SMS, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Slack and Teams

Messaging channels bring the same answers as your widget to the apps customers and colleagues already use. Each question gets one engine run with your knowledge base, brand voice and confidence rules: confident answers (82% and up) are sent as plain text, anything else is offered to a person.

1. 1
   SMS

   Dashboard → Messaging → SMS: enter your Twilio Account SID, auth token and phone number, then copy the webhook URL shown into the number’s “A message comes in” setting in Twilio.
2. 2
   WhatsApp

   Set up a WhatsApp sender in Twilio (Messaging → Senders → WhatsApp senders), or use the Twilio sandbox to test. Enter the sender number, add the webhook URL, turn the channel on and send it a message.
3. 3
   Messenger

   Enter your Page ID, Page access token and App secret and save; a verify token appears. In Meta, under Messenger → Settings → Webhooks, add the callback URL and verify token, then subscribe the Page to messages and messaging_postbacks.
4. 4
   Instagram

   Your Instagram account must be a professional account linked to a Facebook Page. In your Meta app add Instagram messaging, generate a Page access token with instagram_basic, instagram_manage_messages and pages_manage_metadata, enter the Instagram account ID, token and app secret, then add the callback URL and verify token under Webhooks → Instagram (fields messages and messaging_postbacks). In the Instagram app, allow access to messages (Settings → Messages and story replies → Message controls).
5. 5
   Slack

   Click “Show Slack app manifest”, then at api.slack.com/apps choose Create New App → From a manifest and paste it. Install the app, copy the Bot User OAuth Token (xoxb-…) and the Signing Secret into TR-AI, save and click Check connection. Invite the bot to the channels it should work in.
6. 6
   Microsoft Teams

   Create an Azure Bot (multi-tenant, or single-tenant with your tenant ID), create a client secret for its app registration, set the bot’s messaging endpoint to the URL TR-AI shows and add the Microsoft Teams channel. Enter the App ID and secret in TR-AI, then download the Teams app manifest, zip it with two icons (color.png 192×192, outline.png 32×32) and upload it in Teams → Apps → Manage your apps.

How conversations work

• Long answers are split into parts (SMS 1,600 characters, WhatsApp 4,096, Messenger 2,000, Instagram 1,000, Slack and Teams 3,500). Markdown is removed; links stay as full URLs.
• Customers can type “agent”, “human” or “person”, or tap Messenger’s “Talk to a person”, to get a hand-off ticket with the transcript — in any of the 8 supported help desks, or by email when none is connected. TR-AI then stays quiet in that conversation for 24 hours or until the ticket is solved.
• STOP, START and HELP are honoured on SMS, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram. On SMS, Twilio answers these keywords itself.
• A conversation idle for more than 24 hours ends; the next message starts a new one (an opt-out carries over). A Slack or Teams channel thread stays one conversation for as long as it lives.
• TR-AI only replies to an incoming message, seconds later, so WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram replies always fall inside Meta’s and WhatsApp’s 24-hour customer-service window — no templates needed.
• Each conversation counts once toward your daily ticket cap; follow-up questions in it do not.
• Phone numbers are stored only as a keyed hash plus a masked display; the full number goes only into the hand-off ticket. Messenger, Instagram, Slack and Teams reply addresses are stored encrypted so proactive messages can reach them later.

Slack and Teams

• Slack: TR-AI answers @mentions and direct messages wherever the bot is, and every new message in the channels you list under “Answer every new message in these channels”. It always replies in the message’s thread.
• The person who asked can keep asking in the thread without mentioning the bot.
• A teammate taking over: as soon as anyone else replies in the thread — or reacts with the takeover emoji (default 👀 :eyes:) on the question or TR-AI’s reply — TR-AI stays out of that thread.
• Teams: TR-AI answers personal chats with the bot and messages that @mention it in channels and group chats; replies go back into the same conversation. Messages are verified with Microsoft’s signing keys, and replies only ever go to Microsoft’s service.
• Use Slack or Teams as an internal help desk too: point TR-AI at your IT or HR knowledge base and invite it to #it-help.