Click-to-call

Click-to-call, also known as click-to-talk, click-to-dial, click-to-chat and click-to-text, is a form of Web-based communication in which a person clicks an object (e.g., button, image or text) to request an immediate connection with another person in real-time either by phone call, Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP), or text. Click to talk requests are most commonly made on websites but can also be initiated by hyperlinks placed in emails or videos, and other Internet-based object or user interfaces.

Basics

Click-to-call (CTC) is actually a misleading name for three variations of this technology depending on the implementation and what device the customer is using: from a computer or from a smartphone.

Traditional from a computer: A web consumer click the link and fills in a form to ask a website operator to call her. In other words in this case, "click-to-call" would be more accurately referred to as "Request-a-Call," as in "Please give me a call (here is my phone number)." CTC technology in most instances requires the web consumer to enter his phone number in order for the site operator, or its CSR s, or audio telephony version of an autoresponder, to place the call. CTC technology is now used most often to convert web-based traffic into direct telephone communication between an end user and some other entity. CTC originates out of the older PC2PC telephony whereby a client, or software application, was downloaded onto an end user's own personal computer to interface with the same software running on the other party's computer, to enable a conversation between the two computer users.

Current CTC technology requires no consumer download except perhaps for industry standard plugins such as Flash. Indeed, modern CTC technology reportedly evolved out of its PC client-to-client roots as a direct result of consumer reluctance to download what was, then, the necessary software. Such reluctance is familiar, and is commonly ascribed to fear of viruses and other malware.