Omnichannel Messaging

Overview

Virtual-Call Cloud PBX includes an Omnichannel Messaging feature that lets businesses communicate with customers through multiple digital channels from a single platform. Instead of managing separate apps for each channel, agents handle all incoming and outgoing messages directly in the Virtual-Call UC Client — alongside their regular phone calls.

Supported Channels

The following digital messaging channels are available in Virtual-Call Cloud PBX:

• SMS – Send and receive text messages with customers on their mobile phones using a business number. Supports text and multimedia messages (MMS).
• WhatsApp – Communicate with customers via WhatsApp Business. Supports text, media, and approved message templates for outbound campaigns.
• Facebook Messenger – Handle customer messages sent via your Facebook Page directly in the UC Client.
• Live Chat – Embed a chat widget on your website to receive and respond to customer chat sessions in real time.

All channels appear under Messaging > Message Channel in the PBX web portal, where you can view channel status and message statistics.

How Messaging Works

When a customer sends a message through any connected channel, the PBX routes the message to the configured destination — either a specific extension or a message queue shared by a group of agents. The agent receives the message in the Chat > External Chat section of the Virtual-Call UC Client and can respond directly from there.

Key capabilities for agents:

• Receive and reply to messages from all channels in one inbox
• Pick up sessions from a shared queue
• Transfer a conversation to another agent or queue
• Escalate from chat to a voice call with one tap
• Archive or close sessions when resolved

Message Queues

A message queue is a group of agents that shares incoming messages from one or more channels. When a new message arrives, agents in the queue can see and respond to it. Message queues work similarly to call queues but for digital messages.

Create a Message Queue

1. Go to Messaging > Message Queue.
2. Click Add.
3. Enter a Name for the queue.
4. Select the Chat Assignment Mode:
   • Manual Pickup – All agents can see incoming messages. An agent must manually click Pick Up to take ownership of the session.
   • Auto-Pickup – All agents can see messages. The first agent to reply is automatically assigned the session.
   • Disable Pickup – All agents can view and reply to messages. Sessions cannot be picked up (no exclusive ownership).
5. In the Agents section, move the desired extensions from the Available box to the Selected box.
6. Click Save.

Once the queue is created, set it as the inbound message destination for the relevant channel number under Messaging > Message Channel > Messaging Settings.

Message Campaigns

Message campaigns let you send a single message to a large group of contacts at once — useful for marketing, notifications, or reminders. Campaigns are supported for SMS and WhatsApp channels.

Create a Campaign

1. Go to Messaging > Message Campaign and click Add.
2. Fill in the basic settings: campaign name, message channel, and sender number.
3. Add recipients using one of these methods:
   • Manual entry – Type phone numbers in E.164 format (e.g., +41791234567).
   • CSV import – Upload a UTF-8 CSV file (max. 50 MB, up to 1,000 contacts).
   • PBX Phonebook – Use an existing phonebook stored in the PBX.
4. Compose the message:
   • For SMS: Enter text (up to 1,600 characters) or attach a multimedia file.
   • For WhatsApp: Select a pre-approved WhatsApp message template.
5. Set the sending time: Send Now, Schedule Sending, or Save as Draft.
6. Optionally, configure the send mode to automatically create sessions for replies and assign them to an extension or message queue.
7. Click Save.

External Chat Logs

All messaging sessions are logged in the PBX. You can review, manage, and download chat histories from Reports and Recordings > External Chat Logs.

View and Manage Chat Logs

1. Go to Reports and Recordings > External Chat Logs.
2. Use the filters (time range, channel type, etc.) to find specific sessions.
3. For each session, you can:
   • View the full chat history
   • Check the session operation log (session created, transferred, picked up, closed)
   • Delete individual messages or entire sessions

Download Chat Logs

1. Go to Reports and Recordings > External Chat Logs.
2. To download all logs, click Download > All Chat Logs.
3. To download filtered logs, first apply filters, then click Download > Download Filtered Chat Logs.

The downloaded archive contains two CSV files: one with session-level information, and one with the detailed message history for each session.

Agent: Handling Messages in the UC Client

Agents handle all incoming messages in the Chat > External Chat section of the Virtual-Call UC Client. The UC Client is available on web browser, desktop (Windows/macOS), and mobile (iOS/Android).

Common Agent Actions

• Pick up a session – When a queue receives a new message, agents in the queue can see it. Click or tap Pick Up to take exclusive ownership.
• Reply to messages – Type and send responses directly in the chat window.
• Transfer a session – Hand off the conversation to another agent or message queue (including the full chat history).
• Start a call – Escalate a chat to a voice call directly from the session view.
• Add to Contacts – Save the customer's details to the PBX phonebook from the session.
• Archive a session – Move an inactive session to the Archived list for later reference.
• Close a session – Mark the session as resolved. The next message from the customer will start a new session.