Olark
Olark is a bootstrapped, fully-remote live chat software company founded in 2009, offering a WCAG 2.1 AA certified chat platform with AI agents (Aiden, CoPilot) and 100+ integrations for SMB, higher education, government, and B2B manufacturing customers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersWilmington, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Olark does
Olark is a privately-held, bootstrapped software company founded in 2009 that operates a live chat platform enabling real-time human-to-customer conversations on business websites. The company is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware with a fully-remote team of 11-50 employees and is led by CEO and co-founder Ben Congleton alongside co-founder and COO Matthew Pizzimenti. Olark graduated from Y Combinator in 2009 and has operated without external funding since, reaching Certified B Corporation status in 2023.
The platform's core product is a cloud-based live chat widget and agent console, augmented by a modular set of add-ons: the CoPilot AI chatbot, the Aiden AI Agent (which continuously indexes website content via Live Search for always-current responses), GSAT (an AI-powered Goal Satisfaction analytics feature), PowerUps for cobrowsing, visitor insights, real-time translation, and brand removal, plus SMS and WhatsApp channels. The architecture integrates with over 100 third-party platforms including Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, Zendesk, Shopify, BigCommerce, and WordPress, and is independently certified to WCAG 2.1 AA and ADA Section 508 accessibility standards.
Olark generates revenue through monthly subscription plans starting at $19 per agent per month, with add-on PowerUps and enterprise packages layered on top. The go-to-market combines a self-serve product-led growth motion (14-day free trial, immediate onboarding) targeting SMB and mid-market customers with a sales-assisted enterprise motion for Advanced Aiden deployments and accessible-chat requirements. Customer verticals include e-commerce, higher education, government, and B2B manufacturing, with higher education and government serving as a differentiated wedge anchored on accessibility certification.
Olark firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Olark
- Legal name
- Olark
- Website
- https://olark.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Olark is a bootstrapped, fully-remote live chat software company founded in 2009, offering a WCAG 2.1 AA certified chat platform with AI agents (Aiden, CoPilot) and 100+ integrations for SMB, higher education, government, and B2B manufacturing customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Olark industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Live Chat Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Customer Service, Support & Contact Center CRM (HDAEAFAC)
Keywords
Where Olark is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Wilmington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Olark business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription Plans: Monthly subscription plans for live chat software with tiered pricing based on features and agent count. Plans start at $19/month with 14-day free trial. PowerUps available as add-on subscriptions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Base plan starting at $19/month |
| Subscription | Monthly | Non-Branded Chatbox PowerUp at $59/month |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Olark product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Olark provides a cloud-based live chat software platform that lets businesses communicate with website visitors in real time. The product combines a human-staffed live chat console with AI-powered chatbot agents (Aiden and CoPilot) and integrations into CRM, helpdesk, and messaging tools. Target users are sales, support, and marketing teams at small, mid-market, and enterprise organizations that need to convert and assist visitors on their websites.
Product overview
Olark is a live chat software platform with modular architecture combining core chat with AI-powered add-ons. The core Olark Live Chat platform provides real-time human-to-customer conversations, while CoPilot adds chatbot automation and Aiden AI Agent provides advanced autonomous agent capabilities. PowerUps (add-on modules) extend functionality with Visitor Cobrowsing, Visitor Insights, Live Chat Translation, and Non-Branded Chatbox. Additional features include SMS/WhatsApp multi-channel messaging, GSAT analytics, Team Management tools, and Accessible Live Chat (WCAG/ADA compliant). The platform integrates with 100+ tools including major CRM, e-commerce, CMS, and help desk systems.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CoPilot: AI-powered chatbot assistant for customer service agents that handles routine tasks
- Aiden
- GSAT
Products and services
- Olark Live Chat Cloud-based live chat platform that lets sales, support, and marketing teams talk to website visitors in real time via a JavaScript chat widget. Includes chat console, visitor monitoring, transcripts, and 100+ third-party integrations.
- Aiden AI Agent AI-powered conversational agent that engages website visitors, answers questions using trained content, and hands off to live agents when escalation is needed. Sold in a standard plan and an Advanced Aiden plan via sales motion for larger deployments.
- CoPilot AI Chatbot AI assistant that helps human chat agents compose replies, summarize conversations, and respond to visitors faster inside the Olark chat console.
- Accessible Live Chat Version of Olark Live Chat designed to be WCAG 2.1 AA accessible, targeting government, higher education, and other organizations with accessibility compliance requirements.
- GSAT (Galileo Satisfaction Score) Customer satisfaction analytics tool that captures post-chat ratings to produce an aggregated GSAT score, helping teams measure and improve chat quality.
Quantifiable outcome
- Chat is more satisfying to customers than phone or email
Companies that use Olark
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Olark technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration52 records
AI capability6 records
Feature6 records
Olark partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- SlackcoreNative two-way Slack integration enabling teams to chat directly in Slack, collaborate on customer conversations, receive real-time notifications, and manage chat workflows without leaving Slack. One of the first live chat apps to enable direct Slack communication.
- SalesforcecoreCRM integration that automatically creates leads or cases from chat conversations, attaches transcripts, and pulls up customer records during live chats. Supports custom field mapping via API. Available on Salesforce AppExchange.
- HubSpotcoreCRM integration available through HubSpot Connect. Sends chat transcripts, visitor information, and case data to HubSpot contacts. Supports automated lead creation and workflow triggers based on chat interactions.
- BigCommercecoreNative integration for BigCommerce stores, installable through the BigCommerce control panel. Supports both legacy Blueprint themes and modern Stencil themes, with mobile template support.
- WordPresscoreDeep integration with WordPress via both manual code installation and dedicated WordPress plugin. Comprehensive compatibility documentation and support.
- ZendeskcoreHelp desk integration for ticket creation and customer service workflow management from live chat conversations.
- Google AnalyticscoreConversion tracking and analytics integration for measuring chat performance and impact on website goals.
- WooCommercecoreE-commerce integration for WooCommerce stores enabling customer chat and sales support on WordPress-based online stores.
- ShopifycoreIntegration for Shopify stores enabling live chat on e-commerce websites powered by Shopify platform.
- Accessible360coreAccessibility consulting partner that conducted comprehensive audit of Olark chatbox and provided WCAG compliance certification. Led initial accessibility overhaul and continues as accessibility advisor.
- AllyantminorAccessibility review partner providing independent verification of Olark's accessibility compliance and standards conformance.
- UC Berkeley Center for Disability Access & ComplianceminorAcademic partner providing expertise and feedback on accessibility requirements for higher education customers.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Olark competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Drift (Salesloft): Originally a direct B2B conversational marketing and live chat peer, now part of Salesloft; competes with Olark in B2B/manufacturing use cases and enterprise sales-assist chat workflows.
- Freshchat (Freshworks): Freshworks' live chat and AI messenger product competes directly with Olark for SMB/mid-market customer support, with overlapping CRM and help-desk integration strategies.
- Tawk.to: Direct competitor offering a freemium live chat widget targeted at SMBs and small e-commerce sites, the same primary segment Olark serves at $19/month entry-level plans.
- Tidio: Direct peer focused on SMB e-commerce live chat with AI agents (Lyro), positioning similarly to Olark's CoPilot/Aiden for online retail customers.
- Intercom: Direct competitor offering an AI-first customer service platform that bundles live chat, AI agents (Fin), and workflow automation for SaaS and SMB/mid-market customers, mirroring Olark's chat-plus-AI-agent positioning.
- LiveChat (Text): Direct live chat SaaS peer offering chat, AI chatbots (ChatBot), and help-desk products to SMB and mid-market customers, competing head-to-head with Olark in web chat.
Broad incumbents
- Salesforce Service Cloud: Broad incumbent enterprise CRM and customer service platform with native live chat (Live Agent), Einstein AI agents, and an AppExchange ecosystem that competes with Olark's salesforce-integrated chat.
- HubSpot Service Hub: Broad incumbent CRM and customer service suite bundling live chat, AI agents, and ticketing; competes with Olark especially where customers already standardize on HubSpot CRM.
- Zendesk: Broad incumbent help-desk and CRM suite (now part of Zoho's investor group) with Zendesk Chat, AI agents, and a full customer service platform overlapping Olark's chat and conversational AI offering.
Emerging players
- Crisp: All-in-one SMB customer messaging platform offering live chat, chatbots, and multi-channel shared inbox; comparable to Olark's chat-plus-automation pitch for smaller websites.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Olark social profiles
Digital presenceOlark compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Olark financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Olark leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Olark funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Olark M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Olark
What does Olark do?
Olark provides a cloud-based live chat software platform that lets businesses communicate with website visitors in real time. The product combines a human-staffed live chat console with AI-powered chatbot agents (Aiden and CoPilot) and integrations into CRM, helpdesk, and messaging tools. Target users are sales, support, and marketing teams at small, mid-market, and enterprise organizations that need to convert and assist visitors on their websites.
Is Olark a public or private company?
Olark is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Olark founded?
Olark was founded in 2009. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Olark based?
Olark is headquartered in Wilmington, United States, in the North America region.
How does Olark make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription Plans.
Who are Olark's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Drift (Salesloft), Freshchat (Freshworks), Tawk.to, Tidio, Intercom and LiveChat (Text). Broad incumbents are Salesforce Service Cloud, HubSpot Service Hub and Zendesk. Crisp is listed as an emerging player.
Does Olark have an API?
Yes. Olark offers a JavaScript API that allows developers to customize chat behavior, update visitor information, send custom data to integrations like Salesforce, and control chat functionality. The API supports custom field mapping, visitor tracking, and integration with third-party CRM systems. Developer documentation is at www.olark.com/api.
What industry is Olark in?
Olark's product category is Live Chat Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEAFAC, Customer Service, Support & Contact Center CRM. Its NAICS code is 5182 and its SIC code is 7372.