Defining workflow
A Teams thread and the Message Center are different operating models
WebChat describes a focused bridge. A visitor writes through the website widget, the enquiry appears as a thread in the responsible Microsoft Teams channel, and the agent's reply returns to the visitor. An administration area is still needed for setup and control, but daily handling is intended to avoid a second support inbox. That can fit organisations whose ownership, cover arrangements and notifications already operate in Teams.
Lime Connect documents its own Message Center as the agent workspace. Agents receive an individual inbox for active conversations and a shared team inbox, route by groups and skills, transfer conversations with history and control concurrent chats through slots. Its current official catalogue lists API, WordPress, Salesforce and Slack notifications but no Microsoft Teams entry. This is a dated catalogue observation, not proof that a bespoke API or automation is impossible. A ready-made native reply path from a Teams channel was not verified.
Symmetric evidence
Use the same criteria for two credible models
| Criterion | WebChat | Lime Connect (Userlike) |
|---|---|---|
| Agent workspace | Microsoft Teams channel and thread | dedicated Message Center with individual and shared inboxes |
| Microsoft Teams | channel post and thread response documented | not listed in the current official integrations catalogue |
| Channels | web and selected messengers as vendor claims | web, WhatsApp, email, Instagram, Facebook Messenger and SMS documented |
| Pricing | per channel; current numeric amount unverified | limited Free plan; Pro from-price with three-seat minimum; add-ons |
| AI and automation | Power Platform and own AI subject to prerequisites | AI Agent, Copilot and Workflows paid add-ons from Pro |
| Data governance | SSO mentioned; major product details still open | German hosting and EU processing vendor claims; DPA on request |
Prices retrieved 10 August 2026
Free is genuine, while Pro is a from-price with extras
Lime Connect publishes Free at EUR 0 per month with one seat, one website channel and 200 conversations. Pro starts at EUR 105 per month on monthly billing or EUR 87 per month when billed annually and requires at least three seats. Enterprise is quote-based and displayed prices exclude VAT. A 14-day trial provides Pro features and then automatically falls back to Free. This makes the workflow easy to test, but Free is limited and cannot replace a capacity model.
Add-ons need separate budget lines: Connect AI Agent from EUR 99 per month including 100 conversations, Copilot from EUR 19 per seat per month, Workflows from EUR 50 per month for 1,000 runs, and WhatsApp Campaigns from EUR 20 per month for 1,000 campaign messages plus Meta fees. WebChat documents per-channel charging and unlimited agents per channel, but no reliably confirmed numeric amount. Compare both over 12 and 36 months using actual seats, channels, messages, AI, setup, training and administration. An unknown value must never be entered as zero.
Privacy and pilot
Verify vendor statements and run the same case in both products
- 01
Prove the response path
Deliver, accept, answer, transfer and handle the same website enquiry on mobile. Record a Teams thread, a separate inbox and a notification as distinct capabilities.
- 02
Normalise total cost
Include channels, required seats, conversation volume, WhatsApp and Meta fees, AI Agent, Copilot, Workflows, setup, training and internal operations over the same term.
- 03
Request the actual DPA
Lime Connect claims German servers, European processing, configurable deletion and a DPA with subprocessors on request. Review those documents and the data flow of every enabled channel and AI function.
- 04
Close WebChat unknowns
Before contracting, confirm numeric price, trial, DPA, subprocessors, hosting region, retention, deletion and a real round trip through the intended Teams channel in writing or during the pilot.