Patent ID: 7861176

Claim:
A method of providing an online chat session to a user, the method comprising: using a computing device configured to provide chat user interfaces, based at least in part on detecting that the user has accessed a first web page, after the user has accessed the first web page, causing the chat user interface to appear at a first location of the first web page being accessed by a user via a browser, wherein the chat user interface is smaller than the first web page, the chat user interface presenting a message including an inquiry regarding whether the user wants to engage in a chat session with a chat agent; where the chat user interface is configured to be persistently displayed in substantially the same location while the first web page is scrolled through; and when the user browser navigates from the first web page to a second web page via an action other than the user activating a link presented in the chat user interface, using the computing device to cause, at least in part, the chat user interface to appear at the first location in the second web page so that the chat user interface is positioned at the same location as in the first web page, and wherein a chat session is persisted when the browser transitions from the first web page to the second web page.