Online chat

Online chat is real-time text communication over the internet, usually through messaging services, websites, or chat rooms. It enables people to exchange messages with little delay.

Instant messaging: Internet-based exchange of short messages, often between individuals or small groups. A common form of online chat, built around direct message delivery.
Customer service: Assistance that organizations provide to people using their products or services. Live chat lets support teams answer questions while customers remain on a website.
Email: A system for sending and receiving digital messages, usually asynchronously. Email tolerates long delays and formal structure; chat favors rapid back-and-forth.
Computer-mediated communication: Communication between people conducted through digital devices and networks. Online chat is one real-time form of this broader kind of interaction.
Internet Relay Chat: A text-chat protocol that organizes participants into channels on networked servers. Its channels and servers shaped the familiar chat-room model.
Online gaming: Playing video games through internet-connected devices, often with other people. Players use chat to coordinate play and socialize during games.
Internet forum: An online discussion space where posts are organized into topics or threads. Forums preserve topic-based discussions rather than emphasizing immediate exchange.
Social presence theory: A theory about how communication media convey a sense of another person's presence. Text chat offers fewer interpersonal cues than face-to-face communication.
WebSocket: A network protocol that keeps a two-way connection open between a client and a server. Persistent connections let web chats exchange messages without repeated page requests.
Collaborative software: Software that helps people work together on shared tasks or information. Team chat connects discussion with shared files, projects, and work tools.

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Live streamingRelated: It lets audiences respond during a broadcast and can make otherwise one-way streams interactive.