Manage Channels and Channel Categories

Name

Give a name to the channel category.

Description

Provide an optional description of the channel category.

Max Tasks Request

Specify the maximum number of task requests that any agent can handle on this channel category. When this count is reached, the agent's channel category state will turn to BUSY and the agent will no longer receive any new tasks unless an active task is closed. This works in combination with the Agent-channel category tasks limit.

Interruptible

Reserved for future. When available, this will allow us to turn the flag to ON if the requests on this channel category are considered to be interruptible. This means that the system may interrupt the agent on this channel category (during an active conversation) to route him to a conversation from a different channel category if required.

Provide a name for the channel provider such as Dialog 360 for WhatsApp.

This setting is used to determine which channel types this channel provider will  support. For instance, you could configure one channel provider to support both WhatsApp and Facebook messages. So one channel provider can be used to serve both types of channels.

Based on the supported channel types, you can add corresponding channel connectors and use them while configuring new channels.

Give a webhook URL for the Channel Provider where this channel provider will listen to the events:

• Recommended to use the service name of the component in the Channel Provider > Provider Webhook field. However, FQDN can also be used with some additional custom configurations.

• Provide the service name of the Connector in the Provider Webhook field as http://{SERVICE-NAME}:{SERVICE_PORT}. Replace the {SERVICE_NAME} and {SERVICE-PORT} in the URL with the component’s k3s-based service name and port (it can be fetched using the following command: kubectl get svc -n expertflow )

The provider webhook URL is given in the following format:

For Web provider

Kubernetes based: http://ef-web-channel-manager-svc:7000

HELM based: http://ef-cx-web-channel-manager-svc:7000

For WhatsApp

Kubernetes based: http://ef-whatsapp-connector-svc:8080

HELM based: http://cx-channels-whatsapp-connector-svc:8080

For Facebook

Kubernetes based: http://ef-facebook-connector-svc:8080

HELM based: http://cx-channels-facebook-connector-svc:8080

Name

This is the name of the channel connector.

Channel Provider

Select the desired Channel Provider (created in the above step) to configure this channel connector for the channel provider. Based on the selected channel provider, you'll see the corresponding configuration attributes to be specified for this channel connector.

Custom Attributes

This shows the list of other custom attributes created while defining the Channel Provider you selected above. Available only if some custom attributes were added while defining the Channel Provider in the above step. For example, for the default Dialog 360, HOST-URL, API-KEY. For details on Dialog 360 connector configurations, see the 360-Connector Configuration Guide for WhatsApp.

Channel Name

Specify a channel name.

Service Identifier

This is the service identifier of the service that the customer dialed or reached. It could be a DN (Dialed Number) such as a WhatsApp number, any website URL, Facebook ID, Viber ID.

Bot ID

This is the Bot Connector that was added under Bot Settings. You need to choose a bot connector here regardless of the Channel Mode.

Channel Connector

This is the Channel Connector that should be used to send/receive messages to/from the channel. Choose the desired channel connector created in the above step to be associated with this channel. This list is rendered based on the Channel Type.

Customer Activity Timeout

This is the time in seconds that the system waits for the customer's response against a message sent by the agent or bot. When this time reaches, the system considers the chat as inactive. The bot closes the channel session of the customer and the agent receives Channel_Session_Ended notification within the conversation. The message composer on the agent side is greyed out to disable sending messages.

Channel Mode

Choose a channel mode. Possible values are:

• Hybrid: This the default mode of communication where a bot is always there to assist agents in the background (even if not conversating with the customer directly). This is the only available mode as of today. 

• Bot: Choose this option for self-service, Bot-only conversations. Reserved for future use.

• Agent: Choose this for requests to be routed to agents. Reserved for future use.

Routing Mode

This determines if the channel needs to push incoming requests to a queue to be routed to agents, or, broadcast to a Pull-based List to be taken up by any agents subscribed to the List.  

Possible values are:

• Push 

• Pull 

Agent Selection Policy 

This determines how to select an agent when multiple agents match the criteria.

Possible values are:

• Longest Available: Picks the agent who's available for the longest time duration with a lesser number of active tasks. This is currently the only one supported. 

• Least Skilled: Picks the agent who's the least skilled on the skills that are required to handle such a customer request. Reserved for future use.

• Most Skilled: Picks the agent who's most skilled on the skills required to handle such a customer request. Reserved for future use.

This is applicable only if the channel mode selected above is other than Bot and the selected Routing Mode is Push.

Agent Request TTL (time-to-leave)

This is the time in seconds that the system waits for an agent to be assigned to a queued request. 

Once this TTL is elapsed, the No-Agent-Available event is posted to BOT.

When theNO-AGENT-AVAILABLE event is received, the Controller takes no further action on the conversation

Default Queue

This is the default queue where requests coming on the channel will be enqueued.  

This is enabled only if you have selected the Routing Mode as Push. 

Default List

This is the default list where requests coming on the channel will be published. 

This is enabled only if you have selected the Routing Mode as Pull.

Route to the last agent

Reserved for future.

This setting is used to route the request to the last agent who previously handled a request from the same customer.