---
title: "Channels"
description: "Where your bot talks to people - your website, WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, Telegram, email and the API - and which plans include each channel."
canonical_url: "https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels"
last_updated: "2026-09-25"
---

# Channels

A channel is a place where people can talk to your bot. Every bot has the **Web** channel switched on, so you can chat to it on its own page or add it to your website as a chat widget. The other channels connect the same bot to WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, Telegram, email or your own app. The bot uses the same instructions, knowledge and power-ups everywhere, and conversations from every channel appear in [Conversations](https://chatthing.ai/docs/manage/conversations).

## Which channels are on which plans

| Channel | What it's for | Plans |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Website](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/website) | A chat widget or embedded chat on your site, plus a shareable bot page | All plans |
| [WhatsApp](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/whatsapp) | Answer messages sent to your WhatsApp Business number | Standard, Pro, Enterprise |
| [Slack](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/slack) | Ask the bot questions in your Slack workspace | Standard, Pro, Enterprise |
| [Discord](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/discord) | Answer slash commands, @mentions and DMs in a Discord server | Standard, Pro, Enterprise |
| [Telegram](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/telegram) | Run the bot as a Telegram bot | Standard, Pro, Enterprise |
| [Email](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/email) | Give the bot its own email address that it answers | Standard, Pro, Enterprise |
| [API](https://chatthing.ai/docs/developers/chat-api) | Build your own integration with the Chat API | Standard, Pro, Enterprise |

On the Free and Basic plans, cards for channels your plan doesn't include show **Not included in subscription plan. Upgrade your plan to use.** See [Compare plans](https://chatthing.ai/docs/account/plans).

## Turn a channel on or off

1. Open your bot and select the **Channels** tab.
2. Turn on the toggle on the channel's card.
3. Click the settings (cog) icon on the card to configure the channel. Most channels need some setup before they work.

Only team owners and admins can open the **Channels** tab.

![The Channels tab, showing a card with an on/off toggle and a settings icon for each channel](https://res.cloudinary.com/djyjvrw5u/image/upload/v1707321265/channels_1e9122c4c0.png)

If you turn off WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, Telegram or email, the bot stops answering there and replies to new messages with "This bot is currently unavailable. Please try again later." Your settings are kept, so you can turn the channel back on without setting it up again.

## Most common tasks

- [Add the chat widget to your website](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/website/install)
- [Remove the "Powered by Chat Thing" branding](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/website/branding)
- [Fix a widget that doesn't appear](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/website/troubleshooting)
- [Connect WhatsApp](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/whatsapp)

## In this section

- [Website chat widget](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/website): Put your bot on your website as a floating chat widget, an embedded chat or a shareable page, then match it to your brand.
- [Connect your bot to WhatsApp](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/whatsapp): Connect your bot to a WhatsApp Business number through a Meta app, so it answers WhatsApp messages using your knowledge and power-ups.
- [Add your bot to Slack](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/slack): Create a Slack app for your bot so your team can ask it questions with @mentions, direct messages or the Slack assistant sidebar.
- [Add your bot to a Discord server](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/discord): Connect your bot to Discord so it answers slash commands, @mentions and direct messages in your server, using your knowledge and power-ups.
- [Connect your bot to Telegram](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/telegram): Create a Telegram bot with BotFather and connect it to Chat Thing, so anyone can chat to your bot in Telegram.
- [Let your bot answer emails](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/email): Give your bot its own email address so it replies to emails using your knowledge, or processes forwarded emails with power-ups without replying.
- [Upgrade from Slack V1 (legacy)](https://chatthing.ai/docs/channels/slack-legacy): The original Slack V1 integration is deprecated. How to tell if your bot still uses it and how to upgrade to the current Slack integration.

## Related

- [Compare plans](https://chatthing.ai/docs/account/plans): What each Chat Thing plan costs and includes - monthly and yearly prices, bots, data sources, tokens, channels, power-ups and team members.
- [Review customer conversations](https://chatthing.ai/docs/manage/conversations): Find, filter and read every conversation your bots have with customers, see AI summaries and user details, and share or download transcripts.