Add live chat, email, text, WhatsApp and Messenger channels

Channels are where written conversations reach your contact center. Each channel sends new conversations to a messaging queue, or to a chatbot menu that asks customers what they need first. Agents answer them in the omnichannel agent workspace, alongside their calls.

This feature needs the Contact Center Pro plan. See plans and pricing

Contact Center Pro includes email, live chat, WhatsApp and Messenger channels. The text message channel is billed separately, so ask CallSprout to add it before you set it up.

Some labels in your portal or apps may look slightly different from this guide.

Before you start: create a messaging queue

Every channel needs somewhere to send conversations.

1. 1
   Step 1:

   Add the queue

   Open the messaging queues page in the admin portal and add a queue with a unique name, such as Help_Desk.
2. 2
   Step 2:

   Add agents

   Pick the agents or agent groups who'll answer it.
3. 3
   Step 3:

   Set hours

   Under Operation Times, choose Yes for this queue's own hours, No for no limits, or Inherit to use your global messaging hours. Write the automatic replies customers get after hours.
4. 4
   Step 4:

   Choose how work is shared

   With Manual Assignment, agents pick conversations themselves. With Auto Assignment, the system hands them out based on how much each agent can take.

Add a channel

1. 1
   Step 1:

   Open Channels

   In the admin portal, go to the contact center menu, then Channels.
2. 2
   Step 2:

   Pick a type

   Select Add Channel, choose the channel type and select OK.
3. 3
   Step 3:

   Fill in the details

   Each type asks for different details, described below. Then save.

Live chat on your website

• Enter the website Domain the chat will run on.
• Pick where chats go first: straight to a messaging queue, or to a chatbot menu.
• Turn on Pre-Chat Form to ask visitors for their name and email before they start. Leave it off to allow anonymous chats.

Then copy the chat widget code and add it to your website.

Visitors see a chat bubble in the corner of your site. They can send up to a few files at a time, each up to a set size. Outside your hours they see your after hours reply, and the queue can offer a form that emails their message to you. To offer it, turn on the queue's Leave a Message Form and pick an email channel address.

A support mailbox

Choose an Email Provider:

• Microsoft or Gmail. Select the sign-on button, sign in to the mailbox and approve the permissions it asks for. The server details fill in for you.
• Custom Server. Enter the mailbox's incoming (IMAP) and outgoing (SMTP) server details from your email provider.

Pick the mailbox folder to read from and the destination queue. After you save, test it with Check Connection. Customer replies join the right conversation as long as the subject keeps the ticket number tag your replies carry, or the reply is threaded to the original email.

The Microsoft or Gmail integration features described on this page require an active, permitted connection to Microsoft or Gmail. Availability depends on that system's supported APIs and permissions.

Text messages

Choose an SMS Number that already has texting turned on, and a destination. If that number also delivers texts to a person, the channel takes over and texts go to the queue instead.

WhatsApp and Messenger

CallSprout support connects these channels, because they rely on a system level connection to Meta. Contact support to start. Have ready:

• Messenger. A Facebook account with access to your company's Meta Business account and the Facebook pages you want to connect.
• WhatsApp. A number your company owns that can receive a text or call with a verification code. Give it in full, with the country and area code, because short codes won't work. You'll also need a Facebook account with Meta Business access.

The Meta integration features described on this page require an active, permitted connection to Meta. Availability depends on that system's supported APIs and permissions.

Once connected, open the channel, choose its destination and save. In the channel list, Messenger shows as Facebook.

Troubleshooting

• You can't delete an email channel. A messaging queue uses it for its leave a message form. Change that queue first.
• You can't delete a messaging queue. Resolve its open conversations, and move any channel or chatbot menu that sends to it.