What are cobrowsing annotations?
Cobrowsing annotation is a feature that allows support agents to draw, highlight, and mark directly on a customer’s browser tab during a Cobrowse session. Instead of relying on long explanations or back-and-forth instructions, the agent can simply point, circle, or highlight elements on the page. This makes it much easier for customers to understand where to click, what to fill in, or how to move through a workflow, minimizing confusion and speeding up support resolution.
How cobrowsing annotations work in Zoho Assist
Using annotations during a Cobrowse session takes only a few seconds. Here’s how it works:
Start annotating
During an active Cobrowse session, click Annotate on the left-side toolbar, and the system will switch you into drawing mode automatically.
Draw or highlight on the page
Once annotation mode is active, you can draw freehand, highlight specific areas, circle buttons or form fields, and visually point out steps on the webpage to guide the customer clearly.
Clear everything at once
If you want to remove all the marks you’ve made, click Clear Annotations, and the entire page will reset instantly to its original state.
There are no installations, plugins, or add-ons needed: Annotations work directly within the Cobrowse session.
Key aspects of co-browsing annotation
Visual guidance on shared webpages
Support agents can use on-screen annotations such as highlighting, circling, and pointing to visually guide customers to specific fields, buttons, or sections during a co-browsing session.
Real-time, interactive collaboration
Both the agent and the customer can interact with the webpage simultaneously, enabling smoother communication and faster issue resolution without losing context.
Privacy-first annotation experience
Annotations work alongside data masking to ensure sensitive information like passwords, payment details, and personal data remain hidden from agents at all times.
Customer-controlled actions
Agents can visually guide customers but cannot perform critical actions like submitting forms or completing payments unless explicitly permitted, so customers always remain in control.
Browser-based with no installation required
Co-browsing annotations run entirely within the browser, eliminating the need for downloads, plugins, or additional setup for either party.
Overall, annotations enhance the co-browsing session by making every interaction clearer, quicker, and more effective.
Common use cases for cobrowsing annotations
Cobrowsing annotations are especially useful in situations where customers need clear, step-by-step guidance on complex or unfamiliar webpages. Here are some of the most common ways support teams use them:
Form filling and application assistance
Agents can highlight required fields, circle mandatory sections, or point out validation errors while customers fill out forms. This reduces submission mistakes and helps users complete applications, sign-ups, and checkout flows faster.
Technical support and troubleshooting
When customers are stuck on a specific setting, option, or error message, annotations let agents visually guide them to the exact button or menu. This avoids confusion caused by verbal directions and speeds up issue resolution.
Sales assistance and product walkthroughs
Sales teams can use annotations to guide prospects through pricing pages, feature comparisons, or configuration steps. Highlighting plans, add-ons, or next steps makes conversations smoother and more persuasive.
Customer onboarding and training
Annotations are perfect for onboarding new users to dashboards, portals, or tools. Agents can visually explain workflows, highlight key actions, and help users gain confidence without overwhelming them.
Insurance, banking, and regulated workflows
In sensitive or regulated environments, annotations help guide customers without exposing personal data. Agents can assist with claims, policy updates, or account actions while privacy masking remains intact.
Remote customer education
When explaining multi-step processes or unfamiliar interfaces, annotations turn passive explanations into interactive, visual guidance, making learning faster and more intuitive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cobrowsing annotations are used to visually guide customers during live support sessions. Agents can highlight fields, circle buttons, or point out actions directly on shared webpages to reduce confusion and speed up task completion.
Yes. Cobrowsing annotations work alongside data masking and security controls, ensuring sensitive information like passwords and payment details remain hidden while agents provide guidance.
No. Annotations only overlay visual cues on the page. Customers retain full control and can continue clicking, typing, navigating, and completing actions at their own pace.
Cobrowsing annotations work only within a shared browser tab and allow agents to guide users visually without seeing the entire screen or accessing other applications. Screen sharing mirrors the full screen, which can expose unrelated or sensitive content and often requires downloads.
No. Even while annotating, Cobrowse continues to mask sensitive data like passwords or protected form fields.
Yes. All annotations appear live on the customer’s page with zero delay, making instructions easy to follow.
You can clear all annotations at once. For removing individual strokes, simply exit and redraw as needed.
No installation required. Annotations work directly within the browser-based cobrowse session.
Not at all. Annotations overlay the page visually, but the customer can continue clicking, typing, and navigating normally.