> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://wiredesk.ai/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Channels > How one agent answers on website chat, phone and email, what the three share, and what's different on each. A channel is a way customers reach your agent. WireDesk has three: **Website chat**, **Phone** and **Email**. They all reach the same agent, with the same knowledge, instructions and actions. You don't build a separate bot for each channel. You turn channels on for the agent you already have. Manage them under **Agents → your agent → Channels**. Each channel has a card there with a switch, plus a page of its own for settings that only apply to that channel. ## The three channels | | Website chat | Phone | Email | | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **How customers reach it** | A chat bubble on your website | A phone number the agent answers | An email address the agent replies from | | **What you set up** | Paste one snippet into your site | Get a number, then forward your published line to it if you want | Forward your support inbox to the agent's address, or share the address directly | | **Reaching a person** | **Request a human** flags the chat for your team | **Hand calls to you** transfers the call live | **Request a human** flags the thread for your team | | **How it's billed** | Per agent reply | Per started minute | Per agent reply | For setup, see [website chat](/docs/channels/website-chat), [phone](/docs/channels/phone) and [email](/docs/channels/email). ## Turning a channel on and off Each channel card on **Channels** has a switch. Switching a channel off keeps its setup, so you can switch it back on without losing anything: * **Website chat off:** the bubble stops answering. The snippet can stay on your site. * **Phone off:** calls to the number go unanswered. You keep the number. * **Email off:** mail sent to the address is ignored. The address stays yours. Which channels start switched on depends on how you created the agent. An agent built from your website starts with the channels you ticked under **Where should it answer?**. A blank agent starts with all three switched on. Its phone channel does nothing until it has a number. The **Overview** page shows each channel as a tile marked **on** or **off**, with the snippet's status, the number, or the address. To stop the agent answering everywhere without deleting it, switch its channels off. See [delete an agent](/docs/agents/delete-an-agent). ## What the channels share These settings apply to every channel: * **Name, greeting and instructions**, under **How it talks**. The greeting is the first thing the agent says on every channel. * **Knowledge.** Every channel searches the same pages, notes and files. * **Remember callers**, under **How it talks**, lets the agent keep notes about a person from one conversation to the next. See [remember callers](/docs/persona/remember-callers). * **Actions.** Each action has **Channels** checkboxes (**Voice**, **Chat**, **Email**). By default an action is available on all three. * **Conversations.** Every channel's conversations appear together in **Conversations**. ## What's different on each channel **Style.** WireDesk adapts how the agent writes to the channel. On the phone it's short and spoken, with no lists or symbols. In chat it uses short replies, bold for key details, simple lists and links. By email it writes a full plain-text email with a greeting and a sign-off. You don't need to write instructions for any of this. **Phone only**, on **Channels › Phone**: * **Voice**: the voice the agent speaks in. There are ten to choose from. * **Transfer live calls to (optional)**: the number a live transfer rings. It must not be the line customers dial, or the transfer loops back to the agent. * **On phone calls, say it's an AI and the call may be recorded**: off by default. When it's on, the agent says "Quick heads-up: you're speaking with an AI assistant, and this call may be recorded." before the greeting. See [AI and recording notice](/docs/channels/ai-notice). **Website chat only**: the look of the bubble and panel, the chat's opening message, and suggested questions. These are set in the **Playground**. See [widget appearance](/docs/widget/appearance). **Email only**: the sender name and reply-to address. See [email](/docs/channels/email). ## Wording for one channel Each channel's page has an **Instructions** card. By default, **Sync with the agent's instructions** is on, and the channel uses the instructions under **How it talks**. Give a channel its own instructions when it needs to say something different, for example "on the phone, always offer to book an appointment". A channel's own instructions *replace* the agent's instructions on that channel. They don't add to them. Once a channel has its own, changes under **How it talks** no longer reach it. WireDesk's own rules on honesty and style still apply. See [wording per channel](/docs/persona/channel-wording). ## Browser voice **Browser voice** also appears in **Conversations**. It isn't a channel customers use. It's the voice test you run yourself from **Test by voice**, and you can't switch it on or off. See [test your agent](/docs/agents/test-your-agent). ## Related * [How the agent answers](/docs/concepts/how-answers-work) * [Handover](/docs/concepts/handover) * [Wording per channel](/docs/persona/channel-wording) * [Voice](/docs/channels/voice)