In today’s digital world, communication is key. With messaging apps replacing traditional methods, businesses seek ways to integrate chat services into mobile and web apps.
In this post, we’ll explore chat services, differences from chat rooms, cross-platform development, standard features, and more.
What is a chat service?
A chat service enables real-time messaging between two or more parties, providing a structured way to exchange messages instantly.
Unlike chat services, chat rooms are web-based platforms for open group discussions, where users join a virtual space to communicate. They typically use WebSockets or long polling to maintain real-time connections, allowing any participant to view and interact with messages.
Chat services enable real-time communication between specific individuals or groups, often featuring encryption, message persistence, and authentication. They use event-driven architectures with technologies like PubNub, Firebase, or MQTT for secure and scalable messaging via event streams, push notifications, or serverless functions. Unlike chat rooms, which support open discussions, chat services focus on private, structured interactions in healthcare, e-commerce, and customer support.
Building chat services across platforms: Things to be aware of
When building cross-platform chat services, selecting the right technology stack is crucial to meet platform-specific requirements and ensure scalability, security, and performance. For the backend, Node.js with WebSockets, or a real-time messaging service like PubNub or Firebase can efficiently manage message delivery, presence tracking, and real-time updates. Databases like PostgreSQL (for relational data) or MongoDB/DynamoDB (for flexible, scalable storage) support message persistence. On the frontend, React Native, Swift, or Kotlin (for mobile) and React or Vue (for web). Additionally, authentication via OAuth, JWT, or Firebase Auth ensures secure user sessions.
Some popular platforms to build chat services on include:
- Android
- iOS
- Azure
- Web applications
Building chat services across platforms requires expertise in software development, low latency, and scalable backend infrastructure.
Common chat service features
Chat services typically come with various features to enhance the chat experience. Some standard chat service features include:
- Real-time (live) chat
- Group chat
- Mobile push notifications
- In-app messaging
- SMS messaging
- Video calls
- File sharing
- Screen sharing
- Customizable UI kits
- Workflow automation
- Low latency
- End-to-end encryption
- On-demand chat support
- Ticketing and routing direct messages to the right agent using queues (Kafka, RabbitMQ) or event-driven logic (AI, priority, round-robin). Webhooks and APIs automate support and chatbot workflows.
- Read notifications Read receipts track message status (sent, delivered, read) and sync across devices in real time. WebSockets, MQTT, or PubNub Presence handle updates, while PostgreSQL or Firebase store message states for low-latency propagation
- User authentication secures chats with OAuth, JWT, or Firebase Auth. MFA and RBAC enhance security, while SAML, OpenID, or biometrics provide compliance (HIPPA) and identity verification.
- Omni channel communication: integration with multiple channels (e.g., email, SMS, VoIP) and a unified chat experience across platforms (web, mobile, desktop). Market standards emphasize seamless transitions between channels while maintaining context, often using event-driven architectures and messaging APIs
Chat service use cases
Chat services are used in a variety of industries and use cases. Some of the most common use cases for chat services and communications APIs include:
- Healthcare: Chat services can be used for real-time communication between healthcare providers and patients for remote consultations, prescription refills, and patient follow-ups. It's important to note that chat services used in healthcare must comply with regulations such as HIPAA.
- Gaming: Chat services can be integrated into gaming platforms to enable real-time communication between players, group chats, and multiplayer games.
- E-commerce: Chat services can be used in e-commerce platforms to provide real-time customer support and enhance the customer experience.
- Startups: Chat services can be integrated into startup platforms to streamline internal communication, automate workflows, and enhance user engagement.
- Customer support: Chat services can be used for customer support providing real-time assistance and ticketing.
Chat service APIs: What to know
A chat service API is an application programming interface that allows developers to integrate chat functionality into their applications. Chat service APIs typically provide access to chat features such as messaging, video calls, and file sharing.
When deciding whether to use a chat service API, it's essential to consider factors such as scalability, user experience, and customization. While chat service APIs can be a great way to enhance your application's functionality, they may not always be the best fit for your business needs.
When to Use a Chat Service APIs
A chat service API can be a good option when you need to add real-time communication functionality to your application quickly and easily. Chat service APIs can also be a good choice if you want to provide a customizable chat experience tailored to your users' needs.
When Not to Use a Chat Service APIs
In some situations, using a chat service API might not be the best choice. For example, if you must ensure your communication channels are fully secure and private, you may consider building your chat solution with end-to-end encryption. Additionally, suppose you need to integrate chat functionality with other on-premises systems. In that case, you may need to build a custom solution rather than relying on a cloud-based chat service API.
Chat Service vs. Chat Bot API
It's important to note that a chat service API differs from a chatbot API. A chat service API allows developers to integrate real-time chat functionality into their applications. In contrast, a chatbot API will enable developers to create conversational agents to communicate with users in natural language. Both APIs can be helpful in different contexts, but choosing the right one for your needs is essential.
Using PubNub's Chat Service API
At PubNub, we provide a powerful and flexible API for developers to add real-time chat functionality to their applications. Our API is designed to be scalable and customizable, allowing developers to build a messaging platform that meets their specific business needs.
Using PubNub Chat SDKs, developers can quickly build chat and other real-time features without sacrificing a significant amount of time learning, creating, and managing the mechanics behind sending chat messages or other data in real time. All of the scaling and infrastructure is handled for you.
Want more help building apps with PubNub? Reach out to our team of experts.
