Amex Shuns Chat for Customer Service, Leaning Instead on Social Media

American Express unveiled new online customer service features yesterday that lean more heavily on social media.

Chat, however, was excluded from its new customer service application, and is only being made available on a limited basis.

In re-engineering its online customer service center, American Express put its customer-care phone numbers, FAQs and social connections in one popup window. Amex opted for three social media channels: Twitter, Facebook and its proprietary Community@Amex, which is an online forum. Click to Chat, as Amex’s chat function is called, is not included in the popup.

Previously, Click to Chat allowed for real-time customer service for card holders logged in to americanexpress.com. That feature has been put on limited use, according to Amex. In an FAQ asking whether Amex offers Click to Chat anymore, the company responded:

Yes. Please keep in mind we are still in the process of evaluating the Click to Chat feature so you may only see the option in limited circumstances.

This American Express cardholder could not access Click to Chat today. Maybe tomorrow …