Engage customers on every channel and continuously up-level your customer experience by adding emerging channels as they become available.
You can create and manage Webchat, SMS, and Email channels directly in Dialpad Admin, without using the Historical Administration Portal. Other channels, such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, still use Historical Administration for setup.
Let's dive into the details below.
Who can use this
Digital Channels creation and deployment are available to Dialpad Connect, Dialpad Support, and Dialpad Sell users with a Digital Engagement license.
Admins can manage Webchat, SMS, and Email from the Dialpad Admin Portal while other channels are still managed from the Historical Administration Portal.
Before you begin
Make sure you have:
A Digital Contact Center is already set up
The credentials or authorization access required for the channel you want to connect to
Any digital channel you create in the Dialpad Admin Portal will automatically route to the defined Digital Contact Center once the channel is configured. You can modify how routing occurs and how the conversation is handled before and after routing using the Options and Advanced tabs for Email, SMS, and Webchat channels.
Here are some basic setup examples you can do with your channels:
You can navigate to the Options tab to configure which messages are sent before routing happens or to request contact information before transferring to an agent.
You can configure custom routing logic using the "Before agent connection" event in the Advanced tab.
SMS and Webchat handle the default logic automatically for business hours and agent availability before routing to agents. You can override this logic by using the “Out of business hours” event in the Advanced tab (using an available digital workflow template), if needed. View more about default logic here.
Digital Channels via the Dialpad Admin Portal
To open your digital channels, go to your Dialpad Admin Settings.
Select Channels & Workflows
Select Digital Channels
This page shows your existing digital channels at the company level.
Channel types
Webchat
When you create or edit a Webchat channel, you can configure:
Info for channel details.
Appearance for branding and display options.
Deploy for installation details.
Options for greetings, contact collection, waiting messages, after-hours email handling, and surveys.
Advanced for workflows that run at specific points in the conversation.
Use Webchat to offer messaging directly on your website.
See Create a Webchat Channel for detailed Webchat creation steps.
SMS
When you create an SMS channel, you’ll set up:
Info, including:
Name and optional description
A Launch Experience
The owning Contact Center
An SMS-capable Business Number
Options for greeting messages, contact collection, waiting messages, after-hours email handling, and surveys.
Advanced workflow events for channel automation.
Use SMS when you want customers to contact your business by text message.
Note
Your selected business number becomes the channel’s unique identifier after creation. Ensure you have an SMS-capable business number if you’re creating an SMS channel.
For more details, see Create an SMS Channel.
When you create an Email channel, you’ll:
Enter the channel email address.
Sign in with a supported provider.
Authorize Dialpad to connect to the mailbox.
Finish the channel setup.
Optionally add aliases.
Note
Supported mailbox providers for Email channels are Google or Microsoft 365.
Email channels support:
Info for channel details
Signature for admin-managed email signatures with dynamic agent fields
Advanced for workflows that run at specific points in the conversation
Each email address can be connected to only one channel.
For more details, see Create an Email Channel.
What happens to existing channels
Existing SMS and Email channels are migrated from the legacy admin to Dialpad Admin.
After migration:
SMS and Email channels open in Dialpad Admin instead of redirecting to Historical Administration.
Behavior depends on how the channel was originally configured.
Some migrated channels show the Options and Advanced tabs, while others may show only basic configuration tabs if the channel uses a legacy Launch Experience.
Note
All of your existing configurations remain in place and are accessible through the Historical Administration. For support on migrating existing channel configurations, reach out to Dialpad Customer Care.
Digital Channels via the Historical Administration Portal
Update your channels, users, branding, and more from the Historical Administration Portal.
To access the Historical Administration Portal, go to your Dialpad Admin Settings.
Select Channels & Workflows
Select Historical administration
A new tab will open, taking you to your Digital Experience Admin Portal
Channel overview
The Channels section displays your live channels and their selected experiences. These channels allow you to receive contacts from different platforms, such as SMS or WhatsApp.
From the Historical Administration Panel, select Admin, then navigate to Channels.
Dialpad currently integrates with the following channels:
Facebook Messanger
Facebook
Instagram
WhatsApp
Read this Help Center article to learn more about our supported channels and their capabilities.
Add a channel
First, ensure you have the correct platform login credentials to authorize Digital Experience access for a new channel.
Some channels require the business to have login access to authorize the Dialpad app for their social/messaging site. In some instances, you may need to provide keys, tokens, or credentials to complete the linkage (they will ask for the appropriate information).
To add a channel, go to your Historical Administration Panel.
Select Admin
Navigate to Channels
Select Add
Select the channel type
Follow the prompts (login or enter your credentials)
Remove a channel
Communication methods are constantly changing. Fortunately, Dialpad makes it easy to remove a channel as your business needs evolve.
To remove a channel, head to your Historical Administration Panel.
Select Admin
Navigate to Channels
Select the trash can icon beside the channel you'd like to remove
Name change for agents in digital channels
When customers ask your chatbot for a live agent, you decide what name appears for that agent, regardless of which channel they’re using.
To change the agent's name in a digital channel, go to your Dialpad Admin Settings.
Select Channels & Workflows > Historical administration
From the Historical Administration Panel, select Expert Mode
Select Admin > Platform Settings
Select Messages > Announce agent to Customer
Locate the channel you want to edit and select the Edit icon
In the Message field, change the name format. For example, you can change Connected to Agent {{agent.name}} to Connected to Agent {{agent.firstname}}
This changes the agent’s name only to display their first name when they are connected to a customer in the web chat. You could also remove the variable and leave it as Connected to Agent or a general message.
Select Save
The new name now displays when the agent’s name is announced in the digital channel when a customer asks to speak with a live agent.