Handle SMS in CXone Agent

You can handle SMS (text messages) in CXone Agent if your administrator has enabled them for you. Any SMS assigned to you appear in the Interactions Menu, marked by the SMS icon: a smartphone..

Send Outbound SMS

To send outbound SMS, your administrator must configure this for you.

  1. Launch CXone Agent and sign in.

  2. In the Interactions Menu, click New Outbound icon of a person with a plus sign..

  3. In the search bar in the Directory, enter the name or phone number of the contactClosed The person interacting with an agent, IVR, or bot in your contact center. you want to send an SMS to.

    Phone numbers should be in this format: + [country code] [phone number including area code]. They can be a maximum of 15 digits. If you're dialing an extension, they can be 17 digits.

    You can use the drop-down below the search bar to switch between directories. To view all Directory entries, make sure All is selected in the drop-down. Then click in the search bar, leave it empty, and press the Enter key on your keyboard.

  4. Click the contact's name in search results. Click Channels, then click SMS icon of a smartphone..

  5. Draft your message in the response field at the bottom. You can Attach files icon of a paper clip. or insert an Emoji icon of a smiley face.. You can copy and paste images to include them as attachments. You cannot resize them.

  6. Click Send Message.

    1. Click the arrow next to Send Message icon of a white arrow pointing down on a blue background. and select an approval queue. Someone assigned to that queue will review your message.

      A message draft appears in the text box. The cursor hovers over the Demo Chat queue. The Request Approval button appears below.

    2. Click Request Approval.

    The message is removed from your inbox and delivered to a reviewer. If the reviewer approves your message, it will be sent to the contact. If they reject it, it will be sent back to you.

Answer Inbound SMS

If you reply to an interaction that isn't assigned to you, CXone Agent does not automatically assign it to you. You can reply to the interaction even when it's unassigned. Interactions are assigned to you if they are routed to you or transferred to you. You can also manually assign the interaction to yourself.

  1. Launch CXone Agent and sign in.

  2. Select the inbound SMS (marked by the icon of a smartphone) from the Interactions Menu.
  3. If Reject and Accept appear, click Accept.
  4. Read the contact's message in the Interaction Space.
  5. Draft your response in the response field at the bottom. You can Attach files icon of a paper clip. or insert an Emoji icon of a smiley face.. You can copy and paste images to include them as attachments. You cannot resize them.

  6. Click Send Message.

    1. Click the arrow next to Send Message icon of a white arrow pointing down on a blue background. and select an approval queue. Someone assigned to that queue will review your message.

      A message draft appears in the text box. The cursor hovers over the Demo Chat queue. The Request Approval button appears below.

    2. Click Request Approval.

    The message is removed from your inbox and delivered to a reviewer. If the reviewer approves your message, it will be sent to the contact. If they reject it, it will be sent back to you.

Transfer SMS

You can transfer SMS to other agents. If you don't know who to transfer the SMS to, you can transfer it to a skillClosed Used to automate delivery of interactions based on agent skills, abilities, and knowledge or team. The SMS is then assigned to an agent with that skill or team.

  1. Select the SMS you want to transfer from the Interactions Menu.
  2. Assign the SMS a Status of New or Open. If the SMS has a different status, it cannot be transferred.
  3. Click Consult / Transfer icon of a person with a right arrow..
  4. In the Directory, search for the agent, skill, or team you want to transfer the SMS to. You can use the drop-down below the search bar to switch between directories.
  5. Hover over the agent, skill, or team in the search results and click Transfer icon with two arrows, one pointing right and one pointing left..

Elevate SMS

You can elevate an SMS to another channelClosed A way for contacts to interact with agents or bots. A channel can be voice, email, chat, social media, and so on.. This allows you to select the best channel for handling the contact. For example, if you could better assist a contact over the phone, you can elevate the SMS to a call. You can elevate to these channels:

Current interaction channel Can elevate to
Chat Voice Email SMS WhatsApp
Email Voice   SMS WhatsApp
SMS Voice Email SMS WhatsApp
Private Social Voice Email SMS WhatsApp
Public Social Voice Email SMS WhatsApp
WhatsApp Voice Email SMS  

You cannot elevate interactions with a statusClosed Result assigned by the agent or system at the end of a voice (disposition) or digital (status) interaction. of Closed. Do not elevate interactions when you're in an unavailable stateClosed The availability status of an agent.

  1. Click Add Outbound icon of a plus sign in a gray box. at the top of the Interaction Space.

  2. Enter the contact's ID for the channelClosed A way for contacts to interact with agents or bots. A channel can be voice, email, chat, social media, and so on. you want to elevate to. For example, if you're elevating the SMS to email, enter the contact's email address.

  3. Select the channel you want to elevate to.

  4. Select a skillClosed Used to automate delivery of interactions based on agent skills, abilities, and knowledge from the drop-down if it appears.

    Add Outbound has been clicked. In the pop-up that appears, the agent has entered an email and selected a skill.

  5. Click Start. The elevation starts. It appears as a new tab at the top of the Interaction Space. If you elevated the SMS to a call, the voice control panel appears. Instead of the original channel's icon, the elevated icon icon of one dot branching out into three dots. appears.

    A new tab for the outbound email appears in the interaction space.

Send SMS Transcripts to Contacts

You can send the full transcript of an SMS interaction to the contact's email address. Transcripts can only be sent to one email address at a time. Only text and inline images will be included in the transcript. Attachments, hyperlinks, notes, and tags will not be included.

  1. Click Options icon of three dots stacked vertically. at the top right of the open email.

  2. Select Send Transcript.

  3. In the pop-up that appears, enter the contact's email address.

  4. Click Send.

Use Quick Responses

Quick responses are pre-written replies you can select and send to contacts. Some quick responses have custom fields where you can enter values, such as the contact's name.

  1. Open an interaction in CXone Agent.
  2. In the app space on the right, click Quick Responses icon, a lightning bolt..
  3. Select the quick response you want to use:
    • From the list of quick responses that appears under the View All tab.
    • By searching for a specific quick response using the Search bar.
    • From the Favorites tab.
  4. You can click Favorite icon, a star. to the right of the quick response name to have it appear on the Favorites tab.
  5. In the quick response form, fill in any custom fields, and click Insert.
    Quick Responses in the App Space. Shows a quick reply and an Insert button.
    The quick response appears in the response field in the Interaction Space. 
  6. Edit the quick response if necessary, then click Send Message.

Add Notes and Tags

You can add notes and tags to individual SMS messages. Contacts cannot see notes and tags, but other people in your organization can.

Add a Note

You can add a note to a message to:

  • Record information about the contact. If the interaction is transferred to another agent, your note can help them handle the interaction.

  • Give your supervisor, manager, or coach context about a response you sent.

  1. Click Add Notes Icon of a clipboard. under the response field in the Interaction Space.

  2. In the yellow Note box that appears, enter your note.

    A yellow box labeled Note has a text box and buttons for Save and Cancel. The name of the agent who wrote the note appears above it.

  3. Click Save.

Add a Tag

You can add a tag to a message to:

  • Help you find that message later.

  • Categorize the message.

  1. Click Add Tags Icon of a thick arrow with a plus sign inside. next to the contact's name in the message.

  2. Click + Add New.

    A window appears that says Click add to add first tag. It displays a button that says + Add New.

  3. Select a tag from the drop-down list, or create a new tag by entering a name.

View Response Timers

If your CXone Agent administrator has enabled them, response timers for SMS messages display in the Interactions Menu. There are two types of response timers:

  • Agent Timer: Indicates how long the contact has been waiting on you to respond. When fifty percent of your allotted time is left, the alert icon of an exclamation point inside a yellow triangle. appears in yellow. When the timer reaches 0:00, the alert icon of an exclamation point inside a red triangle. appears in red.

    Below the contact's name and the skill, the box says Agent Timer, with the timer next to it.

  • Customer Timer: Indicates how long you've been waiting for the contact to respond.

    Below the contact's name and the skill, the box says Customer Timer, with the timer next to it.

    When fifty percent of the contact's allotted time is left, the alert icon of an exclamation point inside a yellow triangle. appears in yellow. You can give the contact more time to respond by clicking +Time, if your administrator has enabled this for you. When the timer runs out, the interaction is removed from your inbox. If the contact responds after this, the interaction is re-assigned to an agent.

    The yellow alert icon appears, and the text Customer Timer turns yellow.

Use the Customer Card

If your administrator has enabled it for you, the customer card provides information to help you handle contacts. When you have an interaction open, the customer card for the contact appears in the app space on the right.

Translate SMS

If the contact speaks a different language, CXone Agent can translate their messages into your language in real time. It displays both the contact's original message and the translation. It can also translate your messages into the contact's language. The contact does not see your original message, but is informed that your message is translated.

Your administrator must enable this for you.

  1. Click Options icon of three dots stacked vertically. at the top right of the open interaction.

  2. Select Translate Messages.

  3. In the Customer Language drop-down, select the contact's language. Select your language in the My Language drop-down.

  4. To translate the contact's messages into your language, select Translate Customer Messages.

  5. To translate your messages into the contact's language, select Translate My Replies.

    The Translation Options pop-up, with fields for Customer Language, My Language, Translate Customer Messages, and Translate My Replies.

  6. Click Apply. A notification appears above the response field, letting you know messages are being translated.

Delete SMS Content or Author Name

You can delete the content of inbound and outbound SMS messages. You can also delete the name of the author of inbound SMS messages. Like masking a call, this allows you to hide sensitive information, such as account numbers and personal ID numbers. When you delete an author name, it is replaced with "Anonymous." When you delete content, it is replaced with "Content Deleted." Contacts can still see any content and author names you delete. If the interaction is transferred, deleted content and author names do not appear to the next agent.

Your administrator must enable this for you.

  1. Click Options Icon of three vertical stacked dots. next to the specific SMS message.

  2. To delete the content of the SMS message, click Delete Content.

  3. To delete the name of the author of the SMS message, click Delete Author Name.

  4. In the pop-up that appears, click Delete.

Assign Statuses to SMS

In the Outcomes window, you can assign a statusClosed Result assigned by the agent or system at the end of a voice (disposition) or digital (status) interaction. to an interaction. Statuses indicate the result of the interaction. For example, if you answered a contact's question, you could select Resolved. Note that:

  • You cannot change an interaction's status after it's set to Closed.

  • In order to edit the Status, Disposition, Notes, and Tags of an interaction, it must be assigned to you. If you are previewing an interaction, you cannot edit those fields.

  • You may need to assign a status to an interaction before you can close it.

The Outcomes window shows the contact's name, a drop-down for Status, and a Save button. It may also show fields for Disposition, Tags, and Notes.

  1. Open an interaction that is assigned to you. Click Outcome icon of a check mark inside a circle with a blue border. in the Interactions Menu.

  2. Select a Status from the drop-down.
  3. If the Disposition field appears, select a disposition. These options depend on the skillClosed Used to automate delivery of interactions based on agent skills, abilities, and knowledge for the interaction.
  4. You can enter Notes about the interaction. You can also add Tags to help you find the interaction later.
  5. Click Save.

A green check mark will appear next to interactions marked with a status of Resolved.

Close SMS

When you're done handling an interaction, you should close it. Your administrator configures the maximum number of SMS interactions you can have in your inbox. If you reach that number, you cannot receive new SMS interactions. This includes SMS interactions automatically routed to you. For example, if your administrator has set the maximum number to 3, and you have three SMS interactions in your inbox, you cannot receive new SMS interactions.

If your administrator has configured this, SMS interactions are automatically dismissed from your inbox when you mark them as Resolved or Closed. This happens after a certain amount of time your administrator configures.

You can manually close an interaction by following these steps:

  1. Assign the SMS a status of Resolved or Closed.

  2. Click Options icon of three dots stacked vertically. at the top right of the open interaction.

    The More icon, three vertical dots, is clicked. A drop-down appears with options. The cursor hovers over the option for Unassign and Dismiss.
  3. Select Unassign & Dismiss. The interaction is then closed and removed from your Interactions Menu.