Salesforce CRM Enterprise Edition
Introduction
Welcome to the Alive5 Salesforce integration guide.
This guide explains how to connect your Alive5 account to Salesforce Enterprise Edition and configure the integration to search, create, view, and update Salesforce records from Alive5.
With the Salesforce integration, agents can:
- Search Salesforce records from Alive5.
- Create new Salesforce records.
- View record details.
- Associate SMS conversations and live chats with Salesforce records.
- Automatically push SMS conversations and chats to Salesforce records.
- Configure custom entities and fields.
- Customize the fields displayed when searching for or creating records.
CRM Connection
To use the Salesforce integration, you need:
- An active Salesforce CRM account.
- A Salesforce organization with API access enabled.
- A Salesforce connected app configured to allow API access.
Salesforce connected apps allow external applications such as Alive5 to integrate with Salesforce APIs. Salesforce administrators can control access to connected apps using profiles and permission sets.
Connect Salesforce to Alive5
From the Alive5 dashboard, select Integrations in the lower-right corner of the screen.
Select the Salesforce tab. Click Configure.
You will be redirected to the Salesforce login page. Enter your Salesforce username and password. Click Log In.
After successful authentication, you will be redirected to the Alive5 Salesforce integration page. The integration status should now display Connected.
You can now configure the Salesforce integration settings according to your requirements.
If you are connected to your Salesforce Account, then on the right Panel click the second or âInfoâ tab and here you will find the âConnect with Salesforceâ button.
A popup window opens where you can search for existing Salesforce records or create new records. By default, Alive5 can use the following visitor information when searching for or creating records:
- Phone number
- Email address
- Full name
Integration Settings
The Integration Settings section allows you to configure how Alive5 interacts with Salesforce.
You can control whether agents can search for or create records for the default Salesforce entities:
- Account
- Contact
- Lead
You can also configure automatic SMS and chat pushing, activity subjects, CRM data retrieval, search priority, and record creation behavior.
Steps to configure these settings
Open the Salesforce integration settings.
Select the Settings or configuration icon.
The Integration Settings form opens.
Account Settings
Allow Account Search
When enabled, agents can search for Salesforce Account records.
When disabled, Account search is unavailable to agents.
Default: Enabled.
Allow Account Creation
When enabled, agents can create new Salesforce Account records.
Default: Enabled.
Allow Account Name Inversion
When enabled, Alive5 can invert the Account name according to the configured behavior.
Allow Contact Search
When enabled, agents can search for Salesforce Contact records.
Default: Enabled.
Allow Contact Creation
When enabled, agents can create new Salesforce Contact records.
Default: Enabled.
Allow Lead Search
When enabled, agents can search for Salesforce Lead records.
Default: Enabled.
Allow Lead Creation
When enabled, agents can create new Salesforce Lead records.
Default: Enabled.
Allow Contact Conversion
Use this setting to control whether agents can convert eligible Salesforce Contacts according to the integration configuration.
Search Order
The Search Order setting determines the order in which Alive5 searches for Salesforce records.
You can prioritize the following visitor fields:
- Phone number
- Email address
- Full name
Drag and drop the fields to define the search priority.
If the order is Phone â Email â Full Name, Alive5 searches for a matching phone number first. If no matching record is found, it searches by email address. If no email match is found, it searches by full name.
Example 1: All Fields Are Available
If the visitor provides a phone number, email address, and full name:
- Alive5 searches Salesforce using the visitor's phone number.
- If no matching record is found, Alive5 searches using the visitor's email address.
- If no matching record is found, Alive5 searches using the visitor's full name.
Example 2: Some Fields Are Missing
If the visitor does not provide a phone number:
- Alive5 searches using the email address.
- If no email address is available, Alive5 searches using the full name.
The same principle applies when other visitor fields are unavailable.
Activity Settings
Allow Activity Subject Change
The Allow Activity Subject Change setting allows agents or users to customize the subject of activities created for SMS and live chat conversations.
When this setting is enabled, you must configure a backend field with:
- Entity Type: Activity
- Field Type: Picklist
The field can use either a Constant variable type or an Input Variable type.
Constant Variable Type
A constant variable allows you to define a fixed subject value.
The configured value is used whenever the activity is created.
Input Variable Type
An input variable allows the user to select the subject when creating or tagging a record.
Subject Suffix
The Subject Suffix setting allows you to append additional text to the subject of an SMS or live chat activity.
When a suffix is configured, it is appended to the activity subject after a pipe character (|).
For example:
Alive SMS | Customer Support
Alive Chat | Sales
The suffix is applied when a new record is created or an existing record is tagged.
New on Owner Change
If âcheckedâ, new activity will be created if owner is changed.
Allow Fetch CRM Data
The Allow Fetch CRM Data setting allows Alive5 to retrieve information from Salesforce when creating a new SMS record.
When enabled, Alive5 searches Salesforce for a record matching the phone number associated with the SMS. If a matching record is found, relevant information can be retrieved and used to populate the appropriate fields.
For example, Salesforce information can be used to automatically populate the visitor's first and last name.
When disabled: The relevant fields remain empty.
When enabled: Matching Salesforce information is retrieved and populated automatically.
SMS Automation
SMS Automation setting allows Alive5 to automatically associate an SMS conversation with a Salesforce record.
When Allow Auto SMS Push is enabled, Alive5 searches Salesforce using the configured Entity and Entity Field to Map settings.
For example, you can configure:
- Entity: Lead
- Entity Field to Map: Lead.Phone
Multiple entities can also be configured for SMS Automation. However, when Allow Auto SMS Push and Allow Creation are enabled, the configured entities are processed in the order they are listed. The SMS conversation will be pushed to the first matching record returned for the first entity only.
Allow Auto SMS Push
When enabled, Alive5 uses the visitor's phone number to search for a matching record against the configured entity, i.e., Lead in this case, in Salesforce.
If no matching record is found, Alive5 can continue searching using additional configured fields.
If a matching record is found, the SMS conversation is associated with that Salesforce record.
Allow Creation
When Allow Creation and Allow Auto SMS Push are both enabled, Alive5 creates a new Salesforce record if no matching record is found.
The SMS conversation is then pushed to the newly created record.
Push to All Records
When Push to All Records and Allow Auto SMS Push are enabled, Alive5 pushes the SMS conversation to all Salesforce records that match the configured entity and field-mapping criteria.
Chat Automation
Chat Automation setting allows Alive5 to automatically associate a live chat with one or more Salesforce records.
You can configure:
- One or more channels
- The Salesforce entity
- Entity fields to map
- Field search priority
- Whether a new record should be created when no match is found
Channels
Selecting one or more channels limits automatic chat pushing to conversations where the chat automation channel matches the configured widget channel.
Field Identifier
The Field Identifier determines the order in which Alive5 searches for a matching Salesforce record based on entity field to map.
For example, you can configure the following priority:
- Phone
- Account ID
with phone and email as mapping fields
Alive5 first searches for a matching phone number. If no record is found, it searches by email address. If necessary, it continues with the next configured identifier.
If one or more matching records are found with matching phone number, the chat thread is pushed to those records when the chat ends.
If the visitor does not provide a phone number, Alive5 uses the next available identifier, such as email address.
If no matching record is found and Allow Creation is enabled, Alive5 creates a new Salesforce record.
Allow Auto Chat Push
When enabled, Alive5 pushes conversation to the very first matching record found in Salesforce against the configured entity, entity field to map and the field identifier.
Allow Creation
When enabled, Alive5 creates a new Salesforce record if no matching record is found.
The new record is created under the selected Salesforce entity using the visitor's available information, such as their phone or full name.
Push to All Records
When enabled, Alive5 pushes the chat to all matching Salesforce records rather than only the first matching record.
Important: When both Push to All Records and Allow Creation are enabled, Alive5 creates a new record only when no matching record is found. If matching records exist, the chat is pushed to those records.
Default Field Settings
The Default Field Settings section allows you to control which fields appear on record creation forms and which fields are required.
You can also control whether agents can create Person Accounts or/and Business Accounts.
Configure Default Field Settings:
Open the Salesforce integration settings. Select the Default Field Settings configuration icon.
The Default Field Settings form opens.
Account Settings
Is Person Account Enabled
When enabled, agents can create Person Accounts.
When disabled, agents can create Business Accounts only.
Is Account Number Used
When enabled, the Account Number field is available when creating an Account.
Account Email Required
When enabled, an email address is required when creating an Account.
Account Email Show on Form
When enabled, the email address field appears on the Account creation form. Default: Enabled.
Account Number Required
When enabled, an account number is required when creating an Account.
Account Number Show on Form
When enabled, the Account Number field appears on the Account creation form. Default: Enabled.
Account Phone Required
When enabled, a phone number is required when creating an Account.
Account Phone Show on Form
When enabled, the phone number field appears on the Account creation form. Default: Enabled.
Contact Fields
Contact Phone Required
When enabled, a phone number is required when creating a Contact.
Contact Phone Show on Form
When enabled, the phone number field appears on the Contact creation form. Default: Enabled.
Contact Email Required
When enabled, an email address is required when creating a Contact.
Contact Email Show on Form
When enabled, the email address field appears on the Contact creation form. Default: Enabled.
Lead Fields
Lead Phone Required
When enabled, a phone number is required when creating a Lead.
Lead Phone Show on Form
When enabled, the phone number field appears on the Lead creation form. Default: Enabled.
Lead Email Required
When enabled, an email address is required when creating a Lead.
Lead Email Show on Form
When enabled, the email address field appears on the Lead creation form. Default: Enabled.
Lead Company Required
When enabled, a company name is required when creating a Lead.
Lead Company Show on Form
When enabled, the Company field appears on the Lead creation form. Default: Enabled.
Entity Settings
The Entity Settings section allows you to add Salesforce entities in addition to the default entities:
- Account
- Contact
- Lead
You can add entities such as Opportunities, Tasks, or other supported Salesforce objects.
After an entity is added, agents can search for or create records for that entity and use it when associating chats or SMS conversations with Salesforce.
Add a Custom Entity
Open Entity Settings. Select the Add or configuration button.
Enter the required information.
Entity Display Name
Enter the name that agents should see in Alive5.
Entity Name
Enter the Salesforce API name for the entity.
The value must exactly match the API entity name configured in Salesforce.
Primary Field Display Name
Enter the field name that agents will see when creating a record for the entity.
Primary Field Name
Enter the Salesforce API field name.
The value must exactly match the corresponding field name in Salesforce.
Allow Record Creation
Enable this option to allow agents to create records for the custom entity.
An example:
Custom Export Fields
Custom Export Fields allow you to send additional Salesforce fields when creating records.
Custom export fields can use either:
- Alive5 Custom Variable
- Constant
- Input Field
Constant Variables
A constant variable assigns the same predefined value every time a record is created.
The field is not displayed to the agent on the record creation form.
Input Fields
An input field is displayed on the record creation form and allows the agent to enter a value.
You can also mark an input field as required.
Configure Custom Export Fields
Open Custom Export Fields. Select the configuration or add button.
A new form for custom export field configuration will open.
Field Name
Enter the Salesforce API field name.
The field name must exactly match the field name in Salesforce.
Entity Type
Select the Salesforce entity to which the field belongs.
The list includes the default entities and any custom entities configured under Entity Settings.
Variable Type
Select one of the following variable types.
- Alive5 Custom Variable
Alive5 custom variables can use information associated with a chat conversation, such as:
- Location
- IP address
- Computer
- Referrer URL
- Page URL
- Constant
A constant variable assigns a predefined value each time a record is created.
The field is not displayed on the record creation form.
- Input Field
An input field allows the agent to provide a value when creating a record.
The field appears on the record creation form.
Input Field Type
After selecting the variable type, select the appropriate Salesforce field type.
Supported field types include:
Custom Export Fields â Alive5 Custom Variable
When Alive5 Custom Variable is selected, an additional Value field appears on the configuration form.
The available custom variables can be selected from the dropdown list.
Important: The Field Name must exactly match the corresponding Salesforce field name.
Values for these variables can be passed through the chat initiation script or URL.
The custom variable name used in the script or URL must match the variable selected in the Alive5 configuration.
Example Workflow
- Configure the custom export field.
- Pass the custom variable through the chat initiation script or URL.
- Initiate a chat.
- End the chat.
- Open Alive5.
- Click Connect with Salesforce.
- Open the Leads tab.
- Create a new Lead.
- Enter the required information.
- Click Save Lead.
Custom Export Fields â Constant Variable Type
When Constant is selected, additional configuration fields appear based on the selected Salesforce field type.
For most field types, a Value field is provided.
For lookup fields, the configuration includes Related Entity and Lookup fields.
- Checkbox input field type:
- Currency input field type:
- Textbox input field type:
- Date input field type:
- Lookup input field type:
- Picklist input field type:
- Picklist(Multi-Select) input field type:
Custom Export Fields â Input Variable Type
When Input Field is selected, additional configuration options appear.
These include:
- Input Field Label
- Required
Additional options depend on the selected field type.
- In case of currency and textbox, a field labeled as âMax Lengthâ is added to the form. Enter a numeric value to limit the number of characters the agent can enter.
- For date type, you can enable âUse Current Date Timeâ. When enabled, the current date and time automatically populates. When disabled, the date field displays the default âmm/dd/yyyyâ date format.
- For lookup fields, âRelated Entityâ and âUse Lookup Optional Fieldsâ fields are added to the form.
When âUse Lookup Optional Fieldsâ is enabled, additional lookup options appear on the form.
- Checkbox input field type:
- Currency input field type:
- Textbox input field type:
- Date input field type:
- Lookup input field type:
- Picklist input field type:
- Picklist(Multi-Select) input field type:
Drag and Drop Feature for Custom Export Fields
You can change the order in which input fields appear on the record creation form.
- Locate the drag-and-drop handle next to the field.
- Click and hold the handle.
- Drag the field up or down.
- Release the field in the desired position.
The fields appear on the record creation form in the configured order.
Custom Search Fields
By default, agents can search Salesforce records using standard fields such as:
- Name
- Email address
- Phone number
Custom Search Fields allow you to add additional fields that agents can use when searching for records.
Configure Custom Search Field
Open Custom Search Fields. Select the configuration or add button.
Configure the field.
Field Label
Enter the label that agents will see in the search results.
Field Name
Enter the Salesforce field name.
The field name must match the corresponding Salesforce field.
Entity Type
Select the Salesforce entity for which the search field should be configured.
Search Type
Select the data type of the Salesforce field.
Add Filter Value
Enable this option to apply a predefined filter to the search.
When enabled, a Value field appears, allowing you to specify the value that records must match.
For Lookup fields, additional fields such as Related Entity Name and Value are displayed.
Custom Search Fields Without a Filter
When Add Filter Value is disabled, agents can use the configured field as a search criterion.
For example, you could add the Annual Revenue field for the Account entity.
An agent could then enter 2000 as the search value, and Alive5 would return Account records whose Annual Revenue matches the specified value.
Custom Search Fields With a Filter
When Add Filter Value is enabled, the configured value acts as an additional filter.
For example, you could configure:
- Entity: Account
- Field: Annual Revenue
- Filter Value: 2000
The agent can then perform a search, and Alive5 will return only records that meet the configured filter criteria.
Result of searching records using âAlanâ as the search value without applying filter:
Result of searching records using âAlanâ as the search value when filter value of 2000 as annual revenue is applied:
Drag and Drop Feature for Custom Search Fields
The order in which search fields appear on the search form can be altered by using drag and drop feature.
icon can be used to drag the target field and drop it to the desired location. Hold the icon and move it upward or downward, then releasing the mouse at the location where that field needs to be on the form.
According to the above example, a field labeled âRevenueâ will appear first, then followed by âSiteâ on the form. Search form will appear as shown below
Altering the positions of the fields like this
will yield following output
Custom Detail Fields
Custom Detail Fields allow agents to view additional Salesforce information when viewing a record.
The default detail fields include:
- Account: Account Name and Phone
- Contact: First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, and Account
- Lead: First Name, Last Name, Company, Email, and Phone
Configure Custom Detail Field
Open Custom Detail Fields. Select the configuration or add button.
Configure the field.
Field Label
Enter the label that agents will see in the record detail view.
Field Name
Enter the Salesforce field name.
The field name must exactly match the corresponding field in Salesforce.
Entity Type
Select the Salesforce entity for which you want to display the detail field.
Field Type
Select the data type of the Salesforce field.
Add Filter Value
Enable this option to apply a predefined filter to the records returned.
When enabled, a Value field appears.
For Lookup fields, additional fields such as Related Entity Name and Value are displayed.
Agents can view the configured detail fields by selecting the Details icon in the search results.
Custom Detail Fields Without a Filter
When Add Filter Value is disabled, the configured field is displayed in the record's detail view.
The field can also be used as a search criterion.
For example, adding Annual Revenue as a detail field for Account records allows agents to view the annual revenue for each returned Account.
Agents can also search using the Annual Revenue value.
Custom Detail Fields With a Filter
When Add Filter Value is enabled, Alive5 returns only records that meet the configured filter criteria.
For example:
- Entity: Account
- Field: Annual Revenue
- Filter Value: 2000
Only Account records with an Annual Revenue value of 2000 are returned.
Result of searching records using âAlanâ as the search value without applying filter:
Result of searching records using âAlanâ as the search value when filter value of 2000 as annual revenue is applied:
Drag and Drop Feature for Custom Detail Fields
You can change the order in which custom detail fields appear in the record detail view.
- Click and hold the drag-and-drop handle.
- Move the field to the desired position.
- Release the field.
For example, you can arrange the fields so that Revenue appears first, followed by Industry and Site.
According to the above example, a field labeled âRevenueâ will appear first, then followed by âIndustryâ and âSiteâ on the detail view form. It will appear as shown below
Custom Backend Fields
Backend Fields allow Alive5 to send data to specific Salesforce fields automatically.
Backend fields can be associated with default or custom entities.
They can be used when:
- A chat transcript ends.
- An SMS is pushed to Salesforce.
- A new Salesforce entity record is created.
- A chat or SMS is associated with an existing record.
Backend fields support two variable types:
- Constant
- Input Field
Constant
A constant field always sends the same configured value.
The field is not displayed to the agent.
Input Field
An input field allows the agent to enter a value when creating or tagging a record.
Configure Backend Fields
Open Backend Fields. Select the configuration or add button.
Configure the field
Field Name
Enter the Salesforce API field name.
The field name must exactly match the corresponding Salesforce field.
Entity Type
Select the Salesforce entity.
The list includes the default entities and any custom entities configured under Entity Settings.
Variable Type
Select one of the following:
- Constant
A constant variable assigns the same value each time the record is created or tagged.
The field is not displayed to the agent.
- Input Field
An input variable allows the agent to provide a value when creating or tagging a record.
The field appears on the relevant form.
Field Type
Select the Salesforce data type for the field.
Supported field types include:
Overwrite Existing Record
When Overwrite Existing Record is enabled, the configured backend field value replaces the existing value in Salesforce.
When disabled, the existing value is not overwritten.
Backend Fields â Constant Variable Type
When Constant is selected, additional configuration options appear based on the selected field type.
Most field types include a Field Value field.
Lookup fields include:
- Entity
- Lookup
- Checkbox input field type:
- Currency input field type:
- Textbox input field type:
- Date input field type:
- Lookup input field type:
- Picklist input field type:
- Picklist(Multi-Select) input field type:
Backend Fields â Input Variable Type
When Input Field is selected, a Field Label is added to the configuration.
The label is displayed to the agent when the field is available for input.
For Lookup fields, additional options include:
- Entity
- Use Lookup Optional Fields
When Use Lookup Optional Fields is enabled, additional lookup fields are displayed.
After the backend fields are configured, the fields appear on the appropriate Alive5 form.
Drag and Drop Feature for Backend Fields
You can change the order in which input-type backend fields appear on the form.
- Click and hold the drag-and-drop handle.
- Move the field to the desired position.
- Release the field.
For example, you can arrange the fields so that AnnualRevenue appears first, followed by Site and Industry.
Pushing SMS / Chats
Alive5 can automatically or manually push SMS conversations and live chats to Salesforce.
Automatic Push
SMS or chat conversations can be automatically pushed to Salesforce when a new record is created, provided the corresponding automatic push settings are enabled.
The behavior depends on the configuration of:
- Allow Auto SMS Push
- Allow Auto Chat Push
- Allow Creation
- Push to All Records
- Entity
- Entity Field to Map
- Search Order or Field Identifier
Manual Push
To manually push an SMS or chat to Salesforce:
- Open the SMS or Live Chat application.
- Open the conversation.
- Select the Info tab.
- Click Connect with Salesforce.
- Search for the required Salesforce record.
- Locate the record in the search results.
- Click the Tag icon in the Action column.
SMS
For SMS conversations, clicking the Tag icon pushes the SMS conversation to the selected Salesforce record.
After an SMS conversation is tagged, subsequent messages from the visitor or agent are appended to the corresponding Salesforce activity.
Live Chat
For live chat conversations, the chat must end before the conversation is pushed to Salesforce.
The chat is pushed when the conversation is ended.
Summary
The Alive5 Salesforce integration provides a flexible way to connect conversations with Salesforce CRM records.
Administrators can configure:
- Salesforce authentication and API access
- Account, Contact, and Lead search
- Account, Contact, and Lead creation
- Search priority
- Automatic SMS pushing
- Automatic chat pushing
- CRM data retrieval
- Activity subjects and suffixes
- Person Account creation
- Custom Salesforce entities
- Custom export fields
- Custom search fields
- Custom detail fields
- Custom backend fields
- Field ordering
- Manual SMS and chat association
Once configured, agents can use Connect with Salesforce from an SMS or live chat conversation to search for, create, view, and associate Salesforce records directly from Alive5.