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Exotel Integration with Freshchat

Overview​

Connect Exotel with Freshchat to enable voice calling capabilities within your live chat workflows, allowing agents to seamlessly switch between chat and voice communication.

Key Capabilities​

  • Voice escalation from active chat threads — Agents can initiate an Exotel call directly from an ongoing Freshchat conversation without losing the chat context or switching tools
  • Click-to-call from chat contact profiles — Phone numbers on Freshchat contact profiles become one-click dialers, making outbound follow-up calls fast and trackable
  • Unified conversation history — Call activity and recordings are linked back to the Freshchat conversation thread, giving a single view of all customer interactions across voice and chat
  • Agent availability sync — Agent availability status in the Exotel widget can reflect in Freshchat, so customers in chat can be informed when an agent is on a call
  • Post-call notes added to chat thread — Notes and outcomes captured in the Exotel widget after the call are appended to the related Freshchat conversation
  • Automatic contact matching — When a call comes in or goes out, Exotel matches the phone number to an existing Freshchat contact and links the activity automatically

Prerequisites​

Before configuring this integration, make sure you have:

  • An active Exotel account with at least one ExoPhone provisioned
  • Your Exotel Account SID, API Key, and API Token — available under Settings > API in the Exotel Dashboard
  • Administrator access to your Freshchat account (Admin role required to install apps from the Freshchat Marketplace)
  • Agents configured in the Exotel Dashboard; for browser-based calling, agents need Chrome or Edge with microphone permissions granted
  • A Freshchat plan that supports third-party integrations (check your Freshchat plan's marketplace access)

Setup Steps​

  1. Log in to Freshchat as an administrator and navigate to Settings > Integrations & Apps > Marketplace.
  2. Search for Exotel and click Install on the Exotel integration.
  3. Enter your Exotel Account SID, API Key, and API Token when prompted during the installation flow.
  4. Map your ExoPhone(s) to the Freshchat inbox or team that handles voice-escalated conversations.
  5. Configure agent mappings: associate each Freshchat agent with their Exotel agent ID so calls and chat threads link to the same agent record.
  6. Choose your escalation preferences — decide whether agents can initiate calls from the chat thread action menu, from contact profiles, or both.
  7. In the Exotel Dashboard, confirm that your inbound call AppLet routes calls to the correct agent group, and enable call recording under Settings > Call Recording if needed.
  8. Save the configuration and ask agents to reload Freshchat. The Exotel CTI widget will appear within the Freshchat interface.

What Agents See​

After setup, agents handling a live chat conversation see a Call button in the chat action menu. Clicking it opens the Exotel softphone widget and dials the customer's phone number, while the chat thread stays open in the same browser tab. The agent can speak on the call and still reference the chat history for context. Once the call ends, the agent adds a brief note in the Exotel widget, and this note — along with call duration and the recording link — is appended to the Freshchat conversation thread, giving a complete omnichannel record of the interaction.