Channel interfaces

Conversational Channels help organizations reach additional users. With conversational Channels, application users can interact with a Pega Platform application to obtain help, request a service, and report or solve an issue by using the following digital Channels:

• Facebook Messenger
• WhatsApp Messenger
• Apple Messages for business
• SMS/MMS (Twilio)
• Embedded chat window
• Agentic email
• Email

The Channels landing page allows you to create, view, and edit all types of Channel interfaces. You can download new components from Pega Marketplace as well. 

The following are examples of channels you can create:

1. Portal: The Portal Channel provides a way for you to create a Channel interface from templates that include predefined layouts and navigation. Pega Platform has one default Portal — the Web portal.
2. Web Embed: The Web Embed Channel provides a way for you to embed part of your Pega Platform content in another application as HTML.
3. Mobile: The Mobile Channel allows you to build a mobile app for an instance of a Pega Platform application that users can download and install on an Android or iOS device.
4. Digital Messaging: The Digital Messaging Channel provides a way for users to interact with your Pega Platform application through multiple preferred digital Channels: Apple Messages for Business, Facebook Messenger, social media, SMS texting, live chat, and email. For example, users can navigate self-service options, such as business hours, with a virtual assistant, then transfer the existing conversation (and user account information) to a live agent if necessary.
5. Email: The Email Channel provides a way for users to use email to create a Case.
6. Agentic Email: The Agentic Email bot offers improved email comprehension by analyzing the subject line, attachments, and body content, or any of these elements collectively. By using the entire email context, the system generates more accurate suggestions and responses, enhancing communication efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Users have different needs that align with the roles they play within the Case Management process. To improve their experience, you can design a web interface that provides them with the information and functionalities they need, but hides options that are not relevant to their role. This method contributes to a cleaner user interface and makes navigation quicker and more convenient.

To ensure that the participants of your Microjourney® interact with your application in the most relevant way, create draft relationships between Personas and Channels in the Case Lifecycle. When you associate Personas with Channels, you clearly visualize what means of communication your development team needs to implement to deliver an efficient and flexible application. You can associate a Persona with multiple Channels, and then assign the Channels to different releases, such as MLP1.

For example, for a hiring process, you can associate an HR worker with a Web Channel and a mobile Channel. In the first release of your application, the HR worker can process Cases by using a Web Portal. In the second release, the HR worker can then also work on a mobile device. In the following image, a Case Lifecycle displays the HR worker Persona with a list of associated Channels:

By defining different types of  Channel access, you can monitor the actions that your team performs. For example, you can ensure that only the Personas that represent managers can access the Manager Portal by assigning the Manager Persona when configuring the Portal.

Check your knowledge with the following interaction: