Set Up Proactive SMS

Prior to setting up proactive SMS, your business unit must be enabled for Personal Connection (PC) and you must have at least one SMS registration available from which to send SMS (text) messages. Talk to your account manager if you have questions.

Create an SMS Message Template

Required permissions: Message Templates Create

1. Click the app selector and select ACD.

2. Go to Outbound > Message Templates.

3. Click Create New.
4. Set the Type to SMS and enter a Name.
5. Enter the message you want to send to your contacts in the Message Body field. To add variables to the message body, type the exact named of a mapped field in the calling list and enclose it in curly brackets. For example, {FirstName} would inject the contact's first name into the text message.

6. Select the Direction you want.

7. Click Create.

Create a Campaign

Required permissions: Campaigns Create

If you've already created a campaign A grouping of skills used to run reports. that you plan to use, you can skip this step. For example, you may have a campaign that you intend to use across several channels.

1. Click the app selector and select ACD.
2. Go to Contact Settings > Campaigns.
3. Click Create New.
4. Enter a value in the Campaign Name field.
5. Click Create Campaign.

Create a Proactive SMS Skill

Required permissions: Skills Create and Skills Edit

1. Click the app selector and select ACD.

2. Go to Contact Settings > ACD Skills.

3. Click Create New > Single Skill.

4. Set the Media Type to SMS, Inbound/Outbound to Outbound, and Outbound Strategy to Personal Connection.
5. Enter a Skill Name and select the Campaign you want the skill to be part of.
6. Select an SMS Transport Code from the drop-down.
7. Select a Message Template from the drop-down.

8. Configure the remaining optional fields in the Skill Information section as needed.

   Learn more about fields in this step

   Field	Details
   Agentless	This is selected by default for Proactive SMS and cannot be cleared. Don't select for agent dialing. When this is selected, Workforce Intelligence Minimum Agents and Workforce Intelligence Minimum Available Agents are not available.
   Agentless Delivery Delay Seconds	Allows you to manually pace the delivery of outbound agentless messages. Enter the number of seconds you want the system to wait before sending the next message. This field is empty by default. The maximum delay is 60 seconds.
   DNC Group	This field is read-only for Proactive SMS.

9. If you want to use screen pops A configurable pop-up window with information about the contact. It appears on an agent's screen after a certain event, usually when the agent connects to a contact. for this skill, select the Use Screen Pops checkbox. Modify the optional settings in the Screen Pops section if you want to customize your screen pops. This capability is only supported for CXone Agent suite. You can also do this later.
   Learn more about fields in this step

   Field	Details
   Use Custom Screen Pops	Select this checkbox if you are using a separate application or website to run the screen pops.
   Application or Webpage	Select either Application or Webpage. If you chose Application, enter either the entire path to the executable. if you chose Webpage, enter the full URL. You can customize the title of the tab that pops up in the MAX interface by appending the icAgentPanelTitle= parameter to the URL.

10. If you want to test how contacts in this skill change in priority over time compared to other skills, use the Priority Comparison tool. You can also do this later.

    If you are creating a Personal Connection (PC) skill, it must have priority-based blending enabled to compare its priority with other skills'.

    If you are editing a Personal Connection (PC) skill that does not have priority-based blending enabled, you can't change it now. You must create a new PC skill with priority-based blending enabled to compare its priority with other skills'.

    Priority-based blending is not available if you have dynamic delivery enabled.

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    1. In the Skills to Compare section, click +.

    2. Add Available skills until all skills you want to compare are in the Selected list. You don't need to add the skill you are currently editing; it appears in the graph automatically.

    3. Click Done.

    4. Use the Elapsed Time and Time Interval fields to define the period of time you want the graph to cover and the time interval A period between points, limits, or events, such as dates or times you want to mark a new point on the graph.

    5. Click Compare.

11. Click Create.

Create Custom Data Definitions

Custom data definitions are custom fields you create to map to your calling lists. Because they can be used for a wide variety of purposes, they're covered on another page.

To use Proactive SMS, you must define a specific field in your calling lists (and a corresponding data definition) for the phone number used for SMS messages (referred to as the SMS Phone field). This section provides those specific instructions. You may also need to create custom fields for certain parameters of the SMS Phone field, like CallerID, Attempts, or others. Instructions for those fields can be found on the separate page mentioned previously. However, this section does provide examples of how those fields can be used with an SMS Phone field.

1. Click the app selector and select ACD.

2. Go to Lists > Custom Data Definitions.

3. Enter a Field Name.
4. Set the Type to SMSPhone.
5. Configure the other fields with the custom fields you previously created.
6. If you want to, configure Constraints by clicking the timeline at the point your calling hours should begin and dragging to the point where the range should end.
7. Click Save.

Create a Calling List

Calling lists provide the contact names and numbers for your Proactive SMS campaign. Because they can be used in multiple areas of your contact center, they're covered in their own section. Calling lists used for Proactive SMS must have a column for SMS phone numbers to be mapped to the SMSPhone custom data field you created in the previous task. If you've already uploaded one or more calling lists that meet this requirement, you can skip this task.

1. Open a spreadsheet editor or a text editor.
2. You can use the first row to label your columns. This helps with automatic field mapping when you upload the calling list. If you're using a text editor, decide whether to separate the values with commas or tabs.

3. Create the columns for your list.

   For a Proactive SMS calling list, you must have a unique identifier column and an SMS phone number column.

   Learn more about other system fields you can map to

   Field	Details
   External ID	Required. An alphanumeric string that is the unique identification of the record.
   Score	A relative numeric value you can use to sort records a certain way. For example, if you want PC to dial one record before another, you could give the first record a Score of 1 and the second record a Score of 2 and sort the calling list by score.
   Customer Field 1 and 2	A numeric value you can use for any purpose. For example, it could be an alternate record ID or an amount due. These fields are not a method for creating custom fields in the agent application. To do that, configure the Custom Display fields in List Management PC skill parameters.
   Caller ID	The phone number you want to display as the caller ID for this contact. The number here replaces the default caller ID value set in the skill. This number can be a 10-digit number, NANP format, or E164+ phone numbers. You are required by law to display a valid phone number that contacts can use to reach you.
   Priority	A boolean value that indicates whether the record is a priority record.
   Compliance Required	A boolean value that indicates whether the record requires compliance handling.
   Time Zone	The time zone of the contact. You can use either the full name or the list of approved abbreviations for the time zone. AFT — Afghanistan Time AKST — Alaska Standard Time AST — Atlantic Standard Time ACST — Australian Central Standard Time AEST — Australian Eastern Standard Time AZOST — Azores Summer Time CVT — Cape Verde Time AMT — Caucasus Standard Time CST — Central Standard Time BTT — Bhutan Time BST — British Summer Time CET — Central European Time CEST — Central Summer European Time SBT — Soloman Islands Time BIT — Baker Island Time (Dateline) EAT — East Africa Time EAST — Easter Island Standard Time EEST — Eastern European Summer Time ESAST — E. South American Standard Time EST — Eastern Standard Time EET — Eastern European Time EGST — Egypt Standard Time YEKT — Yekaterinburg Time FJT — Fiji Time GMT — Greenwich Mean Time GNST — Greenland Standard Time GST — Gulf Standard Time HST — Hawaiian-Aleutian Standard Time IST — Indian Standard Time IRST — Iran Standard Time IST — Israel Standard Time KST — Korea Standard Time MYT — Malaysia Time MST — Mountain Standard Time MMT — Myanmar Standard Time NCAST — N. Central Asia Standard Time NPT — Nepal Standard Time NZST — New Zealand Standard Time NST — Newfoundland Standard Time KRAT — North Asia Standard Time IRKT — North Asia East Standard Time PST — Pacific Standard Time PSAST — Pacific SA Standard Time RST — Romance Standard Time MSK — Russian Standard Time SAEST — SA Eastern Standard Time SAPST — SA Pacific Standard Time SAWST — SA Western Standard Time SMST — Samoa Standard Time THA — SE Asia Standard Time SAST — South Africa Standard Time SLT — Sri Lanka Standard Time TIST — Taipei Standard Time TAST — Tasmania Standard Time TST — Tokyo Standard Time PHOT — Tonga Standard Time VLAT — Vladivostok Standard Time AWST — W. Australia Standard Time ECT — W. Central Africa Standard Time WET — W. Europe Standard Time PKT — West Asia Standard Time WPST — West Pacific Standard Time YAKT — Yakutsk Standard Time
   Preview Required	A Boolean value that indicates whether the record requires preview handling. This setting will be ignored when Deliver Numbers Serially is enabled in the PC skill or when the record is being delivered as a callback.
   Agent	Requests a specific agent to speak with the contact. The value is the agent ID.
   Override Finalization	A boolean value overriding the system finalization reason. Use it to upload a record that was previously finalized and continue dialing it. If you map this column and set a contact record to False and any previous final outcomes exist for the record on this skill, PC rejects the record. If you don't map an Override Finalization column, you can override finalized records by re-uploading them as long as the record was finalized more than two hours ago. If you upload a record that was finalized less than two hours previously, PC rejects the record. Overriding finalized records can corrupt reporting. If you want to place additional calls as a follow-up to a previous interaction, you should upload the record to a new skill and manage it as a new interaction effort.
   Call Request Date/Time	The date and time when PC begins delivering a scheduled callback to a skill or agent. The field contains both the date, time, and time zone in the following format: MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM:SS [-H:MM|Z]. For more information, see Upload Timed Call Requests in a Calling List.
   Call Request Stale Minutes	The number of minutes after the Call Request Date/Time that PC continues to try to deliver a call request before retiring it. After the stale time expires, PC finalizes the record and no longer attempts it. For more information, see Upload Timed Call Requests in a Calling List.
   Expiration Date	The date and time when the contact record expires. PC ceases all attempts to reach the contact after the specified date and time. This is an optional field that overrides the expiration date configured for the skill and the Batch Expiration Date configured for this calling list. For more information, see Set an Individual Record Expiration.
   Start Time	The number of minutes after midnight PC begins dialing the record. For example, if you want PC to begin attempting the record at 8:00 AM in a record's respective time zone, set the value in the calling list to the value of 480. If you map this field to a calling list, PC ignores the default start time for any applicable records.
   End Time	The number of minutes after midnight the dialer stops dialing the record. For example, if you want PC to stop attempting the record at 12:00 PM in a record's respective time zone, set the value in the calling list to 720. If you map this field to a calling list, PC ignores the default end time for any applicable records.

4. Enter the data for each record in its own row.

5. Save the file in one of the approved formats shown in the following images.

   •  XL or XLS.

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   • Comma-delimited TXT or CSV

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   • Tab-delimited TXT or CSV

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Upload a Calling List

If you're re-uploading a calling list after making critical updates, stop the associated ACD skill. Restart the ACD skill when you're done uploading calling lists.

1. Click the app selector and select ACD.

2. Go to Lists > Calling.

3. Click Select File.

4. Read the compliance agreement and click Accept to continue.

5. Enter a List Name. Select the Upload New radio button if you want to select a new list from your computer, or Select Existing if you want to modify a list you already uploaded.

   If uploading, click Choose File. If modifying, type the File Name or click Browse. Find and select the calling list you want to upload or use. Configure any optional fields as needed.

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   Learn more about fields in this step

   Field	Details
   List Expiration Date	The date the calling list is removed from CXone. This setting doesn't affect the expiration of the individual records in the list. To set the expiration date for the records in the list, use the Batch expiration date field in the next step of the upload wizard.
   Skill	If you want to assign the calling list to a specific ACD skill Used to automate delivery of interactions based on agent skills, abilities, and knowledge, select one from the Skill drop-down. You cannot upload the list to a Proactive SMS skill if there is no message template assigned to the skill.
   Start Skill When Completed	The Skill you selected starts automatically when CXone finishes processing the calling list.

6. Click Next.
7. If you used the first row of your calling list to label the columns, select Use First Row as Column Names next to Header. Review the automatic mapping done by PC, map any unmapped fields, and configure time zone handling and an expiration date.
   Learn more about fields in this task

   Field	Details
   No time zone found?	The action CXone takes if it can't use calling list data to map a time zone to the record. CXone checks the record first for a time zone, then a zip code, then a city and state, and finally the area code of the primary phone number. If CXone can't match a time zone to the record, it takes the action you specify here:  Reject: Removes the record from eligibility for dialing. Select time zone: Attaches a default time zone to the record. Use the drop-down to select the default time zone. If you live outside of North America, or if you believe the automatic time zone mapping won't work for your calling list, designate the appropriate time zone for each record on your list. See Time Zone for a list of time zone abbreviations and full names.
   Batch expiration date	The default expiration date for all records in this batch. Once the contact expires, PC no longer attempts to reach that contact. You can specify expiration dates for individual records in the calling list by including an expiration date column in the calling list itself and then mapping the column to the Expiration Date field. The expiration occurs at the beginning of the date you select (12:00 AM).

8. If it's not already done for you, map your phone numbers and email addresses in Map Destinations. Add and remove destinations as needed.

   If you map a phone field to a specific ACD skill, it appears under the cadence options for that skill. If you don't want to include a specific phone number in the Maximum Attempts or cadence calling order, don't map those phone number to fields. Once you map the field, you can't remove it from the cadence settings.

9.  When the file uploads, PC displays the progress and the number of records that loaded successfully and unsuccessfully. If the calling list contains invalid records, use the following steps to fix the errors.

   1. Click Download Link in the warning box that appears.

   2. Open the file to view the problems with the upload. In this example, the record in row 6 doesn't have a phone number:

      
   3. Fix the problem in the calling list and save it.
   4. Upload the updated file.

Start the Proactive SMS Skill

Required permissions: Outbound Strategy Manager Edit and access to campaigns

If you plan to create a schedule, you can skip this step. If you want to manually turn your PC ACD skill off and on, do the following steps after completing all configuration.

1. Click the app selector and select ACD.

2. Go to Contact Settings > ACD Skills.

3. Click the skill Used to automate delivery of interactions based on agent skills, abilities, and knowledge you want to start.

4. Click Start.

5. When you are done using the skill, click Stop.