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Deploy your chatbot to different channels

To link a channel to your chatbot:

  1. Navigate to the Chatbot you wish to link to a channel.
  2. Click on the (plus) icon and select the channel from the dropdown.
  3. Complete the form and click Create.
  4. Follow the guide below to get the required information for your selected channel.

The channel you want is not shown in the dropdown

You may need to configure a messaging provider for the platform before you can select it from the dropdown. Not all channels require a messaging provider.

Supported Channels

Once a channel is linked, you can temporarily disable it without deleting its configuration.

Web

The web channel is OCS's built-in chat interface. It's enabled by default for every chatbot — there's no provider to configure and nothing to link. Embed it on your own website with the chat widget.

A public link gives your chatbot its own hosted chat page — share the link and anyone can chat, with no embedding required.

See the public link setup guide for how to add one, share and regenerate the link, and troubleshoot common issues.

Telegram

  1. Follow this guide to create a Telegram chatbot.
  2. Copy the chatbot token and paste it into the form on OCS. It will look something like this: 4839574812:AAFD39kkdpWt3ywyRZergyOLMaJhac60qc.

Note

Depending on your use case, you probably want to disable group joins for your chatbot on Telegram. Since your Telegram chatbot is public, anyone can add it to a group, which could result in significant costs. To achieve this, use the setjoingroups setting in BotFather.

WhatsApp

Open Chat Studio supports multiple WhatsApp providers. Choose the section below that matches the provider you have configured.

Twilio

When you create or edit a WhatsApp channel using a Twilio provider, Open Chat Studio automatically configures the webhook in your Twilio messaging service. When you delete the channel, the webhook is cleared automatically. You do not need to copy or paste any webhook URL.

Sandbox numbers and other exceptions

Automatic webhook configuration is not supported for Twilio sandbox numbers or in cases where OCS cannot reach the Twilio API. If auto-configuration fails, OCS will display manual setup instructions instead. Follow the steps in the Twilio webhook configuration guide and enter the following webhook URL in your messaging service settings:

https://openchatstudio.com/channels/whatsapp/incoming_message

Turn.io

Turn.io does not support automatic webhook configuration, so you set the webhook up by hand and paste the signing secret back into Open Chat Studio.

  1. In Open Chat Studio, save the WhatsApp channel. OCS then displays a message beginning "Use the following URL when setting up the webhook". Copy that URL.
  2. In your Turn.io account, go to Settings → API & Webhooks.
  3. Select Add a webhook and paste the URL from step 1.
  4. Copy the webhook's HMAC secret from the same Turn.io screen. If it does not have one yet, generate it there first.
  5. Back in Open Chat Studio, go to Team Settings → Integrations, filter by Messaging, edit the Turn.io provider, paste the value into Webhook HMAC Secret, and save.
  6. Send a test message on WhatsApp and confirm the chatbot replies.

Each chatbot has its own Turn.io webhook URL

A Turn.io webhook URL contains the chatbot's ID, so it is specific to a single chatbot. Always copy it from that chatbot's channel in OCS rather than typing it out or reusing one from another chatbot.

The HMAC secret is optional, but leaving it blank leaves the webhook unauthenticated

When the secret is set, OCS verifies the signature on every incoming webhook and rejects anything that does not match with a 401. When it is blank, the signature is not checked, which means anyone who knows the URL can send messages to your chatbot. Set it as soon as Turn.io is configured to sign.

Verification takes effect on the next request, so do step 6 straight away. Turn.io cancels its retries on a 4xx, so a mismatched secret loses messages rather than delaying them. If messages stop arriving, clear the Webhook HMAC Secret field and save: delivery resumes immediately while you re-check the value in Turn.io.

See the Turn.io setup guide for the full walkthrough, including provider setup and troubleshooting.

Meta Cloud API

Meta Cloud API connects your chatbot directly to the WhatsApp Business Platform without a third-party intermediary. The setup requires a Meta for Developers account and a WhatsApp Business Account.

See the Meta Cloud API setup guide for full step-by-step instructions.

Facebook Messenger

Note

It is assumed that you already have a Facebook page and a Twilio account with the Facebook page linked. Follow this guide if this is not the case.

  • Add the ID of your Facebook page.
  • After you submit the form, you will be provided with a webhook URL. Copy this URL and navigate back to your provider's settings to configure it with this URL.
    • For Twilio, edit your Facebook page settings and paste the URL into the "Webhook URL for incoming messages" field.

Slack

The Slack channel lets participants interact with your chatbot from Slack, either in specific channels, via keyword matching, or by mentioning the chatbot workspace-wide.

See the Slack channel guide for prerequisites, configuration options, and how chatbot mentions work.

Email

The email channel lets participants interact with your chatbot by sending and receiving emails, including routing, thread continuity, and file attachments.

See the Email channel guide for full setup and configuration details.

SureAdhere for secure In-App Messaging

  1. Enter the Tenant ID that was provided when you set up your SureAdhere account.
  2. After you submit the form, you will be provided with a webhook URL.
  3. Copy this URL and navigate back to your provider's settings to configure it with this URL.

API

Every chatbot can also be reached programmatically through the OCS APIs, which is useful for integrating with third-party systems or building custom front ends.