About Channels in CloudRadial Chat

Channels are the communication methods CloudRadial Chat uses to send and receive messages. 

They are the delivery mechanism between you, your clients, and your support team. This article explains the two kinds of channels and how they differ by plan, then points you to the step-by-step guides for setting each one up. Channels are available on all Chat versions (Chat Starter, ChatAI Professional, and ChatAI Enterprise), though the number you get and the options you can configure depend on your plan.

• What Channels Are
• Client Channels vs. Service Channels
  • About Client Channels
  • About Service Channels
• Channels by Plan
• Managing and Deactivating Channels
• Learn More

What Channels Are

A channel is a single path that chat messages travel along. You manage all of them from the Channels tab in the admin console, which is split into two sections: Client Channels and Service Channels. Together, they connect the people starting conversations (your clients) with the people answering them (your team).

Client Channels vs. Service Channels

Client Channels are where your customers access CloudRadial Chat. They are external-facing and can be deployed to your CloudRadial UCP, a Web Widget on your site, Microsoft Teams, or Slack. Each can carry its own branding, ticket routing, and live chat hours.

• Read more specific details on Client Channels in this article.

Service Channels are where your support team receives and responds to chats. They are internal-facing and are delivered through Microsoft Teams or Slack, so your techs can handle conversations in the tools they already use.

• Read more specific details on Service Channels in this article.

In short: a client channel is how a conversation comes in, and a service channel is where your team picks it up.

Channels by Plan

• Additional channels are $65/mo each on the paid plans. 

• Please see the Chat pricing page on our website for the most up-to-date pricing and entitlements.

Note that on ChatAI Professional and Enterprise, you can enable AI responses per client channel, mixing AI-powered and standard channels as needed; Chat Starter cannot enable AI. 

Managing and Deactivating Channels

From the channel list you can open any channel to see its details and configuration. Each channel also has an Active toggle on the right. Switching a channel off disables communication over it immediately. 

For a Web channel, deactivating it hides the chatbox from any site where the HTML snippet was added.