Channels overview
A channel is a place where customers talk to your agent. Each agent has its own channels, set up on its Channels page ("Where customers talk to this agent."). Every conversation from every channel lands in the same Inbox.
Available channels
| Channel | Best for | Set up in |
|---|---|---|
| Website chat | A chat on your website: a bubble in the corner, or a chat box inside a page. | Channels → Website chat. See Website chat. |
| Telegram | Customers who already use Telegram. Your agent answers through your own bot. | Channels → Telegram. See Telegram. |
| Sessions API | Your own app, portal or chat screen. You decide the look, and you can pass your own user ids. | An API key. See API overview. |
The Test panel is not a channel for customers: it's where you try the agent yourself. Its conversations show in the Inbox with a Test chip. See Testing.
You can also ask the Copilot to set up channels for you. It can change the website chat's settings and show you a card to connect a Telegram bot. You paste the bot token into the card, never into the chat, so the Copilot never sees it. See Working with Copilot.
Channels and publishing
Customers always talk to the published version of your agent. Your draft is only for you, in the Test panel.
What this means in practice:
- Before the first publish, no channel answers. The Channels page warns you: "Customers chat with the published version, and this agent hasn't been published yet." The website chat shows "This chat is not available right now." and can't take messages; a Telegram bot replies "This assistant is not available yet."; the Sessions API refuses to start a session.
- Changes to the agent reach customers when you publish. Instructions, tools, skills, knowledge settings, the model, memory, handoff and guardrails are all part of the version.
- Channel settings apply right away, without publishing. Turning the website chat on or off, its colour, welcome message, style and allowed websites, and connecting or switching off a Telegram bot take effect as soon as you save. The page tells you: "Changes apply right away — no publish needed."
What every channel shares
- One Inbox. Conversations from all channels show together, each with its channel's icon. You can take over any of them and your reply goes out on the right channel.
- One customer profile per person per channel. See Customers.
- Sessions. A conversation continues until it is resolved, until the customer starts a new one, or until it has been quiet longer than the agent's Start a new session after setting.
- Files. Customers can send photos and documents on every channel. See Files and attachments.
- Feedback. Customers can rate a conversation with 👍 or 👎. The ratings show in Analytics.
- Language. The agent answers in the customer's language. Instruction blocks can apply to one channel only, for example a shorter style for Telegram. See Instructions.
- A daily reply limit. Each workspace has a daily cap on replies to real customers, which protects you from floods. When it's reached, customers are told the assistant is very busy and to try again later.