Setting up a Facebook channel

Create Pega Intelligent Virtual Assistant (IVA) for Facebook so that users can interact with a Pega Platform application to ask questions, report an issue, or step through a process by sending text messages in Facebook Messenger. For example, with an IVA for Facebook, users can create a case to inquire about a car price estimate or book a flight.

Before you begin: Create and configure a Facebook page and a Facebook Messenger app. As a result, you obtain a Facebook page identifier, a page access token, and an optional app secret key. During the Facebook channel configuration, you must specify these Facebook settings. For more information, see Creating a Facebook page and app.
  1. In the header of Dev Studio, click the name of the application, and then click Channels and interfaces.
  2. In the Create new channel interface section, click Facebook.
  3. In the Channel interface name field in the Details section, enter a name for your Facebook channel.
  4. Optional: In the Description field, describe the purpose of your IVA for Facebook.
  5. In the Facebook channel, click the Connection tab.
  6. In the Facebook page ID field, enter the Page ID for the new Facebook page that you created previously.
  7. In the Template operator ID list, click the name of an existing Pega Platform operator to use as the template.
    This value is a template for creating all accounts. Each account has a unique Facebook identifier as its ID. For more information, see Template operator for IVA channel.
  8. In the Page access token field, enter the page access token value for the Facebook Messenger app.
    For example: EAAEZBTukSvHkBAKERVfxZBnOEVNW679G8cQ4
  9. Optional: In the App secret field, enter a key from the App Secret field in the Facebook page settings.
    Using the optional app secret key enhances the security of any Facebook Messenger chat session by preventing a man-in-the-middle attack.
  10. Click Save.
What to do next: Log in to the Facebook developer portal and write a message to your Facebook page, for example: Welcome to the chatbot powered by Pega Platform

That message verifies that the configuration of Facebook Messenger with a Pega Platform instance is correct.