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The Deploy Hub

Written by , Founder, AskVault · Reviewed by Aashiq
Last updated: · 3 min read

What Deploy Hub shows

A grid of all available channels with status indicators:

  • Channel name and icon.
  • Connection status. Connected / Not connected / Error.
  • Last activity timestamp.
  • Volume. Messages or queries this month.
  • Enable / disable toggle.

Click any channel to open detailed config for that channel.

The 13 channels

By plan tier and most common setup time:

Free tier (1 channel):

  • Widget. Web chat. Embed via one script tag. 60-second setup.

Starter and above (2 channels):

  • REST API. Programmatic queries. Generate API keys. 10-minute setup.

Growth and above (10 more channels):

  • WhatsApp via Twilio. 30-minute setup including business profile.
  • Telegram via BotFather. 10-minute setup.
  • Slack. App manifest install. 15-minute setup.
  • Discord. Bot intents. 15-minute setup.
  • SMS via Twilio. 30-minute setup plus A2P 10DLC registration in US.
  • Email assistant via OAuth or IMAP. 20-minute setup.
  • Intercom. App install. 15-minute setup.
  • Hosted page. Default /c/{slug} plus optional custom domain. 5-minute setup.
  • Zapier. Early-access waitlist.
  • Make. Early-access waitlist.

Business and above (1 more channel):

  • Voice / telephony via Twilio Voice. 60-minute setup including IVR config.

Setup guides for each:

Per-channel configuration patterns

Each channel has similar config sections:

  • Connection. OAuth credentials, API tokens, or app installs.
  • Identity. Display name, avatar, branding.
  • Messages. Welcome message, fallback responses, signoffs.
  • Skills. Which skills are enabled on this channel.
  • Audience. Which content audiences this channel serves.
  • Rate limits. Per-channel rate cap (separate from workspace cap).
  • Webhooks. Channel-specific webhook subscriptions.

About 80% of channels share this pattern; the rest add channel-specific quirks (WhatsApp templates, SMS opt-out keywords, voice IVR menus).

Channel-specific skill assignment

Different channels can run different skill sets:

  • Widget. All 14 skills enabled by default.
  • WhatsApp. No discount_negotiator (regulatory caution).
  • Slack internal helpdesk. Only knowledge_search plus escalate_to_human.
  • Email assistant. All skills, but with longer reply formats.

Configure per-channel under Deploy Hub > [channel] > Skills. Or AI Agents page for the master skill view.

Multi-channel deployment pattern

Most teams deploy in stages:

  1. Week 1: Widget on the marketing site. Catch about 60 to 75% of incoming questions.
  2. Week 2: WhatsApp. For B2C, this often becomes the dominant channel.
  3. Week 3: Email assistant. Auto-respond to common email tickets.
  4. Week 4: Slack. Internal helpdesk for the team.
  5. Beyond: SMS, voice, Discord per audience.

Don't enable all 13 at once. Start with widget; expand as you validate quality.

Channel health monitoring

Each connected channel reports health:

  • Last successful message timestamp.
  • Error rate (% failed deliveries in last 24 hours).
  • Throughput (messages per minute, peak).
  • Provider status (Twilio, Slack API, etc.).

Click any health indicator to drill into the underlying error log.

If a channel goes red, AskVault sends notifications to admins and the user.

Branding across channels

Workspace-level branding (logo, accent color) applies to all channels. Override per channel for cases like:

  • Different brand per WhatsApp number (multi-brand operators).
  • Custom widget styling while keeping standard WhatsApp.

Set per channel under Deploy Hub > [channel] > Branding.

Audience routing per channel

For workspaces using audience tags:

  • Widget on marketing site. Audience: public.
  • Hosted page in customer portal. Audience: paid_users.
  • Slack internal channel. Audience: internal.

Configure under Deploy Hub > [channel] > Audience Routing.

API access for deployment config

For programmatic channel setup:

Terminal window
curl -X PATCH https://api.askvault.co/v1/channels/widget \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ak_xxx" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"enabled": true, "welcome_message": "Hi! How can I help?"}'

Useful for infrastructure-as-code patterns. See channels API reference.

Per-channel rate limits

Each channel can have a separate rate cap (different from the workspace cap):

  • Widget rate limit. Queries per minute per visitor.
  • WhatsApp rate limit. Messages per hour per phone.
  • API rate limit. Requests per second per API key.

Configure under each channel's Rate Limits section.

Limits

  • Channels available. 13 native plus REST API.
  • Channel-level concurrent connections. Provider-dependent.
  • Concurrent deployments per workspace. All channels can be enabled simultaneously.
  • Channel-switch cost. Free; switch any time.

Common pitfalls

Channel connects then goes red. Provider credentials expired (e.g., OAuth token). Re-authenticate.

Multiple Slack workspaces install the same bot. Each Slack workspace gets its own AskVault workspace mapping. Don't share OAuth tokens.

Widget shows on test domain but not production. Domain allowlist incomplete. Add the production domain under Widget > Allowed Origins.

Custom domain CNAME points to old AskVault target. AskVault changed the target string. Re-check Hosted Page > Custom Domain for current value.

Planned features (on the roadmap)

Documented for accuracy:

  • Microsoft Teams channel. Today, not native. Teams integration planned for Business.
  • Apple Business Chat. Today, not native. Planned.
  • Voice via SIP trunks. Today, Twilio only. SIP-trunk support for direct PBX integration planned for Enterprise.
  • Zapier and Make. Today, early-access waitlist. General availability planned.

FAQ

Can I run all 13 channels at once?

Yes on Growth and above. Free tier limited to widget. Voice requires Business.

Do channels share conversation history?

Yes. The same customer talking via widget and WhatsApp shows as one contact with merged history.

Can I disable a channel temporarily?

Yes. Toggle off; the channel stops receiving messages but credentials and config preserve. Re-enable anytime.

What happens to a channel when I downgrade plan?

Channel access locked but config preserved. Re-upgrade restores immediately.

Can I have multiple widget tokens for different domains?

Yes. Generate separate widget tokens per domain under Widget > Tokens. Each token can have its own customization.

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