Note: To see details about Live Chat and SMS in the 3CX Mobile App (Android/iOS) please see this article instead


Through your 3CX phone system, you are able to communicate with customers through a live chat on your website or SMS (aka texting). Live Chat is included with all plans, but SMS is a separate service that Pinnacle will need to add to your plan.


Taking Incoming Chats/SMS

  1. Open the 3CX Web Client and go to Chat. If you don't know your 3CX Web Client URL, reach out to Pinnacle and have us resend your Welcome Email containing all of the information needed.

  2. When an SMS comes through to a group text number, everyone in the group will be able to see the chat.  

     
  3. In order to claim the chat, click the three dots and click "Take".  The conversation between the customer and your organization will be "owned" by you until you 

  4. If you would like to see the entire contents of the chat before taking it, you can click on the chat to view its contents first and then claim it with the "Take" button that appears.

  5. A message will appear to indicate that you've taken the chat and the message will disappear from everyone else's queue.

  6. You can continue to chat with the user with the input box at the bottom of the screen


Starting New SMS Chats

  1. Navigate to the Chat menu in the 3CX Desktop App or Web client and click the + button
  2. There will be various options to select from, select "Send SMS"
  3. In the text box that appears, type +1 followed by the full number you would like to send an SMS to. You MUST prepend the area code + phone number with +1 or you will not be able to send any messages out. Example: +12602058900

  4. Click "Start Chat" once the phone number has been entered in the correct format.


Chat Options

Within each chat, you have various actions you can perform:

  • If this chat is an SMS message you can call the customer.


  • Transfer the chat to another extension in your 3CX system. Similar to taking the chat, this will make the chat disappear for you and appear for the person you transferred the chat to.


  • Mark the chat as "Dealt with". This will insert a system message into the chat marking it as "Dealt with" and send it to your Archived messages.  This also means that future messages from that customer will come back into the general queue for anyone to "claim"

  • See information about the chat

  • Archive the chat without "dealing" with it.  You still own the conversation so if the caller texts back
  • To switch between Recents or Archived, click "Recents" or "Archived" (displays which section you are viewing) in the top right and select the one you want to view.
    • Archived chats can be re-opened by clicking the three dots and Transferring the chat to another extension or clicking "Unarchive chat" 


You can find additional information on the 3CX website: Manage Customer Queries: Live Chat, WhatsApp, Facebook and SMS/MMS