Live polls and word clouds in your or Zoom chat.

Put a poll, quiz or word cloud on your shared screen and everyone answers by typing in the Zoom chat. Open StreamAlive from the Apps tab in Zoom, or paste your meeting link. Nothing for participants to install.

Works where you do: Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, YouTube Live, LinkedIn Live, Substack Live and Restream. Also on your PowerPoint slides.

In one word, how was your weekend? In one word, how was your weekend? Type a word in the chat

0 responses
  1. Sarah Chen Restful
  2. James Okoro Busy
  3. Aisha Rahman Sunny
  4. Tomás García Lazy
  5. Priya Nair Fun
  6. Daniel Kim Restful
  7. Mei Lin Short
  8. Olu Adeyemi Hiking
  9. Hannah Weber Busy
  10. Marco Bianchi Restful
  11. Fatima Zahra Family
  12. Lukas Novak Rainy
  13. Grace Park Lazy
  14. Arjun Mehta Restful
  15. Chloe Martin Productive
  16. Yusuf Ali Fun
  17. Ben Carter Restful
  18. Elena Popescu Busy
  19. Noah Schmidt Football
  20. Inês Duarte Restful

Type in the chat to add your own answer.

A meeting in Zoom. People type answers in the meeting chat and StreamAlive turns them into a word cloud on the shared screen. You can type your own answer in the chat.

Used by hosts, trainers and lecturers at

Companies
, , , , , , , , , , and
Universities and schools
, , , and
On Zoom
#1 in Apps for EducationFeatured in the Zoom Workplace app

Type in the chat.

How do you vote in this poll? Type 1, 2 or 3 in the chat

  1. Scan a QR code 7%
  2. Download an app 7%
  3. Type in the chat 86%
0 responses
  1. You Type in the chat.
  2. Sarah Chen 3
  3. James Okoro 3
  4. Aisha Rahman type in the chat
  5. Tomás García 3
  6. Priya Nair 1
  7. Daniel Kim 3
  8. Mei Lin 3!
  9. Olu Adeyemi 3
  10. Hannah Weber 2
  11. Marco Bianchi 3
  12. Fatima Zahra 3
  13. Lukas Novak Type in the chat
  14. Grace Park 3

Other tools ask people to get their phone out, scan a QR code, open a link and enter a code, and then notifications distract them. With StreamAlive, they type in the Zoom chat.

In a Teams or Zoom meeting, “Type in the chat.” is sent in the chat and appears in the poll on the shared screen, which asks “How do you vote in this poll?” Everyone else’s answers follow.

That’s the only instruction your participants need. Nobody has to pick up a phone to vote, so notifications get less chance to pull them away, and their attention stays on the meeting.

We used to tell people to put their phones away so they wouldn’t be distracted, then later ask them to pull them out again to scan a QR code. That never sat right with us. StreamAlive removed that contradiction completely.

Amy Baughman Sitkins Group

How to run a poll in a Zoom meeting.

  1. You open StreamAlive in Zoom and share your screen.
  2. Your participants type their answers in the Zoom chat. That’s all they do.
  3. StreamAlive counts every answer and puts it on your screen as it arrives.
  1. Open StreamAlive from the Apps tab in Zoom, or paste your Zoom meeting link into StreamAlive. With the link, admit the StreamAlive bot once when Zoom asks.

  2. Press Share App Screen in the StreamAlive app for Zoom, or share the StreamAlive window like any slides. Or present from your PowerPoint deck.

    This is the step people miss. Your audience can only answer a question they can see.

  3. Everyone sees your poll the moment you share. It’s a slide in your StreamAlive presentation, set up beforehand.

  4. They type their answer in the Zoom chat. No QR code, no link, no phone.

  5. Every answer lands on your shared screen as it’s sent: bars move, words grow, pins drop.

  6. After the meeting, the report shows how many people took part, how much more they typed during your interactions, and who was most active.

Which topic should we start with? Type 1, 2, 3 or 4 in the chat

  1. Roadmap 31%
  2. Hiring 19%
  3. Budget 19%
  4. Wins 31%
0 responses
  1. Sarah Chen 1
  2. James Okoro 1
  3. Aisha Rahman 2
  4. Tomás García 3
  5. Priya Nair 2
  6. Daniel Kim 3
  7. Mei Lin 4
  8. Olu Adeyemi 4
  9. Hannah Weber 4
  10. Marco Bianchi 2
  11. Fatima Zahra 1
  12. Lukas Novak 1
  13. Grace Park 4
  14. Arjun Mehta 3
  15. Chloe Martin 4
  16. Yusuf Ali 1
Illustration of the six steps. The presenter pastes the meeting link into StreamAlive and presses Connect. StreamAlive waits in the meeting lobby and is admitted, then posts in the chat that it is reading the chat. The presenter presses Share and picks the StreamAlive window, a poll appears on the shared screen, and answers typed in the chat fill the poll bars as they arrive. After the session, the report shows who took part and how each question landed, and an AI assistant can answer questions about it.

Four things to run in your next Zoom call.

Each one is a question on your shared screen that people answer in the Zoom chat. They work in a team sync, a class, a client call or a Friday social.

  1. Make a quick decision

    Put the options on screen and people type 1, 2, 3 or 4. The bars move as the votes arrive, and the decision is made in a minute.

    Which day should we meet next week? Type 1, 2, 3 or 4 in the chat

    1. Monday 18%
    2. Tuesday 41%
    3. Wednesday 24%
    4. Thursday 18%
    0 responses
    1. Amara Okafor 1
    2. Felix Brandt 2
    3. Chloe Dubois 3
    4. Yusuf Demir 4
    5. Inés Romero 3
    6. Kai Tanaka 2
    7. Zara Ahmed 2
    8. Leo Fischer 3
    9. Nadia Petrova 1
    10. Ruby Walsh 3
    11. Theo Laurent 2
    12. Maya Singh 1
    13. Elena Rossi 4
    14. Jonah Levi 2
    15. Ana Souza 4
    16. Sam Okeke 2
    17. Lena Park 2

    Type in the chat to add your own answer.

  2. Run a quick quiz

    A timed question with up to four options. Faster right answers score more, and a leaderboard shows who’s ahead.

    Which is the largest ocean? Type 1, 2, 3 or 4 in the chat

    Time left: 15s

    1. Atlantic
    2. Indian
    3. Pacific
    4. Arctic
    0 responses
    1. Amara Okafor 3
    2. Felix Brandt 2
    3. Chloe Dubois 1
    4. Yusuf Demir 1
    5. Inés Romero 3
    6. Kai Tanaka 3
    7. Zara Ahmed 1
    8. Leo Fischer 3
    9. Nadia Petrova 3
    10. Ruby Walsh 3
    11. Theo Laurent 2
    12. Maya Singh 3
    13. Elena Rossi 4
    14. Jonah Levi 3
    15. Ana Souza 3
    16. Sam Okeke 3
    17. Lena Park 3

    Type in the chat to add your own answer.

  3. Pick someone at random

    Spin the wheel to choose who goes next. Everyone who types in the chat is on it, with no list to upload.

    Who is hosting next week? Type anything in the chat to join

    0 responses
    1. Amara Okafor me!
    2. Felix Brandt not me
    3. Chloe Dubois I’ll go
    4. Yusuf Demir ok
    5. Inés Romero happy to
    6. Kai Tanaka here
    7. Zara Ahmed sure
    8. Leo Fischer hi
    9. Nadia Petrova me please
    10. Ruby Walsh count me in
    11. Theo Laurent ready
    12. Maya Singh yes

    Type in the chat to add your own answer.

  4. See where everyone is

    Ask where people are dialing in from. Pins drop on the map as they type a city or country.

    Where are you dialing in from? Type a city or country in the chat

    0 responses
    1. Amara Okafor London
    2. Felix Brandt Lagos
    3. Chloe Dubois Toronto
    4. Yusuf Demir Singapore
    5. Inés Romero Berlin
    6. Kai Tanaka Sydney
    7. Zara Ahmed Chicago
    8. Leo Fischer Mumbai
    9. Nadia Petrova Dublin
    10. Ruby Walsh Madrid
    11. Theo Laurent Nairobi
    12. Maya Singh Tokyo
    13. Elena Rossi Austin
    14. Jonah Levi Paris

    Type in the chat to add your own answer.

Your first session won’t be a solo act.

Chat to the StreamAlive team, join a daily AMA, or follow the step-by-step guide for your platform. You can test it in a meeting with one colleague before anyone else sees it.

Visit the help center

Zoom hosts, trainers and lecturers who moved their polls to the chat.

Participation jumped once the QR code was gone.

60 – 70%

took part when they had to scan a QR code

90 – 95%

take part now they just type in the chat

Attendees taking part in Virtual Approval’s virtual and hybrid events, before and after they switched to StreamAlive.

Before StreamAlive, we were using other well-known QR-based interaction tools. About 60 – 70% of people would follow a QR code. Now that all they have to do is type in the chat, we see more like 90 – 95% of participants engaging.

Rachel Locke Founder & CEO, Virtual Approval
Read the Virtual Approval story
  • I use StreamAlive in my virtual teaching because it helps create an active learning environment within the meeting. It allows students to participate without leaving the current platform, making it convenient for those using laptops with limited screen space.

    Tatiana Rodriguez Adjunct Professor, Rutgers University
    Read Tatiana’s story
Read every customer story

Questions about StreamAlive for Zoom

How do I run a poll in a Zoom meeting?

Create the poll in StreamAlive, connect StreamAlive to your Zoom meeting with the StreamAlive app for Zoom or the meeting link, then share your screen and pick the StreamAlive window. Ask people to type their choice in the Zoom chat. Every vote moves the bars as it’s sent.

Is there a StreamAlive app for Zoom?

Yes. Add StreamAlive from the Zoom App Marketplace, open it from the Apps tab in your Zoom client and press Share App Screen. You can also skip the app and paste your meeting link into StreamAlive’s web app.

The StreamAlive app for Zoom
Doesn’t Zoom already have polls?

It does. Zoom’s polls appear as a prompt for each participant. StreamAlive’s polls are voted on in the meeting chat, fill in on your shared screen as people vote, can take answers you didn’t list, and come with themes, AI-written questions and a report after the session.

Do participants need to install the app?

No. Only the host opens StreamAlive. Participants type in the Zoom chat they already have, with no app, no account and no QR code.

Does it work in a Zoom webinar?

Yes. Connect with the webinar’s panelist link or the StreamAlive app for Zoom, and attendees answer in the webinar chat.

StreamAlive for Zoom webinars
What can StreamAlive see in my meeting?

It reads the meeting chat only. It doesn’t record or access your video, audio or shared screen.

Can I use it with PowerPoint or Google Slides?

Yes for PowerPoint: add the StreamAlive add-in, put a question on a slide and present in Slide Show. Google Slides can’t show live content inside a slide, so paste StreamAlive’s quick link on your slide. It opens the interaction in a browser tab, where you connect StreamAlive to your meeting and share that tab.

Is there a free plan?

Yes. Sessions with up to five participants are free, with every interaction included and no card needed. Paid plans start at $100 for a pack of 4 sessions, and Pro is $75 a month, billed annually.

See the plans

Run your next Zoom call in the chat.

Free for sessions of up to five people. No card needed.