Sinch Conversation API

Sinch Conversation API is the gateway to all social channels your business is using.

For more details, such as channel offering, see Sinch Conversation API.

Sinch Contact Pro integrates with Sinch Conversation API out-of-the-box in the API's default Conversations processing mode. Different channels support different features but all channels support the following:

  • text-based messaging

  • metadata, which is stored in Sinch Contact Pro as attached data

    Metadata must be in key-value format, for example: {\"orderId\":\"01FXMWRGMVY1MZPZQ5WD5XF15R\",\"orderStatus\":\"pending\"}

  • showing customer display name if one exists

    For example, for WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram the customer name is shown instead of an ID. If the display name is not found, the ID is shown; WhatsApp has a phone number, Facebook and Instagram has an ID.

Functionality has been verified with the following channels:

  • WhatsApp

    Text based messages, rich content, URLs, location sharing, voice message from customer to agent, WhatsApp opt-in and WhatsApp templates

    In addition to creating a sinchconversation messing service and configuring a queue:
    • Give agents rights to view customer consents (the type is Customer Consent)
    • Create WhatsApp templates
    • Give agents rights to view the reply template folder where your WhatsApp templates are
  • Facebook

    Text based messages and rich content

  • SMS

    Text-based messaging

  • Instagram

    Text based messages, rich content, URLs, and, customer display name

  • Telegram

    Text based messages, rich content, and URLs

  • Viber and Viber-bot

    Text based messages, rich content, and URLs

  • LINE

    Text based messages, rich content, and URLs

  • Sinch Chat

    Text based messages, rich content, and URLs

  • WeChat

    Text based messages, rich content, and URLs

Note: Showing links and other HTML type of content to customers may vary per channel.

For configuration, see Configuring Sinch Conversation API.

Integration Overview

The image below shows a simplified overview of the social channel integration between Sinch Conversation API and Sinch Contact Pro.

The integration is done over internet as Conversation API is a cloud-based solution. The communication protocol is HTTP and therefore you need to have an internet connection available from your on-premise Sinch Contact Pro environment. For other prequisites, see Configuring Sinch Conversation API.

Rich Content via Conversation API

Rich content is a key of conversational messaging. Content such as images and documents can be added to mobile originated (MO) messages and mobile terminated (MT) messages:

  • MO messages

    A customer sends an image for example via WhatsApp. The WhatsApp service generates a public URL from the data and passes it over to Conversation API and Sinch Contact Pro which downloads the image to an internal share and the file is available for an agent to view.

  • MT messages

    An agent sends an image to a customer. Sinch Contact Pro creates a public URL which is passed to WhatsApp and used by the WhatsApp service to download the file to WhatsApp servers. To define how long the Sinch Contact Pro public URL is accessible, go to System Services > Chat Settings > File Location Settings > Retention Time for Public Attachments.