What is Co-Browsing?
Co-browsing (collaborative browsing) is a technology that lets a support agent and a customer view and interact with the same web page or application at the same time. The agent sees the customer’s live screen in the browser and can highlight, scroll, or fill in fields to guide them through a task in real time.
How co-browsing works
Co-browsing runs through a shared browser session rather than a full desktop takeover. The customer typically clicks a link or enters a session code, which streams the content of a specific page or web app to the agent. Nothing is installed, and the shared view is scoped to the application in question, not the customer’s whole computer.
There are two common technical approaches:
- DOM-based co-browsing transmits the page’s document structure (HTML/DOM) to the agent. It is lightweight, fast, and allows fine-grained masking of sensitive fields.
- Screen-sharing-style co-browsing streams a rendered image of the page or tab, which is simpler to deploy but heavier on bandwidth and harder to mask selectively.
Most tools support view-only mode (the agent watches and points) or collaborative mode (the agent can also click and type on the shared page, usually with the customer’s permission).
Co-browsing vs. screen sharing
Co-browsing is often confused with screen sharing, but the scope is different:
- Screen sharing exposes the customer’s entire screen or desktop, including other windows and notifications.
- Co-browsing is confined to a single web page, tab, or app, keeping the rest of the customer’s device private.
This narrower scope is why co-browsing is popular in banking, insurance, and e-commerce: agents can help with an online form or checkout without ever seeing the customer’s other tabs.
Benefits of co-browsing
- Faster resolution — the agent sees exactly where the customer is stuck instead of relying on verbal descriptions.
- Higher conversion and form completion — guiding customers through applications and checkouts reduces abandonment.
- No downloads — sessions run in the browser, lowering friction for the customer.
- Better privacy control — sensitive fields (card numbers, passwords) can be masked so the agent never sees them.
Pitfalls to avoid
- Data masking gaps — misconfigured masking can expose personal or payment data; masking must be verified, not assumed.
- Unclear consent — customers should knowingly start and be able to end a session at any time.
- Wrong tool for the job — co-browsing works for web pages and web apps. It does not help when the problem is a physical object, a device, or something happening in the real world.
How VSight helps
Co-browsing solves problems that live inside a browser. Many support and field-service problems, however, are physical — a wiring fault, a machine error code, or an installation step — where there is no web page to share.
For those cases, VSight visual assistance software provides camera-based live visual support: a remote expert sees the technician’s or customer’s phone camera in real time and guides them with augmented-reality annotations placed directly on the video. It is the “see-what-I-see” complement to co-browsing, aimed at the physical world instead of the screen.
VSight is a connected worker platform. Alongside AR remote assistance, VSight Workflow delivers digital work instructions, SOPs, checklists, and task management for frontline teams. VSight is GDPR and HIPAA compliant and ISO 27001 certified.
Want to see live visual support in action? Request a demo.
Related terms: see-what-I-see · remote visual support · telecom visual support
Frequently asked questions
What does co-browsing mean? Co-browsing (collaborative browsing) is a technology that lets a support agent and a customer view and interact with the same web page or application at the same time. The agent can highlight, scroll, or fill in fields to guide the customer through a task in real time, with nothing to install.
What is the difference between co-browsing and screen sharing? Screen sharing exposes the customer’s entire screen or desktop, including other windows and notifications, while co-browsing is confined to a single web page, tab, or app and keeps the rest of the device private. That narrower scope is why co-browsing is popular in banking, insurance, and e-commerce.
Is co-browsing secure for sensitive data? Co-browsing can mask sensitive fields such as card numbers and passwords so the agent never sees them, and DOM-based approaches allow fine-grained masking. Masking must be verified rather than assumed, because misconfigured masking can expose personal or payment data.
How does VSight help when the problem is not on a web page? Co-browsing only works for web pages and web apps, so it does not help when the problem is a physical object or device. VSight visual assistance software provides camera-based live visual support, where a remote expert sees the phone camera in real time and guides the user with augmented-reality annotations placed directly on the video.