Channels
========

The **Channels** tab connects a Co-Worker to the surfaces it operates on. It shows a grid of configured channels — each with an **Enable** toggle — and an **Add channel** menu. A Co-Worker runs on three channels:

.. image:: ../images/coworker-channels.png
   :alt: Channels tab — the channel grid and the Add channel menu
   :align: center
   :width: 100%

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 20 30 50

   * - Channel
     - Routes
     - Purpose
   * - **NeoGPT**
     - Conversation
     - Internal chat inside OneByZero Neo. The quickest channel to test on — no external setup required.
   * - **Microsoft Teams**
     - Conversation, Notification
     - One-to-one chat with the Co-Worker's bot, plus proactive notifications.
   * - **Outlook (email)**
     - Incoming (poll), Conversation, Outgoing
     - Polls a mailbox for new mail and replies by email; can also send outgoing notifications.

.. note::

   You must publish the Co-Worker at least once before you can enable or disable a channel. Until then the toggle is blocked, with the message *"Publish the coworker before enabling or disabling channels."*

Only these three channels are available to Co-Workers. Other channels in OneByZero Neo are configured directly on individual agents — see :doc:`Channels </13_channels/index>`.

Configuring Each Channel
------------------------

**NeoGPT** — internal chat. Set the **Channel Name**, **Description**, **Purpose**, an **Initial Message** (the greeting, up to 100 characters), and the **Default Agent** toggle (whether this Co-Worker is the default assistant in NeoGPT). It uses the platform's built-in authentication, so no credential is required.

**Microsoft Teams** — has two routes:

- *Conversation* (employees message the bot directly): **Session Expiry (hours)** — between 0.01 and 48, default 4. Requires Teams bot credentials: **Bot App ID**, **Bot App Secret**, and **Tenant ID**.
- *Notification* (proactive messages): **Max Retry Attempts** (0–10, default 3) and **Retry Delay** in seconds (default 60).

**Outlook (email)** — has an *Incoming* polling route and an *Outgoing* notification route:

- *Incoming*: **Triggering Timing (mins)** (1–60, default 5), **Batch Size** (1–50, default 10), **Mail Folder** (default Inbox), **Unread Emails Only** (on by default), optional **From / Subject / Body** filters to process only matching mail, **Enable Auto Reply**, **Reply All**, and an **Initial Message**.
- *Outgoing*: **Default Recipients**, **Default CC**, **Default Subject Prefix**, and retry settings.
- Sign in with your Microsoft account (SSO), or supply app credentials (client ID, client secret, tenant ID, and an optional mailbox address).

.. note::

   Each channel also exposes a **Description** and **Purpose** per route. For the full external setup — registering the bot, granting mailbox access, and the prerequisites involved — see the dedicated :doc:`Microsoft Teams </13_channels/microsoft_teams>` and :doc:`Outlook </13_channels/outlook_mail>` channel pages.

Channel Delivery: Sending Messages Proactively
----------------------------------------------

Once the Co-Worker has a published version, a **Channel Delivery** section lets it push a message proactively to a channel route. Turn on **Enable automatic delivery to configured channels**, then add one or more delivery targets. For each target you choose:

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 22 78

   * - Choice
     - What it means
   * - **Channel / route**
     - Where the message goes — a Teams or Outlook route. NeoGPT cannot be a delivery target.
   * - **Event type**
     - The kind of message for that route (for example a note, an Adaptive Card, or an email). The available event types are provided by the channel.
   * - **Invocation**
     - *Automatic* — you define a fixed delivery; or *Agentic* — the Co-Worker decides what to send, in which case the event type and recipient are set automatically.
   * - **Recipient**
     - A specific person, or **Auto** to let the system decide.
   * - **Message Template**
     - The words and layout of the message, with optional ``{{placeholders}}``. Leave it blank to have the assistant write the message, or write it in full to send exactly as composed.

When authoring a template, an Adaptive Card must be valid Adaptive Card JSON, and an email needs a subject, body, and recipient.

**Adaptive Cards (Microsoft Teams)** are rich, interactive cards. To send one, set the event type to the card type on a Teams route and paste an Adaptive Card JSON into the template (or leave it blank to have the assistant generate one). For interactive *approvals*, use the Human-in-the-Loop approval card on the :doc:`Governance <governance>` tab — there the system adds the **Approve** and **Reject** buttons for you.

.. note::

   For the full mechanics of delivery templates — placeholder reference, Adaptive Card structure, and worked JSON examples — see :doc:`Channel Delivery Templates </13_channels/delivery_templates>`.