Velaro Video Chat

What is Video Chat?

Velaro Video Chat lets agents escalate a text conversation to a face-to-face video call — right inside the same chat window, with no extra software or downloads required for the visitor. Agents can also share their screen and optionally turn on their camera.

Video Chat is built on WebRTC (peer-to-peer) for low latency and privacy — video streams go directly between the agent and visitor, not through Velaro servers.

Starting a video call

Video calls are always initiated by the agent (the visitor cannot start a call unprompted):

1. While in an active conversation in the messaging workspace, click the video camera icon in the toolbar.

2. The visitor receives a prompt: "Your agent would like to start a video call. Accept?"

3. When the visitor accepts, the video call opens in an overlay within the chat window.

4. Both parties see each other's video feeds alongside the chat.

No installation or plugin is required. The video call runs in any modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge).

Agent camera and screen share

During a video call, agents can:

• Toggle their own camera on or off
• Share their screen (full screen, a specific window, or a browser tab)
• Mute/unmute their microphone
• End the call while keeping the chat open

Visitors can toggle their camera and microphone using controls in the call overlay.

Browser permissions

Both the agent and visitor need to grant camera/microphone access when prompted by the browser. This is a one-time browser permission per site.

If permission is denied, the call cannot start. The agent should ask the visitor to check their browser settings:

• Chrome: click the lock icon in the address bar > Camera / Microphone > Allow
• Safari: Safari menu > Settings for This Website > Camera / Microphone > Allow

Video Chat and CSP

If your website uses a Content Security Policy, add these directives to allow WebRTC:

connect-src 'self' https://api.velaro.com wss://api.velaro.com;

And update your Permissions Policy to allow camera and microphone:

Permissions-Policy: camera=(self), microphone=(self)

Call quality tips

Video Chat quality depends on both parties' internet connections. For best results:

• Agents should use a wired connection where possible
• Recommend visitors close unused browser tabs during calls
• If video quality is poor, agents can switch to audio-only by turning off their camera

When to use Video Chat

Video Chat is most effective for:

• Complex technical support that's hard to explain in text
• Sales demos where showing a product live closes deals faster
• Onboarding calls where walking through a product builds confidence
• Sensitive conversations (account issues, billing disputes) where a human face helps

Availability

Video Chat is included on select plans. It is available to agents as soon as the feature is enabled on your account. No agent-side setup required — the video icon appears in the chat toolbar automatically.