SupportPal Docs

Twilio Channel

The Twilio channel can process incoming SMS and WhatsApp messages to your phone numbers as tickets, as well as answer phone calls as they come in.

Contents

Activate or Deactivate Channel

The Twilio channel must be purchased from the marketplace before it can be used. To do this, go to Add-ons, click "Login" (if not currently logged in), follow the login steps, and then find the Twilio channel add-on, and click the "Purchase" button. The system will try to automatically take payment from your account and then install and activate the add-on if successful, or you may need to log in to your client area account to pay the invoice before the add-on may be installed.

Twilio Channel on Marketplace

Purchase Twilio Channel on Marketplace

The channel can be deactivated by going to Add-ons -> Channels, and clicking the "Deactivate" link on the Twilio channel row.

Creating an Account

Prerequisites

Before proceeding any further with this guide, please ensure you meet the following prerequisites:

SupportPal Setup

To configure a Twilio channel account in SupportPal:
  1. Visit Add-ons -> Channels in SupportPal and click on the "Settings" link on the Twilio channel row. If you're creating a new account click "Add Account", or if you're updating an existing account, search for it and click the edit (pencil) icon on the right side of the table row.
  2. Complete the input fields:
    1. Brand - Select the brand which the account belongs to. If the help desk only has one brand, this field will not be visible.
    2. Name - Enter a friendly name to identify the channel account.
    3. Active - Tickets will not be created when accounts are marked as inactive.
    4. Service
      • SMS - Jump ahead to Configuring SMS to learn how to fill out this section of the form.
      • Voice - Jump ahead to Configuring Voice to learn how to fill out this section of the form.
      • WhatsApp - Jump ahead to Configuring WhatsApp to learn how to fill out this section of the form.
    5. Default Department - Select the department in which incoming calls or messages to this account should be opened as tickets in.
    6. Default Priority - Select the priority with which tickets opened by this account are set as.
  3. Click the "Submit" button to finish.

Configuring SMS

To set up an account with the SMS service:

  1. Login to the Twilio account used when configuring the Twilio Integration.
  2. Click "Explore Products" in the Console (dashboard) sidebar.
    Explore Products
  3. Under Programmable communications, select "Messaging".
    Messaging Service
  4. Select "Services" in the sidebar.
    Services
  5. Click the "Create Messaging Service" button.
    Create Messaging Service
  6. Enter a name for the messaging service, for example "supportpal", and click "Create Messaging Service".
    Name your Messaging Service
  7. Click "Add Senders", leave the sender type as "Phone Number" and then continue. Here it is necessary to purchase a Twilio phone number, ensure to select a number with Voice and SMS capabilities at a minimum. Continue to step 3.
    Add Phone Numbers
  8. Create an integration webhook.
    1. Select "Send a webhook".
    2. Copy the URL shown in the SupportPal channel account settings into the Request URL and Fallback URL.
    3. Select "HTTP POST" for both.
    Add Webhook
  9. Click "Complete Messaging Service Setup" to complete the configuration.
  10. Enter the "Messaging Service SID" value into the "Messaging SID" text field in the SupportPal channel account settings.

Configuring Voice

To set up an account with the Voice service:

  1. Login to the Twilio account used when configuring the Twilio Integration.
  2. Click "Phone Numbers" in the Console (dashboard) sidebar, then "Manage" and then "TwiML apps".
    TwiML Apps
  3. Click the "+" icon.
    Add TwiML App
  4. Set a name for the app, and then click "show optional settings" for Voice. Copy the URL shown in the SupportPal channel account settings into the Request URL and Fallback URL. Click "Save".
    Create TwiML App
  5. The TwiML Apps page will load again, click on your new app to get the TwiML app SID.
    TwiML App Details
  6. Enter the SID into the "TwiML App SID" text field in the SupportPal channel account settings and also enter the Twilio phone number below it.
    Channel Account Settings
  7. Go to the "Active Numbers" page in Twilio under "Phone Numbers".
    Active Numbers
  8. Click on the relevant phone number, scroll down to the "Voice & Fax" section and set the "Configure With" to "TwiML App" and then select the app that you just created. Save the settings.
    TwiML App Configuration

Configuring WhatsApp

To set up an account with the WhatsApp service:

  1. Login to the Twilio account used when configuring the Twilio Integration.
  2. Click "Explore Products" in the Console (dashboard) sidebar.
    Explore Products
  3. Under Programmable communications, select "Messaging".
    Messaging Service
  4. Select "Services" in the sidebar.
    Services
  5. Click the "Create Messaging Service" button.
    Create Messaging Service
  6. Enter a name for the messaging service, for example "supportpal", and click "Create Messaging Service".
    Name your Messaging Service
  7. Click "Add Senders" and then select "WhatsApp Number" as your sender type, select the number that you want to add to this service. Continue to step 3.
    Whatsapp Number Sender
  8. Create an integration webhook.
    1. Select "Send a webhook".
    2. Copy the URL shown in the SupportPal channel account settings into the Request URL and Fallback URL.
    3. Select "HTTP POST" for both.
    Add Webhook
  9. Click "Complete Messaging Service Setup" to complete the configuration.
  10. Enter the phone number in the "Twilio WhatsApp Business Phone Number" text field in the SupportPal channel account settings.

Delete an Account

To delete an account, follow the below steps:

  1. Visit Add-ons -> Channels and click on the "Settings" link on the Twilio channel row.
  2. Search for the account you wish to delete.
  3. Click the delete (cross) icon located on the right of the table.
  4. Click on the left button ("Yes, I'm sure") that pops up confirming you would like to delete this account, and it will then be deleted.

Handling Incoming Phone Calls

Once you have successfully configured a voice account in the Twilio channel settings, you will see a popup in the bottom right of the screen in the operator panel.

Twilio Widget

Connecting and Disconnecting

You must connect to be able to listen for and answer calls, you can do this by clicking the round red button. Once connected, you will see a message that there is no call active. You will remain connected when navigating to another page or refreshing.

Twilio Widget Connected

To disconnect, click the round green button.

Answering Calls

When there is an incoming call, it will show the phone number/user making the call and the option to answer or reject.

Twilio Widget Incoming Call

Clicking the answer button will start the call, and you can speak in your microphone to talk to the user. The call can be ended up by using the hang-up button or if the user hangs up on their end.

Twilio Widget Answered Call

If no operator answers a call or the call is rejected, it will ask the user to leave a message which will then be opened as a ticket afterwards.

Troubleshooting

Use of HTTPS is required in order to access the microphone

Your system must have SSL enabled in order to answer calls.

No microphone found

You must have a microphone connected to your system to connect.

Microphone could not be used.

Permission may not be granted to use the microphone.