Digital Channels

NiCE CXone supports channels Various voice and digital communication mediums that facilitate customer interactions in a contact center. for SMS (text) messaging, chat, and email as well as messaging channels and social channels. You can add channels to NiCE CXone when you want your organization to communicate with contacts using a particular communication method.

In NiCE CXone, channels are set up as points of contact (POC). You can configure each POC to define how interactions The full conversation with an agent through a channel. For example, an interaction can be a voice call, email, chat, or social media conversation. associated with that channel are handled in the platform. Unlike other channels in NiCE CXone, all digital channels use the same media type (digital).

To set up a new POC, you need to have a digital ACD skill and a Studio script to set as the default. They are only the starting point for each interaction. The script can change which skill an interaction ultimately uses to request an agent.

The steps to add a channel are different for every type of channel. Some of these you can set up on your own, some require assistance from your NiCE CXone account manager, and some must be configured by your Digital Experience (DX) team. For specifics, see the setup topic for the channel you want to add:

Additionally, you can use Bring Your Own Channel to integrate any messaging platform NiCE CXone doesn't offer natively.

Each messaging session has a total limit of 200 messages. If the agent and the contact exchange more than 200 messages, the chat closes automatically. This may prevent end-of-chat actions from happening. For example, WFA jobs may not get triggered, surveys or forms may not get shared, or APIs may fail to pass chat data to third-party platforms like a CRM Third-party systems that manage such things as contacts, sales information, support details, and case histories.. This applies to all types of messaging channels.

Digital vs ACD Channels

In NiCE CXone, you have digital channels and ACD channels. Voice and work items Customizable method of delivering contacts to an agent via Studio scripts. are ACD channels, but there are also some legacy ACD channels for email, chat, and SMS. Legacy chat, email, and SMS channels are not the same as digital chat, email , and SMS channels.

The following table provides a basic break down of the differences between these types of channels.

Feature	Digital Channel	ACD Channel
Contacts	Contacts are the people your agents interact with. Digital contacts are contacts that enter the system through a digital channel. They are created immediately upon initiation. For manual outbound, this occurs at the draft stage (clicking +New), matching the behavior of ACD voice contacts. There are small technical differences between digital and ACD contacts.	Contacts that come into your system through non-digital channels are ACD contacts, often simply called contacts. You can learn more about this type of contact.
ACD Skills	ACD skills created with the type of Digital.	All non-digital ACD skills
Points of Contact (POC)	Digital channels are points of contact (POC) between contacts and your organization. All digital channels use the same POC type, digital. When you add a POC, you choose the digital channel it uses. To add a digital channel, you need to add a digital point of contact to NiCE CXone.	ACD channels are points of contact (POC) between contacts and your organization. There are different POC types for each ACD channel type, such as email, chat, and voice. To add an ACD channel, you need to create an ACD point of contact.
Studio Scripts	The digital script type is for all digital channels. There are minor differences that script developers need to consider when scripting for digital channels. After creating a channel, you can edit it to select one of your digital Studio scripts from a drop-down. This will apply to the routing for that channel.	All Studio script types, except digital, are for legacy ACD channels and contacts.
Studio Actions	Not all Studio actions are supported in digital scripts. Each action page lists its supported script types. Also, there are some digital-specific versions of some actions, like REQAGENT.	Most Studio actions can be used with ACD channels, although some actions are limited to certain script media types, such as email or chat.
Agents	Agents must use a supported agent application, have permissions for each channel they handle, and more. Learn more about these requirements.	Agents can handle contacts from any ACD channel, as long as they are assigned to the necessary ACD skills.

Proactive Digital Outbound

Proactive Digital allows you to send one-way digital Any channel, contact, or skill associated with Digital Experience (DX). messages to contacts in a calling list. Proactive Email can be agentless—that is, set up to use a standalone agentless Contacts made without a live agent for tasks such as one-way delivery of information or messages. ACD skill Used to automate delivery of interactions based on agent skills, abilities, and knowledge.. Alternatively, you can add Proactive Digital as part of the contact strategy on an agent skill.

You can use your existing text-based digital channels with Personal Connection for proactive digital outreach. If your organization has a digital channel that's not natively supported in NiCE CXone, you can integrate it using Bring Your Own Channel (BYOC) BYOCwith Proactive Digital channels.

Proactive Digital requires Personal Connection.

Add-On Features for Channels

Additional features for messaging channels Direct interactions using social media like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger and SMS, chat, and email allow you to meet more of your customers' needs. Channel features include:

Guide: This feature allows you to create and display entry points for digital messaging channels of your choice directly on your website. Adding these channels to your website makes it easy for customers to quickly access the resource they need.
Stripe Payments: This feature allows you to use digital channels to help customers complete payments. You can create an account with Stripe, an online payment processor, and connect it to a channel to send customers secure payment links.

This feature supports only basic use cases, so please ensure your requirements can be met when considering this feature. If you need more advanced payment platform options and expanded payment gateway support, use our DEVone partner Sycurio.
Appointment Scheduling: This feature allows you to set up an appointment scheduling service. Agents can use digital channels to send customers appointment scheduling requests.

This feature supports only basic use cases so please ensure your requirements can be met when considering this feature. For example, after customers schedule an appointment, you must manually coordinate scheduled appointments with agent availability or use a third-party scheduling tool to coordinate appointments with agent schedules.
Web Assistant: This feature allows you to map UI elements on your website. You can then create rules for your mapped elements to do things when a customer interacts with them. This uses the Workflow Automation functionality.
Additional Messaging Channel Features: There are several channel features that can be utilized in messaging channels Direct interactions using social media like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger and SMS, chat, and email. These features include the ability to set up appointment scheduling and payment processing, as well as create and display entry points for digital channels directly on your website.

Channel Support for Rich Media Content

The following table shows the types of rich content Elements in digital messaging such as buttons, images, menus, and option pickers. available for each digital channel and whether it can be displayed in the agent application or sent in messages by API integrations (such as by virtual agents A software application that handles customer interactions in place of a live human agent.).

Channels that aren't listed do not currently have rich content support. If you send rich content to contacts The person interacting with an agent, IVR, or bot in your contact center. on those channels, they receive the configured fallback text A plain text alternative sent when the destination doesn't support rich media. instead.

How you configure rich content depends on the type you want to send. Some rich content is configurable under Rich Message Settings, while other types are configurable under chat, email, Apple Messages for Business, and WhatsApp. You can also work with rich message content in Studio scripts.

	Adaptive Cards	Images	HTML & Markdown Text	Rich Link
Apple Messages for Business	Live Agents: No API: Uses fallback text	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: No API: No	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes
Digital Chat	Live Agents: No API: Yes	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: No API: Yes	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes
Email	Live Agents: No API: Uses fallback text	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: Uses fallback text API: Uses fallback text
Facebook Messenger	Live Agents: No API: Uses fallback text	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: No API: No	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes
WhatsApp	Live Agents: No API: Uses fallback text	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes
SMS Messaging	Live Agents: No API: Uses fallback text	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: No API: No	Live Agents: Uses fallback text API: Uses fallback text
Mobile SDK	Live Agents: No API: No	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: No API: No	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes

Live agents: supported in the agent application API: Supported for API-based use cases

	Quick Replies	List Picker	Time Picker	Form message
Apple Messages for Business	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes
Digital Chat	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: Uses fallback text API: Uses fallback text	Live Agents: Uses fallback text API: Varies * URL opens in browser where contacts can fill out the form.
Email	Live Agents: Uses fallback text API: Uses fallback text	Live Agents: Uses fallback text API: Uses fallback text	Live Agents: Uses fallback text API: Uses fallback text	Live Agents: Uses fallback text API: Uses fallback text
Facebook Messenger	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: Uses fallback text API: Uses fallback text	Live Agents: Uses fallback text API: Uses fallback text
WhatsApp	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: Uses fallback text API: Uses fallback text	Live Agents: Uses fallback text API: Uses fallback text
SMS Messaging	Live Agents: Uses fallback text API: Uses fallback text	Live Agents: Uses fallback text API: Uses fallback text	Live Agents: Uses fallback text API: Uses fallback text	Live Agents: Uses fallback text API: Uses fallback text
Mobile SDK	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: Yes API: Yes	Live Agents: No API: No	Live Agents: No API: No

Live agents: supported in the agent application API: Supported for API-based use cases

* The digital chat experience for form messages sent by virtual agent A software application that handles customer interactions in place of a live human agent. depends on the virtual agent provider you use. Sometimes the system sends a fallback URL. Other times, the message appears as a native form in the chat UI.

Requirements for Agent Handling of Digital Interactions

To handle digital interactions The full conversation with an agent through a channel. For example, an interaction can be a voice call, email, chat, or social media conversation., agents must:

Use either MAX or the Agent Workspace (Agent) suite. MAX supports all available digital channels. Channel support in the Agent Workspace (Agent) suite depending on the application you use. Review the details for the application your agents use to see which digital channels are supported.
Have the Digital Engagement attribute enabled in their NiCE CXone employee profile.
Have permissions assigned to their NiCE CXone role for that channel.
Be assigned to the routing queues or digital skills that are configured to route messages from that channel.