ZohoChat is another of Zoho's early products, and its story is a little different from most, rather than being retired outright, it split into three separate products still in use today.
What ZohoChat Was
Originally built as Zoho's internal team instant messaging and website live-chat tool, ZohoChat let users chat, share files, and hold group discussions across Zoho applications.
How It Split Into Three Products
Over time, ZohoChat's original scope, internal messaging and website live chat combined in one tool, was split apart and evolved into three specialised, modern products, each taking on a distinct piece of what ZohoChat originally did:
- Zoho Cliq. Took over internal team messaging and real-time collaboration.
- Zoho SalesIQ. Took over website live chat, customer engagement, and lead tracking.
- Zia Chat. Introduced later as Zoho's conversational AI assistant, designed to execute workflows and search context across every Zoho app.
A pattern worth noticing: unlike Zoho VirtualOffice, which evolved as a single product into Zoho Workplace, ZohoChat is an example of one original product splitting by use case, internal team chat versus customer-facing live chat, into two genuinely separate, purpose-built products, with a third added later as the conversational AI layer that now works across both.
Need help? 1 Cloud Consultants can help you get set up on Zoho Cliq, Zoho SalesIQ, or Zia Chat, whichever of ZohoChat's descendants fits what you're trying to do.
Book a discovery call with 1 Cloud Consultants.