Integrations Setup Guide

Connect Hay to the tools and platforms you already use. Integrations let your AI agent work where your customers are - from your website to WhatsApp to your e-commerce platform.

What Are Integrations?#

Integrations connect Hay with:

Communication channels - Where customers reach you (WhatsApp, web chat, email)
Business tools - Your e-commerce, CRM, help desk systems
Data sources - Access to order info, customer data, inventory

Access: Integrations are accessible only to users with the Admin or Owner role.

Available Integrations#

Note: This guide covers a subset of available integrations. Additional plugins (Shopify, HubSpot, Stripe, Instagram, and more) are available in the Marketplace — go to Integrations → Marketplace to browse the full list.

Web Chat#

Add a live chat widget to your website. Web Chat is a built-in Hay feature, not a marketplace plugin.

What it does:

Embeds a chat button on your site
Customers click and start chatting instantly
Conversations go straight to your Hay dashboard
Fully customizable appearance

How to set up:

Go to Settings → Webchat
Copy the embed code
Paste it into your website (usually before the closing </body> tag)
Customize colors, position, and welcome message
Save and test!

Customization options:

Button position (bottom-right, bottom-left, etc.)
Brand colors
Welcome message
Chat window size

WhatsApp Business#

Handle WhatsApp messages with your AI agent.

What it does:

Customers message your WhatsApp Business number
Hay responds automatically
Full conversation history in dashboard
Works 24/7

How to set up:

Go to Integrations → Marketplace
Find WhatsApp
Click Connect
Enter your Twilio Account SID and Auth Token
Enter your Twilio WhatsApp number in E.164 format (e.g. +14155238886) — Hay prepends the whatsapp: prefix automatically
Authorize and save
Done!

Requirements:

Twilio account with WhatsApp sender enabled
Twilio Account SID and Auth Token
WhatsApp-enabled phone number in Twilio

Perfect for:

International customers
Mobile-first audiences
Markets where WhatsApp is popular
Quick, informal support

WooCommerce#

Connect your WooCommerce store for e-commerce support.

What it does:

Look up order information
Check product availability
Access customer purchase history
Provide tracking numbers

How to set up:

Go to Integrations → Marketplace
Find WooCommerce
Click Install
Enter your WooCommerce store URL
Enter your WooCommerce REST API key and secret
Authorize permissions
Return to Hay — connection confirmed!

What your agent can do:

"Where is my order?" → Look up order status
"When will it arrive?" → Provide tracking info
"I want to return this" → Check return eligibility
"Is this in stock?" → Check inventory

Permissions needed:

Read orders
Read products
Read customers

Zendesk#

Sync with your Zendesk help desk.

What it does:

Import existing tickets into Hay
Create tickets from Hay conversations
Sync conversation history
Unified customer view

How to set up:

Go to Integrations → Marketplace
Find Zendesk
Click Connect
Enter your Zendesk subdomain
Enter the Zendesk admin email address
Enter API token (generate in Zendesk settings)
Test connection

Email#

Send internal notification emails to a fixed set of recipients.

What it does:

Sends plain-text notification emails to a configured list of recipients (e.g. alerts for your team)
Not customer-facing — it's not used for conversation follow-ups or replying to customers
Does not monitor an inbox or respond to inbound email
Uses the platform's SMTP configuration; SMTP is a platform-level setting, not something you configure per-integration

How to set up:

Go to Integrations → Email
Enter a comma-separated list of recipient email addresses
Send a test email to verify the connection

Best for:

Internal alerts (e.g. escalations, errors, agent-triggered notifications)
System notifications sent to a fixed team distribution list

Managing Integrations#

Viewing Installed Integrations#

Go to Integrations in the sidebar to see:

All installed integrations
Connection status (✅ Connected or ⚠️ Issue)
Last sync time
Usage statistics

Configuring an Integration#

To adjust settings:

Click on the integration
Click Settings or Configure
Make your changes
Test the connection
Save

Disconnecting an Integration#

To remove an integration:

Go to the integration
Click Disconnect or Uninstall
Confirm the action
Integration is removed

⚠️ Note: Active conversations on that channel may need to be handled manually after disconnection.

Integration Marketplace#

Browsing Available Integrations#

Go to Integrations → Marketplace
Browse the available integrations
Click any integration to learn more

Note: Category filtering is not currently available in the UI. All integrations are listed together.

Installing from Marketplace#

Find the integration you want
Click Install or Connect
Follow the setup wizard
Authorize necessary permissions
Test the integration
Start using it!

Channel-Specific Features#

Web Chat Features#

✅ Typing indicators
✅ Read receipts
✅ File uploads
✅ Emoji support
✅ Conversation history
✅ Proactive chat (trigger by page, time on site, etc.)

WhatsApp Features#

✅ Plain-text message sending
✅ Plain-text message receiving
🔜 Rich media (images, videos, documents) — planned
🔜 Quick reply buttons — planned
🔜 Message templates — planned
🔜 Read receipts — planned

Email Features#

✅ Plain-text emails
🔜 HTML emails — planned
🔜 Attachments — planned
🔜 CC/BCC support — planned
🔜 Signature management — planned

Best Practices#

Start with One Channel#

Don't connect everything at once:

Start with your primary support channel
Train your agent
Monitor performance
Add more channels gradually

Test Before Going Live#

After connecting an integration:

Send test messages
Verify responses are correct
Check data access (orders, customers, etc.)
Ensure escalations work
Test on different devices

Monitor Channel Performance#

Different channels may have different needs:

Email: More detailed, patient responses
WhatsApp: Quick, concise messages
Web Chat: Balance of speed and detail

Customize Per Channel#

You can assign different:

Agents to different channels
Playbooks based on channel
Response styles (formal on email, casual on WhatsApp)

Troubleshooting Integrations#

Integration Shows "Disconnected"#

Common causes:

Expired authentication token
Changed password on the connected account
Permissions revoked
Service outage

Solutions:

Try reconnecting
Re-authorize permissions
Check integration status page
Contact support if issue persists

Messages Not Appearing#

Check:

Integration is enabled
Correct account/channel connected
No filters blocking messages
Webhook URL is correct (if applicable)

Solutions:

Send a test message
Check integration logs
Verify webhook configuration
Re-sync if needed

Slow Message Delivery#

Possible causes:

High message volume
External service delays
Network issues

Solutions:

Check system status
Verify API rate limits
Contact support for optimization

Data Not Syncing#

For integrations like WooCommerce or Zendesk:

Check:

Permissions are granted
API credentials are correct
Sync is enabled
No data conflicts

Solutions:

Re-authorize the integration
Force a manual sync
Check error logs
Verify data format compatibility

Security & Permissions#

What Permissions Do Integrations Need?#

Each integration requests only what it needs:

Web Chat:

Access to your domain
Ability to load chat widget

WhatsApp:

Access to WhatsApp Business account
Send and receive messages

WooCommerce:

Read orders
Read products
Read customer info (name, email only)

Zendesk:

Read and create tickets
Read customer data
Update ticket status

Keeping Integrations Secure#

Best practices:

✅ Use separate credentials for integrations
✅ Grant minimum necessary permissions
✅ Review connected apps regularly
✅ Revoke unused integrations
✅ Monitor integration logs
✅ Update authentication when passwords change

Multi-Channel Strategy#

When to Use Multiple Channels#

Good reasons:

Reach customers where they prefer
Different regions prefer different channels
Some questions better suited to specific channels
24/7 coverage across time zones

Example setup:

Website chat - Quick questions during business hours
WhatsApp - After-hours and international
Email - Detailed inquiries and formal requests
Zendesk - Internal team collaboration

Maintaining Consistency#

Across all channels:

Use same agent instructions
Same tone and style
Same documentation
Same escalation procedures

But adapt message length:

WhatsApp - Brief, mobile-friendly
Email - More detailed, formatted
Web Chat - Balanced, moderate length

Common Questions#

Can I connect multiple channels at once?#

Yes! Connect as many as you need. Each channel works independently.

Will customers know they're talking to AI?#

Best practice is to be transparent. Most integrations let you customize the greeting to mention AI assistance.

Can I use the same agent across all channels?#

Yes, or you can assign different agents to different channels based on your needs.

What happens if an integration fails?#

You'll be notified immediately. Hay continues working, but new messages on that channel won't come through until reconnected.

Are there limits on message volume?#

Depends on the integration. Hay itself has no limits, but some platforms (like WhatsApp) have their own rate limits.

Can I build my own integration?#

Yes! Hay supports custom integrations via API. See the Developer documentation or contact support.

Next Steps#

Set up your first integration with Quick Start
Configure Agents for different channels
Create channel-specific Playbooks
Monitor performance in Analytics