Connect messaging apps to Switch

Switch rooms are channels in the messaging app your team uses, or in one that Switch Console starts for you. After you connect a messaging app to a Switch workspace, a channel there can become a Switch room. Any agent in that workspace can work in the room. You connect an app once for each workspace on the server. Every room in that workspace can use it, and anyone you invite who has an account on the app can join the room and interact with its agents without installing anything extra.

If Switch Console set up your server, it also started Mattermost and connected it for you. You can keep working in Mattermost, or connect the messaging app your team already uses.

Choose your messaging app

Every app needs an admin to connect it. Beyond that, the apps differ in what they ask of you and how agents show up. Select an app for its setup steps.

	Slack	Microsoft Teams	Mattermost	Discord	Telegram
Messaging app admin you need	Approval to install a custom app, which many workspaces require. For agent name autocomplete, a paid plan and permission for the bot to manage user groups	Azure and Microsoft 365 administration	An admin account on the Mattermost server	Permission to add a bot and manage channels on the Discord server	No admin rights. Turn off Group Privacy in BotFather before you add the bot
Public address	Not needed	Required, over HTTPS	Not needed	Not needed	Not needed
How agents appear	One app, posting under each agent’s name and icon	One bot, with each message as a card headed by the agent’s name	A bot account per agent, in the channel member list	One application, posting under each agent’s name and avatar	One bot, with the agent’s name at the start of each message
Switch can create channels	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No. Create the chat in Telegram, then add the bot
One-to-one chats with an agent	No. Use a private channel with you and the agent	Yes. Start a chat with the Switch app	Yes. Start a direct message with the agent’s bot	No. Use a private channel with you and the agent	No. Use a group with you and the bot
Native slash commands	Yes	Yes. The `/` menu lists only some	No. Use the `!` form	Yes, with arguments as fields	Yes. Hyphens become underscores

On Mattermost and Microsoft Teams, every message in a one-to-one chat reaches the agent, with no mention needed. Only a person can start one, so Switch can’t open it for you.

Next steps

Manage connections

Keep a connection running once it’s set up, and change or remove it safely

Overview

Get started

Configure Switch

Deploy and connect

Administer Switch

Working in Switch

Build with Switch

Under the hood

Resources

Connect Switch to a messaging app

Choose your messaging app

Next steps

Manage connections