Channels and interfaces

You can configure any number of channels and interfaces, which provide ways for users to interact with your application using Pega Intelligent Virtual Assistant. An interface is a web or mobile portal. A channel is a messaging service or voice service. You can also access the Pega API to access application functionality using RESTful web service calls.

On the Channel and interfaces landing page, you can create, view, and edit channels and interfaces. To open this landing page, click the Pega Express menu, and then click Channels and interfaces.

Note: You must purchase a separate license before using Pega Intelligent Virtual Assistant in your application. You must purchase a separate license to create a Mobile channel interface.

You can create the following types of channels and interfaces:

Web – Create a portal from templates that include predefined layouts and navigation.
Mashup - Embed part of Pega Platform content in another application as HTML.
Mobile – Build a mobile app for an instance of the Pega Platform application that users can download and install on an Android or iOS device.
Facebook – Configure a channel so users can use Facebook Messenger to answer questions or step through a process.
WebChat - Configure a channel so that users can chat from an external website to answer questions or step through a process.
Email – Configure a channel so users can use email to create a case.
Alexa – Configure a channel so users can use Amazon Alexa voice messages to answer questions or step through a process.
Tropo SMS – Configure a channel so users can use Tropo SMS messages to answer questions or step through a process.

The Lock icon on a channel indicates that the channel component has not been added to the application. You can download components from Pega Exchange.

After you configure a Facebook, Alexa, or Tropo SMS channel, you must add a conversation to the case type to configure a question and answer session to collect information from users.