Channels — the ways in

What you will learn What channels group together, and which of the four suits which situation.

A channel is an entrance to an agent

So far you have talked from the workspace screen. But in practice there are people who never come to that screen.

Customers have no account in your workspace
Field staff only use email
Other systems are not people

Channels are the doors those people and systems come through.

The four

They are collected under Settings → Channel settings.

graph TD
  A["Channels"] --> B["Email agents<br/>send mail, get a reply"]
  A --> C["Chat widget<br/>embedded in your site"]
  A --> D["API keys<br/>another system calls in"]
  A --> E["MCP<br/>attach or lend tools"]

Channel	Who uses it	Chapter
Email agents	people who only use email	Email agents
Chat widget	visitors to your site	Chat widget
API keys	other systems and scripts	Calling it via API key
MCP	external tools / external AI	Connecting an MCP server

The API docs are documentation, not a channel. They are not in the channel list; you reach them from a link inside the MCP screen.

Why they are grouped together

Because they are all paths from outside into the workspace.

That matters because they share a security character.

text

□ who can come in□ which agent they reach□ which tools they can use

Opening any channel makes you decide those three. The tools are permissions perspective applies at the entrance too.

Shared settings

Of the four, email and the widget have almost identical settings.

Setting	Meaning
Handling agent	which sub-agent handles requests from here
Default group	which thread group results land in
Usable tools	the tools permitted on this channel only
Extra instructions	instructions that apply only here
Model	which model
On/off	to close it temporarily

Always narrow "usable tools." This is a path in from outside, so having every workspace tool open is dangerous.

Which channel to open

graph TD
  Q["Who is coming in?"] --> A{"On your team?"}
  A -->|"yes"| B["No channel needed<br/>the screen is enough"]
  A -->|"no"| C{"A person?"}
  C -->|"person · email"| D["Email agent"]
  C -->|"person · web"| E["Chat widget"]
  C -->|"a system"| F["API key"]

Team members need no channel. Channels exist for people without accounts and for systems.

Before opening one

text

□ what material do requests from this channel reach□ is it acceptable for an outsider to see that material□ have you narrowed the tools□ have you restricted who can send (email and widget both have restrictions)

The second is the key one. If internal documents are connected to the workspace, opening a channel makes them material for answering outside questions.

Check yourself

1. What do the four channels have in common?

Answer

They are all paths from outside into the workspace. That gives them the same security character, so opening any of them makes you decide who comes in, which agent they reach, and which tools they can use.

2. Why do team members not need a channel?

Answer

Because they can come in through the workspace screen. Channels exist for people without accounts — customers, external contacts — and for systems.

3. Why narrow the tools when opening a channel?

Answer

Because it is a path in from outside. With every workspace tool open, an external request can use all of them.

Email first → Email agents