Post-deployment channel and connection configuration
Key Takeaway
Moving an agent to production isn't done when its metadata reaches the target org. The channel and routing pieces must also be deployed, active and published there, and the agent must be active, before anyone can reach it.
Users reach an agent only through connections and channels, such as Enhanced Chat, other messaging channels, email, telephony, Slack and Lightning Experience. Behind those channels are routing pieces, such as Omni-Channel flows and Enhanced Chat deployments. When you move an agent from a sandbox to production, you set up and check those pieces in the target org, because the agent can't serve anyone until they're ready.
Connections and channels
Each connection holds the setup the agent needs for its channels:
- Behind-the-scenes instructions that shape how the agent reasons and responds on the connection's channels. For example, connection instructions can tell the agent to ignore disclaimers in emails.
- Adaptive response formats, which structure the agent's replies with images, buttons, links and videos.
- Settings, such as the Omni-Channel flows that route conversations to and from the agent.
Because the channel setup lives in the connection, you can build an agent once and add it to several channels without repeating setup.
Connection inputs can't be edited during a conversation, so their values stay consistent. You can customize one agent's connection inputs without affecting other agents that use the same connection.
Channels are where users meet the agent. Channel support varies by agent type.
| Available channels | |
|---|---|
| Agentforce Service agents | Telephony, Enhanced Chat, other enhanced messaging channels, email |
| Agentforce Employee agents | Lightning Experience, Salesforce mobile app, Slack, Enhanced Web Chat |
Each agent template supports specific connections, so you see only the connections available for your agent. In the new Agentforce Builder, you can currently add the Messaging, Telephony and Enhanced Chat v2 connections to Agentforce Service agents. The legacy builder uses a "Connections" tab to deploy an agent to multiple channels from one view.