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Updated September 30, 2026

Channels overview

Overview

Channels connect AtomicX Chat to the messaging apps your team and your customers already use. The chat widget on your website is always available. Channels add other places where conversations can show up, so your team can follow and answer them without living in the Admin console.

Today you can connect Slack and Twilio SMS. WhatsApp and Telegram show as Coming soon. See SMS and WhatsApp to connect a texting number.

You manage every channel from Chat → Channels. Anyone with the Owner, Admin, or User role can open this page.

How a channel works with your workflows

Your workflows still decide how the AI answers visitors. A channel doesn't replace a workflow. It gives your team another place to see and answer conversations:

  • With Slack Widget Sync turned on, each new widget conversation is posted as a thread in the Slack channel you choose. The workflow your widget uses keeps answering the visitor, and everyone in that Slack channel can read along.

  • When a teammate replies in the Slack thread, or clicks Take Over, the conversation switches to a human. From then on, replies typed in Slack go straight to the visitor's chat window.

  • If a workflow reaches a Handoff node, the conversation's Slack thread switches to human mode automatically, so your team can reply from Slack.

The Configure window has a Default Workflow setting for every channel. For Slack it also has two optional routing settings:

  • Default Workflow: a list of your workflows. Conversations that start in Slack are linked to the widget configuration that runs the workflow you pick. Messages sent to the app from Slack get an automatic acknowledgment, not an AI answer.
  • Monitored Channels: the Slack channel IDs the app listens to. Leave it empty to listen to every channel the app has been invited to. Direct messages and the Widget Sync channel are always included.

Steps

Review your connected channels

  1. Go to Chat → Channels.
  2. Each connection has its own card, showing:
    • The connection name and provider (for example, Slack).
    • A status badge: Active means it's working. PendingSetup means the connection was started but never approved in Slack. NeedsReauth, Revoked, or Error means you need to reconnect.
    • The Slack team (or, for SMS, the phone Number) it's linked to, the date it was connected, and when the last message came in.
  3. If you haven't added a channel yet, the page shows No channel connections. Click Add Your First Channel to start.

Add a channel

  1. Click Add Channel at the top of the page.
  2. In Add Channel Connection, pick the platform you want.
  3. Follow the setup guide that opens. For Slack, see Slack integration. For Twilio SMS, see SMS and WhatsApp.

Change a channel's settings

  1. On the channel's card, click Configure.
  2. Change the settings you need, then click Save Configuration.
  3. You'll see Configuration saved successfully. at the top of the page.

If the card shows Complete OAuth instead of Configure, setup isn't finished yet. Click Complete OAuth to go back to Slack and approve the app.

Disconnect a channel

  1. On the channel's card, click Disconnect.
  2. Confirm by clicking Disconnect in the Disconnect Channel window.

This stops all message processing for that channel right away. Threads and messages you already have are kept.

Tips

  • Set up and test your widget workflow before you connect a channel. A channel only passes along what your workflow does. See Workflow builder basics.
  • If a card shows Error or NeedsReauth, disconnect it and add the channel again. That's the quickest way to get it working.
  • Conversations your team takes over also appear in the Admin console. See Live monitor and human handoff.
  • You'll also find a Slack card on the Integrations page. It links back here, so both paths take you to the same place.
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