The Responses tab allows you to customize the default messaging response, which greets your customers when they initiate an interaction in the Web Widget or mobile channel. Here, you can apply a support schedule to create separate responses for your working hours, and customize automated responses.
If you choose to upgrade your channel to a conversation bot, the responses configured here are deactivated and replaced by the bot's standard response. See Creating a conversation bot for your web and mobile channels.
This article includes the following topics:
Applying Support schedules to a web or mobile channel
When you apply previously established Support schedules to your web or mobile channel, you can create different responses for customers based on whether they contact you during your set office hours, or outside of those hours. You apply any of your Support schedules to the responses.
To apply a business hours schedule to your channel
- In Admin Center, click Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social > Messaging.
- Click the name of the channel you want to edit. The Edit Web Widget page opens.
- Click the Responses tab.
- Expand the Business hours section, and use the drop-down to select a saved Support schedule.
- Expand the Response during business hours section and update as described in the procedure below. Repeat for the Response outside of business hours section.
- Click Save settings.
If you remove the business hours schedule, the Response during business hours settings are applied.
Working with the default messaging response
Once a messaging widget is created, the default messaging response is activated, which provides a functional, basic conversation to greet a customer when they launch the Web Widget, and transfers them to an agent.
The default messaging response includes a basic greeting for customers and a request for information about their support needs, then a message letting them know they’re being connected to an agent. Behind the scenes, agents are notified in the Agent Workspace that a support request has been received, and they can accept the request and begin responding to the conversation.
Without any configuration actions on your part, the default messaging response appears to the end user as follows:
There are a number of options available to customize this interaction, including requesting customer information and establishing business hours.
Whether you are using the business hours option or not, you can customize the response your customers receive when they launch the Web Widget.
To customize your automated response
- In Admin Center, click Channels in the sidebar, then select Messaging and social > Messaging.
- Click the name of the channel you want to edit. The Edit Web Widget page opens.
- Click the Responses tab.
- Expand the Response during business hours section. The default messaging response information is displayed in the text boxes.
- Update the following:
- First message: Enter the text that appears when a customer launches the Web Widget.
-
Customer details: Use the drop-down to select the information
you want to request from the customer before handing them off to an
agent. You can request the customer's name or email address, or use
custom ticket fields to gather information.
- Custom ticket fields must be created in Admin Center before you can add them to the step.
- Permissions for ticket fields must be set to Editable for end users, and will be Required to submit a request by end users, regardless of the requirement configuration on the permissions page.
- Nested drop-down fields are not supported.
Customers must enter information into these fields before being handed off to an agent. End user email addresses cannot contain accented characters.
Note: These settings may be impacted by your end user authentication configuration. - Follow-up message: Enter the text that appears after the customer submits their details.
- If using business hours, expand the Response outside of business hours section and update the information as described in the previous step.
- Click Save settings.
Creating a conversation bot
At the bottom of the tab, you have the option to add a bot to your messaging configuration, which allows you to offer highly customized automated conversation experiences to your customers.
See Creating a conversation bot for your web and mobile channels.
If you have already created a messaging bot, you have the option of deactivating it and returning to the default messaging response.