CXone SMS Messaging

If you use Inbound/Manual Outbound SMS, this topic does not apply to you.

CXone SMS Messaging lets your agents receive inbound SMS (text) messages and initiate outbound text messages as a channel to interact with your organization's contacts. You can also use CXone SMS Messaging for Proactive SMS text campaigns in Personal Connection.

CXone offers another SMS solution, Inbound/Manual Outbound SMS, that treats inbound and outbound text messages as work items Customizable method of delivering contacts to an agent via Studio scripts.. The advantage of CXone SMS Messaging is that it's a regular ACD channel (similar to chat). Texts appear in an SMS workspace in the agent's application. If your contact center is enabled for Digital Experience, you can choose to set it up so that inbound texts route to the digital inbox instead. You cannot use both methods in combination.

CXone SMS Messaging with ACD

When you set up CXone SMS Messaging as a regular ACD channel, it works like this:

A contact sends a text (SMS) message to your organization, or an agent sends a text message to a contact.
Within a framework called the "text hub", CXone SMS Messaging opens a "room" for handling the SMS interaction. This framework is behind the scenes and not visible to either customers or agents.
CXone routes the message to an agent based on your configured skills and routing script.
The agent handles the interaction from within an agent application. This keeps the agent experience consistent for all channels, since agents use the same application to handle voice calls, chats, email, work items Customizable method of delivering contacts to an agent via Studio scripts., and SMS interactions.

Tiffany Goldilocks runs the customer service contact center for the Three Bears Porridge division of Classics, Inc. Her agents handle incoming calls, chats, and SMS messages from customers looking for retailers that carry Three Bears Porridge, as well as from those who experience quality issues with their porridge purchases.

Key Facts about CXone SMS Messaging with ACD

CXone SMS Messaging must be enabled in your tenant before you can configure the necessary skills, points of contact, and so forth.
CXone SMS Messaging supports up to 12 concurrent sessions. You can configure the number of sessions at either the user or the team level. The same session limit applies to both CXone SMS Messaging and chat when you use both, as shown in this example:
- The Bears, a team in the Three Bears Porridge contact center, is configured with a limit of five chat/SMS sessions.
- Agent Mama Bear is assigned to both the chat and SMS skills. She is currently handling two chats and two SMS interactions. CXone could deliver one more chat or one more SMS interaction to her.
- Agent Papa Bear is assigned only to the chat skill. He is currently handling three chats. CXone will not deliver any SMS interactions to him, but could deliver up to two additional chats.
- Agent Baby Bear is assigned only to the SMS skill. He is currently handling four SMS interactions. CXone will not deliver any chat interactions to him, but could deliver one more SMS interaction.
When an agent accepts an SMS interaction, a two-hour timer starts. The timer resets whenever an SMS message is sent or received. This keeps the session alive in case the contact does not respond right away, but prevents a session from being kept alive indefinitely.
Sometimes a session may time out, but then the contact later responds to the agent's last message. The restarted interaction may be sent to a different agent. The new agent can load transcripts from the last ten sessions associated with the DNIS Identifies the number the contact dialed to reach you for inbound voice calls and the number the agent or system dialed on outbound voice calls. or ANI Also known as caller ID. Listed phone number of an incoming voice call. to review the earlier conversation and better assist the contact.
Administrators can end an SMS interaction manually by using a forced disconnect. However, doing so ends all active SMS interactions and may prevent interaction transcripts from being saved if that functionality is enabled.
CXone SMS Messaging is currently only supported in MAX and Salesforce Agent Lightning.
CXone SMS Messaging is available in the United States and Canada. Long codes, toll-free long codes, and short codes are all supported.
CXone SMS Messaging is also available in more than 15 additional countries using long codes only. Ask your CXone representative for more information.

Digital Channels with Digital Experience

When you set up CXone SMS Messaging with Digital Experience, it works like this:

SMS (text) messages route to the agent's digital inbox Area where cases appear in the digital interaction workspace in an agent application and not the MAX SMS workspace.
Within a framework called the "text hub", CXone SMS Messaging opens a "room" for handling the SMS interaction. This framework is behind the scenes and not visible to either customers or agents.
Routing is configured using Digital Experience queues Digital First equivalent of a skill; routes each contact to an agent assigned to handle that type of contact and filters, not CXone ACD skills.
The agent handles the interaction from the digital inbox workspace within MAX. This keeps the agent experience consistent for all channels, since agents use the same application to handle voice calls, chats, email, work items Customizable method of delivering contacts to an agent via Studio scripts., and SMS interactions.

Tuppence Beresford runs the Young Adventurers division of Classics, Inc., which specializes in adventure vacations "for young adults, by young adults". Young Adventurers advertises heavily in smartphone apps that appeal to its market. The division also has a strong social media presence, with Facebook and Instagram coverage of their tours and a YouTube channel of available adventures. All advertising and social presence efforts encourage prospects to text #ADVENTUREME to a designated SMS number.

Agents who receive these texts engage in SMS conversations to learn more about the prospect and their interests. Agents also send follow-up texts to encourage prospects to participate in Young Adventurers contests and to download the Young Adventurers app, Adventure Me! When a new itinerary is added to the company's tours, Tuppence uses a Proactive SMS campaign in Personal Connection to send an announcement of the new offering.

Key Facts about CXone SMS Messaging with Digital Experience

CXone SMS Messaging and Digital Experience must be enabled in your tenant before you can configure the necessary queues, filters, and so forth.
CXone SMS Messaging is subject to the overall limit on concurrent cases set for each agent. You configure this in CXone contact handling settings.
When an agent accepts or sends an SMS interaction, a two-hour timer starts. The timer resets whenever an SMS message is sent or received. This keeps the session alive in case the contact does not respond right away, but prevents a session from being kept alive indefinitely.
Sometimes a session may time out, but then the contact later responds to the agent's last message. The restarted interaction may be sent to a different agent. The new agent can load transcripts from the last ten sessions associated with the DNIS Identifies the number the contact dialed to reach you for inbound voice calls and the number the agent or system dialed on outbound voice calls. or ANI Also known as caller ID. Listed phone number of an incoming voice call. to review the earlier conversation and better assist the contact.
CXone SMS Messaging is currently only supported in MAX and Salesforce Agent Lightning.
CXone SMS Messaging is currently only available in the United States using long codes.