the United States and Mexico and are open 24/7, 365 days a year.
- These are W2 positions that come with benefits.
8. OutPLEX – Customer Service Rep
OutPLEX hires online chat support agents in the US, Columbia, and the Dominican Republic. Agents may need to make phone calls to resolve issues. For these positions, you should:
- Be able to type 30-50 WPM with zero errors.
- You’ll need a high school diploma and a Windows Operating System.
- Must have excellent spelling, grammar, and communication skills.
- The average pay is $18 per hour.
9. Site123 – Sales Chat Specialist
Site123 hires US-based remote sales chat specialists to assist customers via chat and email. To apply for these roles, you’ll need to submit a resume to [email protected]
- Must be tech-savvy and understand the website builder field.
- You need to have proven experience in sales and customer service.
- Must be knowledgeable of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
10. SiteStaff – Chat Host
SiteStaff hires experienced chat hosts who are able to handle 3-4 ongoing conversations at the same time.
- You must be located in Denver, Colorado.
- Must be able to type 65-75+ WPM.
- You must have excellent punctuation, grammar, and spelling.
- Bonus points if you’re bilingual.
11. Foundever – Customer Service Agents
Foundever, formerly Sitel Group, hires full-time and part-time W2 employees to provide customer service to brands from around the globe.
- Many jobs include phone work, but they do occasionally have chat, email, and social media positions available.
- You must have a Windows operating desktop computer or laptop, a high-speed internet connection, and a USB headset.
- The average pay rate is $17 per hour.
- They do not accept applicants from California, Washington, or New York.
12. Hopper – Travel Experience Agents
Hopper hires full-time agents with at least two years of experience using a global distribution system (Sabre, Apollo, or Amadeus).
- In this role, you’ll assist customers using email and chat.
- Hopper offers a competitive salary and extensive benefits, including health insurance.
- They hire employees from all around the world.
13. Reynolds and Reynolds – Chat Operators
Reynolds and Reynolds hires full-time US-based chat operators to engage in online conversations with customers, with the end goal being to convert those conversations into leads and sales for their client. These roles are location-dependent and require:
- Typing speed of 35-40 WPM.
- Must have your own computer or laptop with a webcam and internet access.
- Pay for these positions is $13 per hour.
14. Wayfair – Chat Sales Agents
Wayfair hires remote workers from the US, Canada, Germany, India, Poland, the UK, China, and Ireland. For these remote chat jobs, you’ll need:
- Typing speed of 45 WPM.
- Two years of sales or service experience.
- Must be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment handling multiple chat messages at once.
- The position comes with hourly pay and monthly bonuses, and your equipment is provided.
15. Elite Body Sculpture – Live Chat Representative
Elite Body Sculpture hires full-time live chat reps to provide exceptional customer service to its clients through its CRM tool. For this role, you must have the following qualifications:
- Typing speed of 60+ WPM.
- At least one year of sales experience.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills; being bilingual is a plus!
- The position comes with benefits and perks.
16. Upwork – Chat Support Specialist Jobs
Upwork is a freelance marketplace where freelancers can connect with companies that need their skills. With Upwork, you can create a profile that showcases your skills and expertise, and you can also browse freelance assignments on the site and submit bids for gigs that you’d like to work on.
One chat agent job that I found was for a chat agent to answer questions about insurance via text, email, and through their app, and the pay rate was $12.50-$22.00 per hour.
Upwork does charge a fee for using their platform, and rates can be seen below:
- $0-$500 in earnings – 20{6c4f10cab50a46b63425e915a3b32a252b20e15cfb3b21d076e7c5437b6ee37b} service fee
- $500.01-$10,000 in earnings – 10{6c4f10cab50a46b63425e915a3b32a252b20e15cfb3b21d076e7c5437b6ee37b} service fee
- $10,000.01 or more in earnings – 5{6c4f10cab50a46b63425e915a3b32a252b20e15cfb3b21d076e7c5437b6ee37b} service fee
Other Ways to Find Online Chat Jobs
If you’re browsing the web and notice that a website has a live chat agent box function, look on their career page and see if they hire remote chat agents. Some companies use third-party employers to fill their chat agent positions, but others hire in-house. And some chat agent functions are automated through artificial intelligence (AI), but it’s worth exploring to see if the company might be hiring. You can usually find a link to the company’s career page in their website’s footer.
Another avenue to explore is staffing websites like Robert Half, Conduent, Kelly Services, and Adecco. Not only do they have remote job openings, but you can other find those one-off job opportunities for chat support agents.
Can You Tolerate a Little Phone Work?
If you’re looking for more chat agent jobs, check out FlexJobs – they have many to choose from. Just make sure that you thoroughly read the job description. Many live chat agent jobs require some phone support, so if you’re against being on the phone, you’ll want to make sure that the position is 100{6c4f10cab50a46b63425e915a3b32a252b20e15cfb3b21d076e7c5437b6ee37b} online chat, email, and social media.
If you are OK answering some inbound phone calls, companies like 5CA, Amazon, Apple, NexRep, Omni Interactions, OneSupport, Smith.ai, and Wrrk offer home chat jobs that combine phone, email, chat, and social media work.
Get Paid For Sexting?
One word of caution: phone actresses’ chat agent jobs are sex chat operator jobs. I want you to know what you’re applying for if you run across these job postings. I do not cover this opportunity or phone sex jobs on the site. If you’re interested in working from home as a chat sex operator, WAH Adventures has a list of hiring companies.
Conclusion
As more and more companies go online with their businesses, more and more work-from-home chat agent jobs will be available. I will continue to update this list as new jobs pop up.
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Do you have a remote chat support job? Which company did you work for? Drop us a note; we’d love to hear from you!
Originally published January 21, 2015. Content updated May 2023.
