Digital channels are the non-voice ways customers communicate with a business: web chat, email, text messaging (SMS and MMS), social media, messaging apps and in-app chat, along with web forms and video in some operations. In contact centers, the term distinguishes these channels from traditional phone calls, and planning for them is a large part of modernizing customer service.
At a glance
- Common digital channels include web chat, email, SMS and MMS, social media messaging, messaging apps and in-app chat.
- Some are synchronous (live chat), others asynchronous (email, many messaging apps), which changes staffing and response targets.
- Agents can often handle several chat or messaging conversations at once, unlike calls.
- Digital channels are where bots and self-service most often handle the first part of a conversation.
- Business texting and messaging carry registration, consent and data rules that vary by country.
What problem it solves
Many customers would rather type than call, especially for simple questions, status updates or anything they want to do while doing something else. A phone-only operation forces every contact onto the phone, often the costliest and least flexible channel, and long hold times push customers to give up or complain publicly.
Offering digital channels lets customers choose how they get in touch, and lets the business match each contact type to the channel that suits it: a delivery update by text, a quick question by chat, a complex dispute by phone. Digital conversations also leave a written record that is easier to search, analyze and hand over between agents.
How it works
Entry points. Customers start conversations from a chat widget on the website, a reply to a text message, a message on a social or messaging app, an in-app button or an email to a support address.
Bots and self-service first. Many operations put a chatbot or virtual agent at the front of digital channels to answer common questions, collect details or authenticate the customer before handing off to a person. See customer self-service.
Routing. On a contact center platform, digital conversations enter queues like calls and are routed by skill, language or priority. Agents often have a concurrency limit (for example, up to three chats at once), set by the business.
Agent workspace. In a well-integrated setup, agents see all channels in one desktop with the customer’s history, so a conversation can move from chat to a call without the customer repeating themselves. That connection is what omnichannel service aims for; separate tools per channel are closer to multichannel.
Messaging networks and rules. Business texting runs over SMS and related services, typically as application-to-person (A2P) messaging. In the US, carriers generally require business numbers or campaigns to be registered, and consent expectations differ for marketing and service messages. Messaging apps and social platforms set their own business policies, and data protection rules depend on where customers are. Rules vary by country, so check with your provider and counsel.
When it matters for buyers
- When phone queues are overloaded with simple questions that could be handled in chat, text or self-service.
- When choosing a contact center platform, since digital channel coverage, routing and reporting vary widely; see our contact center as a service page.
- When adding business texting, which brings carrier registration, consent and opt-out handling.
- When customers in different markets prefer different messaging apps.
- When regulated information is involved, such as health or payment data, which may need to stay out of some channels.
Questions to ask vendors
- Which digital channels are included in the license, and which cost extra or need a third-party connector?
- Do digital conversations share queues, routing, the agent desktop and reports with voice?
- How are concurrency limits set for chat and messaging agents?
- How do you handle text-messaging registration, consent records and opt-outs for our countries?
- How long are digital transcripts kept, where are they stored, and can sensitive data be masked?
- Can a conversation move between channels (chat to call, for example) with its history intact?
- How are bots configured on each channel, and how do they hand off to agents?
How it differs from omnichannel
Digital channels are the channels themselves: chat, email, text, social and messaging apps. Omnichannel describes how channels, digital and voice, are connected: one customer history, shared routing and the ability to move between channels without starting over. A company can offer many digital channels and still run them as disconnected silos, which is multichannel service. Adding digital channels answers “where can customers reach us”; omnichannel answers “does the conversation follow them.”