> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.amigo.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.amigo.ai/developer-guide/platform-api/conversations/channels.md).

# Channels

The Channels surface covers channels that are not yet self-serve provisionable. Once a channel is enabled for your workspace, provisioning and use-case configuration happen through [Channel Manager](/developer-guide/platform-api/conversations/channel-manager.md).

{% content-ref url="/pages/34HJnXyVQXrBvV9THPG9" %}
[Channel Manager](/developer-guide/platform-api/conversations/channel-manager.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

## Internal-Preview Channels

Some channels - email, SMS, iMessage, and WhatsApp - are currently in internal preview. These channels are not self-serve provisionable because they involve regulated infrastructure (carrier registration, dedicated messaging lines) or are held for managed enablement. To enable one of these channels for your workspace, reach out to the Amigo team, who will coordinate provisioning.

## Long-Running Tool Delivery on Non-Live Channels

The messaging channels above (email, SMS, iMessage, WhatsApp) are **non-live**: the recipient is not connected while the agent reasons, and there is no live stream to keep open. This changes how the agent delivers a reply that depends on a long-running (background) tool - a multi-step lookup, an external system call, or a data query that reaches out to another system.

On a **live channel** (voice, web chat), the agent emits a short filler ("Let me check on that...") to fill the wait while the tool runs, then follows with the real answer. That behavior is unchanged.

On a **non-live channel**, a filler would add a message without adding an answer, and the recipient has no way to stream or poll to pick up the follow-up. So the default behavior is different:

* The intermediate filler is **suppressed** - it is never delivered as the reply.
* The agent waits for the tool to complete and delivers the **real answer as a single follow-up message**.
* Delivery is **event-driven**: the follow-up is dispatched the moment the tool finishes. The caller does not need to send another message, poll, or hold a connection open to receive it.
* The exchange stays **one inbound, one outbound** - one incoming message produces exactly one outgoing reply, and that reply is the actual answer rather than a placeholder.
* A genuine tool failure still surfaces through the normal failure path; suppression applies only to the intermediate acknowledgement.

This is the default for all non-live channels and requires no configuration.

{% hint style="info" %}
This suppress-and-follow-up behavior is specific to the **transport-driven** messaging channels (email, SMS, iMessage, WhatsApp), where the platform owns delivery back to the recipient. It is distinct from the synchronous REST turn contract, where a background tool returns `background_pending: true` with an acknowledgement and the caller drains the result on a later turn or by polling. See [Background (deferred) tool results](/developer-guide/platform-api/conversations.md#background-deferred-tool-results) for that interactive path.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
For the synchronous batch/API path, per-request controls are available on the turn request: `wait_for_final` (await the real answer inline, bounded, falling back to `background_pending: true` on timeout) and `suppress_filler` (omit the acknowledgement text from `output` so a batch caller never mistakes it for the answer). See [Background (deferred) tool results](/developer-guide/platform-api/conversations.md#background-deferred-tool-results).
{% endhint %}

For the buyer-facing description of this behavior, see the conceptual [Email channel](https://docs.amigo.ai/channels/email) documentation.


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