---
schema_version: "1"
id: f95f40f771bdb7ce2922e65d06d95295739c60f765c88258ba4c047dde8a3bae
title: Enhanced Chat and Messaging Glossary
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/service/264-0-0/miaw_glossary.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.miaw_glossary.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: dbe28f84a9345bae96a81dd0ea082d6ce2a2ad4507067f93e92918c7ad482e80
description: When you’re setting up Enhanced Chat or Messaging, it’s helpful to understand the terms that we use to talk about these services.
products:
  - Service Cloud
  - Digital Engagement
release: "264"
---
# Enhanced Chat and Messaging Glossary

When you’re setting up Enhanced Chat or Messaging, it’s helpful to understand the terms that we use to talk about these services.

### Required Editions

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small edition">
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          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" colspan="2" style="vertical-align:top;"><a href="https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.messaging_editions.htm&amp;type=5&amp;language=en_US" target="_blank">View supported editions.</a></td>

        </tr>
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          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">
            <a name="miaw_glossary__d1067e297"><!-- --></a><span style="vertical-align:text-bottom;display:inline-block;"><img style="margin-bottom:0;" id="miaw_glossary__d1067e297" src="https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-service-support_channels-264-0-0-production-enus/f3c4b3d2-ff86-4f7c-9fe2-3d8b23d35109/resources-global/_corporate/images/checkmark.png" alt="Checkmark"></span>
            <strong>This article applies to:</strong>
          </td>

          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Enhanced In-App Chat, Enhanced Web Chat v1, Enhanced Web Chat v2, Enhanced
            WhatsApp, Enhanced Facebook Messenger, Standard and Enhanced SMS, Enhanced Apple
            Messages for Business, Enhanced LINE, and Bring Your Own Channel</td>

        </tr>
      </tbody>
    </table> <table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small ">
      <colgroup>
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      <thead class="slds-text-title_caps ">
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          <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d73865e75">Term</th>
          <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d73865e78">Definition</th>
        </tr>
      </thead>
      <tbody>
        <tr class="">
          <td data-label="Term" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e75 ">Asynchronous</td>

          <td data-label="Definition" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e78 ">Enhanced Chat sessions can be started, stopped, then re-engaged at any time.
            Closing the chat conversation window doesn’t delete the conversation history, giving
            service reps and customers more flexibility. </td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td data-label="Term" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e75 ">Channel</td>

          <td data-label="Definition" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e78 ">A way for customers to exchange messages with your business. Salesforce supports
            these channel types in Messaging: Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Apple Messages for
            Business, SMS, LINE, Enhanced In-App Chat, Enhanced Web Chat, Bring Your Own Channel,
            and Bring Your Own Channel for CCaaS. To connect a third-party account such as a
            WhatsApp account to Salesforce, you create a Messaging channel in Setup. In your
            channel settings, you can customize the service rep experience and add
            automation.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td data-label="Term" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e75 ">Conversation</td>

          <td data-label="Definition" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e78 ">
            <p>A conversation includes one or more messaging sessions associated with a single
              messaging user (customer). Some conversations include a single messaging session,
              while others include multiple. </p>
            <p>If you have the Agentforce Contact Center Digital
              add-on, a conversation is an exchange of three or more messages between a business
              and a messaging user that takes place within a 24-hour period. A conversation can
              start in three ways:</p>
            <ul>
              <li>A service rep accepts a message sent by a messaging user.</li>

              <li>A service rep sends an <a href="https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.messaging_send_message_setup.htm&amp;release=264.0.0&amp;type=5" title="To let service reps start messaging sessions with customers, assign user permissions, add the Send a Message action, and set your channel keywords and responses.">initial
                  message</a>.</li>

              <li>A business sends an <a href="https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.messaging_automated_enhanced.htm&amp;release=264.0.0&amp;type=5" title="Using a flow and a notification messaging component, send customers automated messages to notify them about a product delivery, case update, or something else.">automated notification message</a>.</li>

            </ul>
            <p style="margin-bottom:0;">In Enhanced Chat, the conversation boundaries determine how much chat history
              customers see. Review the table in <a href="https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.miaw_considerations_and_limitations.htm&amp;release=264.0.0&amp;type=5" title="Before starting your setup process, review the considerations and limitations for Enhanced Chat.">Considerations and Limitations for Enhanced Chat</a>.</p>
          </td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td data-label="Term" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e75 ">Conversation Channel Definition</td>

          <td data-label="Definition" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e78 ">A record in Salesforce that contains metadata for any Bring Your Own Channel and
            Bring Your Own Channel for CCaaS channel integration. It's also linked to your
            messaging channel via a ChannelDefinition foreign key that populates the Conversation
            Channel Definition field. You must unlink the Conversation Channel Definition field
            before you can uninstall your Bring Your Own Channel or Bring Your Own Channel for
            CCaaS.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td data-label="Term" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e75 ">CORS Allowlist Entry</td>

          <td data-label="Definition" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e78 ">Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) lets web browsers request resources from
            other domains. When you add your top-level domain when setting up an Enhanced Web Chat
            channel, the CORS allowlist prevents requests to Salesforce Lightning apps unless the
            request comes from your approved URL list.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td data-label="Term" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e75 ">Custom Parameter</td>

          <td data-label="Definition" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e78 ">A way to further customize the Messaging experience or routing for a particular
            channel. For example, create a custom parameter to share a customer’s name and email
            address with a service rep or to link a customer’s pre-chat form values to an Enhanced
            Chat channel. Manage custom parameters in your messaging channel’s settings in
            Setup.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td data-label="Term" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e75 ">Embedded Service Deployment</td>

          <td data-label="Definition" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e78 ">Create deployments to implement Enhanced Chat on your app or website and control
            the functionality. Manage your deployments on the Embedded Service Deployment Settings
            page in Setup. There, you can edit your messaging settings, select branding, add
            pre-chat values, install a JavaScript code snippet to deliver conversations to your
            website, and download a configuration file to provide conversations from your mobile
            app.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td data-label="Term" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e75 ">Enhanced Messaging</td>

          <td data-label="Definition" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e78 ">
            <p>A platform that supports a wide range of content formats and messaging
              capabilities. WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, SMS, LINE, Apple Messages for Business,
              Bring Your Own Channel, and Bring Your Own Channel for CCaaS are available as enhanced
              channels. You can upgrade standard channels to enhanced channels. Going forward, new
              features are available exclusively in enhanced channels.</p>
            <p style="margin-bottom:0;">Standard Messaging preceded
              Enhanced Messaging. Standard WhatsApp was retired on Oct. 22, 2025, and Standard
              Facebook Messenger and SMS were retired on February 14, 2026.</p>
          </td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td data-label="Term" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e75 ">Inbound Messaging</td>

          <td data-label="Definition" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e78 ">Messaging sessions initiated by your customer—for example, a customer sends you a
            message in Facebook Messenger.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td data-label="Term" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e75 ">Messaging Component</td>

          <td data-label="Definition" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e78 ">Structured content that service reps can send to customers in a messaging session
            to share or gather information. Several types of messaging components are available,
            including enhanced links, questions with options, time selectors, and forms. These
            content formats help you standardize your external messaging and let customers and
            service reps communicate in familiar ways.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td data-label="Term" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e75 ">Messaging Session</td>

          <td data-label="Definition" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e78 ">
            <p>An exchange of one or more messages between your business and a customer that
              takes place over a Messaging channel. Messaging sessions end differently depending on
              your channel and device: </p>
            <ul>
              <li>In Enhanced Chat, the conclusion of a messaging session depends on a number of factors,
                including the addition of user verification or who is ending the session. Learn
                more in <a href="https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.miaw_considerations_and_limitations.htm&amp;release=264.0.0&amp;type=5" title="Before starting your setup process, review the considerations and limitations for Enhanced Chat.">Considerations and Limitations for Enhanced Chat</a>.</li>
              <li>In standard and enhanced Messaging channels, the messaging session ends when one
                of these actions takes place: <ul>
                  <li>The messaging user opts out of receiving messages in the channel.</li>
                  <li>The service rep clicks <strong class="uicontrol">End Chat</strong> and closes the messaging session
                    tab.</li>
                  <li>(Standard channels only) A flow or process sends an automatic notification,
                    creating an outbound messaging session with an unchanging status of Ended.
                  </li>
                </ul>
              </li>
            </ul>
          </td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td data-label="Term" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e75 ">Messaging User</td>

          <td data-label="Definition" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e78 ">A record representing a user who communicates with your company over a particular
            channel, such as Facebook Messenger. When a customer sends a message to your company,
            a messaging user record is created for the customer to track their activity in that
            messaging channel. Depending on which data is available, the record can include the
            customer’s name, phone number or Facebook name, and consent status. You can link a
            messaging user record to a contact or other type of record so all the customer’s
            messaging sessions are in one place. Messaging user records are required for your
            recipients, even if you’re sending messages to contacts, employees, or person
            accounts.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td data-label="Term" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e75 ">Parameter Mapping</td>

          <td data-label="Definition" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e78 ">A way to map standard and custom parameters to flows or service rep tasks. Manage
            your parameter mappings in your messaging channel’s settings in Setup.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td data-label="Term" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e75 ">Persistent</td>

          <td data-label="Definition" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e78 ">Conversation history remains in the conversation window after the conversation is
            over. In Enhanced Chat, conversation history is also shared across devices if User
            Verification is active, and all underlying messaging channels associated with your
            devices share a Configuration Name. In other Messaging channels, conversation history
            persists across devices without the need for User Verification.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td data-label="Term" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e75 ">Pre-Chat Fields</td>

          <td data-label="Definition" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e78 ">A way to collect customer details before a service rep starts a conversation in
            an Enhanced Chat channel. Ask customers to fill out visible pre-chat fields, or use
            our API to fill in hidden pre-chat fields. Send this data to your team using Omni
            Flow.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td data-label="Term" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e75 ">Proactive Messaging</td>

          <td data-label="Definition" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e78 ">Messaging sessions initiated by a service rep or automation in Salesforce; for
            example, a service rep messages a customer in your WhatsApp channel, or a flow or
            process sends an automatic notification or broadcast. Reps can proactively message
            customers in all enhanced channels except Enhanced Web Chat. You can also set up
            automated message notifications in enhanced WhatsApp channels, enhanced Apple Messages
            for Business channels, and Enhanced Chat.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td data-label="Term" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e75 ">Routing</td>

          <td data-label="Definition" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d73865e78 ">The logic that determines how customer inquiries in a Messaging channel are
            routed. The Salesforce routing tool is Omni-Channel, and you can configure it to route
            customer messages to queues, bots, or service reps. Queue-based routing is ideal for
            simple routing scenarios. Omni-Channel flow routing lets you use Flow Builder to
            define routing rules and dynamically route messages to the most qualified available
            service rep or bot. Omni-Channel flows unify the routing setup for all supported
            channels, including voice calls, chats, messaging, cases, leads, and custom objects.
            You can also route all messages in a particular channel to a specific user or to an
            Agentforce Service agent.</td>

        </tr>
      </tbody>
    </table>

#### See Also

- [What’s Messaging?](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.messaging_introduction.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Seventy-five percent of adults want to communicate with brands the same way they do friends and family—through messaging. Messaging in Agentforce Service (formerly Service Cloud) provides a rich, efficient conversation experience for customers, service reps, and supervisors.")
- [Lifecycle of a Messaging Session](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.messaging_life_cycle.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Learn how Salesforce tracks messaging sessions in Agentforce Service (formerly Service Cloud), from the first message to the last. Understanding session status transitions helps you route and monitor inquiries effectively.")
- [Quickly Set Up Enhanced Chat v1 or v2 for Testing](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.miaw_setup_stages.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Understand the three stages of setting up Enhanced Chat v1 or v2. We recommend following them in order for a smooth experience.")