Set up Live Chat by activating the feature, provisioning a bidirectional sender, inviting agents, and choosing how end users reach an agent.

Before you use Live Chat, complete these prerequisites:

1. Activate the Live Chat module: Contact the support team to enable Live Chat for your Workspace.

   The support team will ask whether you want to use an existing bidirectional (MT/MO) SMS or WhatsApp sender, or provision a new one. They will also ask how many agents you want to add to Live Chat.

2. Invite agents: Send email invitations to the agents who will assist customers.

3. Choose how users reach Live Chat: After activation, choose one of these routing options:

   • Chatbot campaign configuration: Configure an interactive chatbot campaign that redirects users to a Live Chat agent. The chatbot, user, and agent communicate through the same channel and sender.
   • Direct Live Chat connection: In Channel Management, designate the enabled sender for Live Chat. This lets end users connect directly with an agent without a chatbot configuration.

Activate Live Chat feature

Contact the support team to enable Live Chat from the Communications Platform.

Provide the Workspace name where you want to activate Live Chat and the total number of agents who will be available.

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NOTE

To review the channel requirements for Live Chat, see Live Chat Access Conditions and User Engagement.

After the support team enables Live Chat, access it at https://livechat.messangi.com/.

Only admins can access the Live Chat feature from the Communications Platform.

Provision a sender

Live Chat supports two delivery channels: SMS and WhatsApp. End users can communicate through either channel, depending on the sender configured for the Workspace.

When you configure senders on Communications Platform, either request a new sender or use an existing sender.

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NOTE

Consider the following key points when requesting or using an existing sender:

• Senders are available for interactive and messaging campaigns. They are not assigned exclusively to a specific campaign or to Live Chat by default.
• The end user, chatbot, and agent communicate through the same channel and sender.

Request a new sender

To set up an SMS or WhatsApp channel, request a bidirectional sender from the support team.

The sender must support both Mobile Terminated (MT) and Mobile Originated (MO) messages. MT messages are sent to the end user, and MO messages are received from the end user.

• For SMS, a sender is the source address of the message. This can be a phone number, shortcode (1 to 6 digits), or longcode (7 or more digits) that appears on the recipient's device.
• For WhatsApp, a sender is the phone number used to send and receive WhatsApp messages between your business and customers.

The support team will help configure the sender and make it available for Live Chat.

After the sender is configured, it appears in the Channel Management section of the Communications Platform. Use Channel Management to view and manage the sender settings.

Use an existing sender

If the Workspace already has an active, bidirectional (MT/MO) SMS or WhatsApp sender, that sender appears in the Communications Platform Workspace and in Live Chat.

After Live Chat is enabled, choose how the sender routes users:

• Configure a chatbot that guides the end user to a Live Chat agent.
• Connect users directly to a Live Chat agent without a chatbot.

Choose the option that matches your expected conversation volume and the complexity of user inquiries.

Send invitations to agents

After Live Chat is enabled, invite the agents who will assist customers.

You can add agents in either of these ways:

• Provide the support team with each agent's name, email address, and phone number.
• Send invitations from the Communications Platform.

To send invitations from the Communications Platform, go to Preferences, click the Users tab, and select Invite User.

In the invitation form, enter each agent's personal information: name, email, phone number, and role.

To invite another agent, select Add More.

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NOTE

You can send invitations only for the number of agents requested during Live Chat activation. To increase the number of agents, contact the support team.

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NOTE

For each agent you want to invite, select Agent from the Role dropdown menu. A counter appears on the right side of the form and shows the number of remaining agent invitations. The counter decreases each time you add an agent.

After you finish adding agents, you cannot add more unless you ask the support team to increase the number of Live Chat agents.

Click Send to send the invitations. Each agent who accepts the invitation appears in the Active Members table.

With either invitation method, agents receive an email notification that assigns them as an agent for a Workspace.

The agent selects Complete Account Registration, enters the email address that received the invitation, and sets a password for Live Chat.

After the agent clicks Sign up, the agent is redirected to the Live Chat platform.

After Live Chat is activated, the support team provides the URL https://livechat.messangi.com/ for direct access. As an admin, open the URL in your browser and enter the email and password you use to log in to the Workspace to access Live Chat.

The Live Chat feature icon is also enabled on the Communications Platform.

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NOTE

• Only the admin can access Live Chat and the Communications Platform simultaneously.
• Agents cannot access the Communications Platform; they can access only Live Chat.
• The admin can use the same credentials used for the Workspace to log in to Live Chat.
• Agents do not have access to the Dashboard and Preferences sections.

Live Chat connection and user engagement

After Live Chat is activated, choose how end users reach a Live Chat agent.

1. End users can reach an agent in two ways:

   • Create and configure a chatbot campaign that redirects the end user to an agent.

     

     To set up a chatbot campaign and integrate it with Live Chat, see Integrate Chatbot with Live Chat.

   • Enable a bidirectional SMS or WhatsApp sender for exclusive Live Chat use. This lets the end user engage directly with an agent without a chatbot, and every incoming message is redirected to Live Chat.

     

     To activate the Live Chat option for a sender, see Live Chat Connection.

2. Channels are configured at the platform level. During Workspace configuration, tell the support team which channel types you want to include. These channels are available for interactive and messaging campaigns; they are not assigned exclusively to a specific campaign or to Live Chat by default.

   Live Chat supports SMS and WhatsApp. Each channel must support bidirectional (MT/MO) communication.

   For example, when you configure a chatbot campaign, the Delivery Channels section lets you choose the channel type (SMS or WhatsApp) and sender through which the end user will communicate with the chatbot and the Live Chat agent. The end user, chatbot, and agent communicate through the same channel and sender.

3. You cannot trigger Live Chat directly through keywords. To initiate Live Chat with keywords, first set up a chatbot campaign. In the "Delivery Channels" section, enter the keywords that trigger the chatbot. Then, in the "Interactions" section of the chatbot flow, specify the keyword that redirects the user to a Live Chat agent.

   

Example setup for Live Chat

This example shows how to set up Live Chat with a bidirectional WhatsApp sender assigned to a Workspace. The sender acts as the communication link between the end user, chatbot, and agent.

In this example, the admin asks the support team to activate Live Chat in the "Orders" Workspace. The admin specifies that they want to use the existing bidirectional WhatsApp sender "5500112233" in the "Orders" Workspace and add 10 agents to Live Chat.

1. Request Live Chat activation

   Ask the support team to activate Live Chat for the “Orders” Workspace.

2. Choose the sender configuration

   The support team asks whether you want to set up a new SMS or WhatsApp sender or continue using an existing bidirectional WhatsApp sender. In this example, the existing sender ID is 5500112233, and it is already active in the "Orders" Workspace.

3. Specify agent details

   Confirm that you want to use the existing sender and add 10 agents to Live Chat. Provide each agent's name, email address, and phone number.

   The support team adds the agents, sends invitations, and provides a link that the admin can use to access Live Chat with the same credentials used for the Workspace.

4. Onboard agents

   Agents receive an email invitation with a link to the Live Chat platform. Each agent uses that link to configure their Live Chat credentials.

After these conditions are complete, the admin can direct users to a Live Chat agent in two ways:

• Set up a chatbot that redirects to a Live Chat agent.

  In this example, the end user, chatbot, and agent communicate through WhatsApp with sender ID “5500112233”. Because no new sender was requested, the existing sender from the “Orders” Workspace is used. The keyword “Help Package” triggers the chatbot.

• Connect the end user directly to an agent without setting up a chatbot first.

  In this example, WhatsApp sender ID “5500112233” is selected exclusively for Live Chat in Channel Management.