Channels that support proactive messaging
Channel | Free-text | Templates | Notes |
Inside the 24-hour customer service window | Required outside the window | Templates must be approved at WhatsApp before they can be sent. Every reply from the customer resets the 24-hour window. | |
SMS | Yes | Not applicable | SMS has no template concept — you can send any text body at any time. |
VBM (Viber Business Messages) | No | Required for every send | Templates must be approved at Viber. No free-text send is available. |
These are the three channels where you can initiate a conversation. All other channels Octopods supports are inbound-only — customers start the conversation, agents respond.
Channel-by-method matrix
Which sending methods can you use for each channel?
Intercom Inbox App | HubSpot extension | Reach | API | Broadcasts | |
Template + free-text (within 24h) | Template + free-text (within 24h) | Template + free-text (within 24h) | Template + free-text (within 24h) | Template + free-text (within 24h) | |
SMS | Free-text | Free-text | Free-text | Free-text | Free-text |
VBM | Template | Template | Template | Template | Template |
All five methods cover all three channels — the difference is the workflow, not the channel coverage.
Inbound-only channels
The following channels are supported in Octopods for receiving messages, but cannot be used to send proactive messages:
Instagram Direct
Facebook Messenger
Slack
LINE
Viber (consumer bot — distinct from Viber Business Messages)
WeChat
Telegram
If you try to send proactively from one of these channels, Octopods won’t offer it as a sending option in any of the methods above. Use WhatsApp, SMS, or VBM instead.
Channel rules to remember
WhatsApp templates must be approved. Submit a template, wait for Meta to approve it, then send.
VBM templates must be approved. Submit a template, wait for Viber to approve it, then send.
SMS encoding affects cost. A single emoji or accented character shifts SMS into Unicode encoding, which halves the characters-per-segment and can double the billed segments. Plain ASCII is cheaper.
The 24-hour window is provider-enforced. No matter which Octopods method you use, WhatsApp will reject free-text sent outside the 24-hour customer service window.
What’s next