Integrating a custom service desk with Orchestrate Chat

Prerequisites

Before you start the integration, you need to create an object or class that adheres to the Orchestrate Chat service desk model standards. Download the required interface here.

Integration overview

Orchestrate Chat supports integration with custom service desks or contact centers, which enables users to interact with human agents. To integrate:

1. Create a compliant object or class based on the Orchestrate Chat service desk model. For more information, see Prerequisites.
2. Implement a factory function in your Orchestrate Chat configuration that returns a new instance of your integration when requested.

Requirements for custom service desk integration

To work with Orchestrate Chat, your service desk must:

• Support browser-based communication.
• Comply with Orchestrate Chat’s interface standards.
• Provide HTTP endpoints or WebSocket interfaces to:
  • Start chats.
  • Receive user messages.
  • Send agent messages to users.

Handling secrets

If your service desk requires secrets (such as API keys):

• Use server-side middleware to proxy requests.
• The middleware adds the required secrets before the request is forwarded.

Cross-origin requests

If your service desk is hosted on a different domain:

• Make sure it supports CORS.
• If not, proxy the requests through your server.

Example integration

The following basic example shows how to register a custom service desk integration that uses a factory function:

<script>
// Define your custom service desk class
class MyServiceDesk {
    constructor(parameters) {
        this.callback = parameters.callback;
        console.log("Service Desk started", parameters);
    }

    getName() {
        return 'MyServiceDesk';
    }

    startChat() {
        // Start chat logic
        // Call callback.agentJoined when an agent joins
        // Call callback.sendMessageToUser when agent sends a message
    }

    endChat() {
        // End chat logic
    }

    sendMessageToAgent() {
        // Send user message to agent
    }
}

// Register the integration with Orchestrate Chat
window.wxOConfiguration = {
    orchestrationID: '...',
    serviceDesk: {
        customFactory: (parameters) => new MyServiceDesk(parameters),
    },
};
</script>

API overview

Orchestrate Chat provides a public API for integrating with custom service desks. Your integration must implement:

• startChat: Notify the service desk when a chat starts.
• sendMessageToAgent: Send user messages to the agent.

Orchestrate Chat also provides callback functions for the service desk to respond:

• agentJoined: Notify when an agent joins.
• sendMessageToUser: Send messages from the agent to the user.

Interaction flow

A typical interaction works in the following way:

1. Orchestrate Chat initializes a single instance of your custom service desk that uses customFactory.
2. A user sends a message, triggering a connect_to_agent response.
3. If implemented, Orchestrate Chat calls areAnyAgentsOnline to check agent availability.
4. User clicks Request Agent.
5. Orchestrate Chat calls startChat, initiating a session with the service desk.
6. A banner informs the user that an agent is being connected.
7. When an agent joins, your integration calls callback.agentJoined.
8. Agent messages are sent through callback.sendMessageToUser.
9. User messages are sent through sendMessageToAgent.
10. When the chat ends, Orchestrate Chat calls endChat.

API details

To integrate a custom service desk with Orchestrate Chat, you need to implement specific methods defined in the TypeScript interfaces.

Supported response types

The callback.sendMessageToUser method is used to display messages to users.