Connect a messaging channel once and your bots can answer there. A connection belongs to you; each bot has its own on/off switch for it. Everything on this page works on Allternit Desktop, on ai.allternit.com, and on the m.allternit.com phone app. On a phone the connect wizards open as full-height sheets; the one exception is connecting an Android phone, which is Desktop only.

​
Connect a channel

Open Customize → Connectors → Messaging, or open a bot’s Agent Gateway → Messaging and use Connect…. A connection made from a bot’s settings is switched on for that bot straight away. One made from Customize is not: open the bot and switch it on. Each channel has a short wizard: intro, one action (usually the platform’s own authorize page), live status while it connects, and a Done step with Send test message. You never paste a secret unless the channel needs one, and you can cancel at any step. “Coming soon” means Allternit’s own app for that platform (Discord, Slack, Teams, WhatsApp) isn’t switched on yet; each needs a one-time setup with that platform, and some need the platform’s review. The wizard checks live (GET /api/v1/channels/availability) and shows a disabled Coming soon panel instead of an error, and turns into a working wizard as soon as the app is on.

​
Discord channels

After the app joins your server, the wizard lists the server’s text channels, all ticked. Untick the ones the bots should stay out of and save. Messages in unticked channels are dropped by Allternit’s cloud and never reach your computer; threads follow their parent channel, and direct messages and slash commands always work. Keeping every channel ticked means no limit, so channels you add later work too. To change the list, run Connect Discord again.

​
Who can message your bots

Each connection decides who can make a bot act by messaging it. You set it in Customize → Connectors → Messaging, under each connection, and for a bot’s email address in the email wizard’s Who can email this bot? step.
  • Only me and people I add (the default for anything you connect): you, plus the people you list. On Slack and phone numbers you count as yourself once you’ve verified the account for Factory approvals. On Telegram, Discord, WhatsApp and Teams, add your own ID to the list. For bot email, your account email counts as you.
  • Anyone: everybody who finds the bot. Choose it on purpose, for a public support bot for example.
Someone who isn’t allowed gets one reply saying the bot only answers people its owner has allowed, with their ID in it. To find your own ID, message your bot once from that account and copy it from the reply. Refused email gets no reply, and a refused phone call doesn’t connect. Connections made before this setting existed are set to Anyone so your bots keep answering. They show a warning until you choose Only me and people I add. This stops strangers who find your bot from using it. It isn’t proof of who someone is: an email’s sender address can be forged, so keep Approve on for email replies.

​
Switch it on per bot

Open a bot, then Agent Gateway → Messaging. Each connection has a switch.
  • On means this bot answers on that connection.
  • Answers new chats marks the one bot that takes every new conversation. Other bots on the same connection answer only when named.
  • Off with “Used by 2 other bots” tells you who else is using it.
Several bots can share one connection.

​
@mentions

In a chat on a shared connection, start or include @name and that bot answers, for example @engineer can you check the build?. Without a mention, the bot marked Answers new chats answers.

​
The “Turn on” card

If you mention a bot that is not switched on for that connection, it cannot answer. The thread shows a card: “engineer was mentioned but isn’t switched on for this Telegram chat” with a Turn on engineer button. Tap it, then mention the bot again. If it fails, the card tells you where to switch it on by hand (bot → Agent Gateway → Messaging).

​
Email replies

Email wizards include a reply setting for each bot:

​
Limits

  • Replies to regulated or consequential messages should be checked by a person; set Email to Approve while you are testing.
  • Allternit cannot guarantee delivery. Each platform decides what it delivers.