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A channel is a way for customers to reach you. Until you connect one, your inbox has nothing to show. This page helps you pick the first one and get it working.

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Which channel should you start with?

Telegram — fastest

About two minutes. You create a bot and paste one token. Best if you want to see Callivox working end to end today.

WhatsApp — most used

The channel most teams actually need. Quickest through Quick connect with Meta; the manual route takes longer.

Website widget — no provider

Style it, copy one line of HTML into your site, done. Nothing to approve, available on every plan.

Email — your support mailbox

Connect an existing mailbox with Microsoft, Google, or IMAP and SMTP details.
Facebook Messenger and Instagram are also available — see Facebook and Instagram.
Which channel types you can connect depends on your plan. If a type is missing or refuses to connect, check Settings → Billing. See Plans.

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Connect it

1

Open the channels page

Go to Settings → Channels and choose + Connect channel. During first-time setup, the wizard shows you the same dialog.
2

Pick the channel type

Choose a tile under Channel type. The dialog changes to ask for whatever that channel needs.
3

Read the setup guide

Every channel type has a Setup guide button that opens step-by-step instructions, the prerequisites, and links to the provider’s own documentation. If you are connecting a channel for the first time, open it — it tells you exactly where each value comes from.
4

Give it a display name

Display name is how the channel appears in your inbox and settings — for example “Support WhatsApp” or “Sales Telegram”. It is internal; customers never see it.
5

Finish the connection

Enter what the channel asks for and choose Connect. Some channels finish immediately. WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook connected with your own Meta app show you a Callback URL and a Verify Token to paste into Meta, and tell you which webhook fields to subscribe to.

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Check that it works

Send a message to your new channel from your own phone or account, then open the inbox. The message should appear as a new conversation, with a new contact created for you.
  • Chat channels are instant. If nothing arrives, re-check the connection.
  • Email is polled. Give it about a minute, and remember that only mail arriving after you connected is imported.

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Decide who answers

A newly connected channel does not answer on its own. Each channel row has an AI auto-reply toggle:
  • Off — your team answers everything. This is the safe place to start.
  • On — the AI agent bound to that channel replies first.
Leave it off until you have created an agent and tested its replies. See Creating an agent.

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What is next

All channel types

What each channel needs, and how to manage them once connected.

Work the inbox

Reply, assign, tag and close conversations as a team.