Channel overview and binding
This page explains how external messaging channels relate to personal account binding, and how users authorize and bind their own channel accounts after an admin completes the app configuration.
Who it's for: Channel configurators and users of external chat platforms.
Search keywords: Channel binding, messaging channel binding, channel connection, bot.
1. What channel binding solves
Channel binding links your account on an external chat platform to your AE account. You can send requests from a chat tool you already know, the system identifies you, and you can use Agents in the workspaces you have permission to access.
- Use Agents from external chat entry points: You don't need to go back to the AE page every time you send a request.
- Choose an execution environment for your business: Select a workspace and an Agent in a regular direct message, and later messages keep using the current selection.
- Separate configuration and usage responsibilities: Admins connect and enable channel instances, and users bind their own accounts. Binding doesn't automatically grant additional resource permissions.
One platform can have multiple channel instances. Check both the platform and the instance name when you operate, and don't identify the binding target by a platform name such as "Feishu" or "Slack" alone.
2. Prepare for binding and choose a channel instance
Prerequisites: An admin has configured the app messaging channel for the platform in Channel management. Account binding links your identity on the external platform. Platform app configuration and personal account binding are two separate steps.
Confirm that the target channel is enabled, that you're signed in to the correct AE account, and that you can use your own external platform account. A new or restored binding also requires an existing, available personal default space. Binding doesn't automatically create or repair a space.
- Open the AE user menu and go to Channel Accounts.
- Expand the platform you want to use and find the channel instance name that your admin provided. If there are many instances, use the search in the list.
- Check the status, such as Bound, Unbound, or Disabled, and then bind or manage the target instance.
Instances that are unbound and disabled, or that don't have an available binding method configured yet, may not appear in the list. Instances that are already bound may still appear even when disabled. Bound means that your identity is linked, not that the channel can currently receive and execute messages.
3. Complete account authorization or binding code verification
Click Bind for the target instance and complete the authorization window or binding code dialog that actually appears. The available methods depend on the platform and the admin configuration, and not every channel opens the same kind of authorization window.
| Method | How to complete | Tips |
|---|---|---|
| Account authorization | In the authorization window that opens, check the external account and permissions, confirm authorization, and then return to AE to check the binding status. | Feishu, Lark, Slack, and Discord use the authorization flow. Some other platforms can also offer authorization after configuration. |
| Binding code verification | Copy the complete binding command from the dialog, send it in a direct message to the corresponding bot or connected account, and wait for the binding to succeed. | Commands vary by platform: WeCom uses the Chinese word for "bind" followed by the binding code, while DingTalk, Mattermost, Google Chat, Zoom Team Chat, and WhatsApp use "+bind" followed by the binding code. Copy the command that is actually generated. |
| Google Chat file authorization | If you're bound but haven't authorized native file sending, click Authorize files and complete authorization. If you're not bound, Bind and authorize may appear instead. | An admin needs to configure the corresponding authorization method first. Identity binding and native file sending authorization are separate permissions. |
The binding code only verifies your own external account. Don't forward it to others or send it to public group chats. If the binding code expires, start binding again and use the new command. When you're done, return to Channel Accounts and confirm that the target instance shows Bound.
Multiple Google Chat instances: When your company has multiple Google Chat instances, the current binding code flow can't guarantee that you bind to the instance selected in the menu. Use the configured account authorization method first. If you can only use a binding code, ask your admin to confirm the target instance first, and don't rely on the binding success message alone to identify the binding target.
4. Select a workspace and Agent in direct messages
The following commands apply to regular direct messages. The space selection determines which workspace later requests run in, and the Agent selection determines which assistant is used. The selection is saved to the current channel binding and applies to all later messages, not just the next one.
Feishu, Lark, Discord, DingTalk, and WeCom use "/" as the conversation command prefix, while Slack, Mattermost, Google Chat, Zoom Team Chat, and WhatsApp use "+". For binding code commands, follow the binding dialog, and don't mix them up with the conversation command prefixes here.
| What you want to do | "/" prefix channels | "+" prefix channels |
|---|---|---|
| View the workspaces you can select | /space | +space |
| Select a workspace by name | /space 空间名称 | +space 空间名称 |
| Restore your personal default space | /space default | +space default |
| View the Agents you can select | /agent | +agent |
| Select an Agent by name | /agent Agent名称 | +agent Agent名称 |
| Restore the default Agent of the current space | /agent default | +agent default |
View the list first, and then select by full name. If identical names prevent a unique match, make the names distinct first instead of using the space or Agent ID. The space must be a personal space you can access or a shared space in the current company, and the Agent must be visible and enabled. To actually run, you also need run permission in the current space.
- Switching to another space: Creates a new conversation in the target space, clears the Agent separately selected in the current binding, and uses the default Agent of the target space instead. Old conversations aren't moved to the new space.
- Switching Agents: Updates the Agent selection of the current binding and resets the model runtime context. Don't assume that the previous model context carries over completely.
- While queued, running, or waiting for user input: You can't switch spaces or Agents. Finish or end the current run first.
- Group chats: The space selection rules above for regular direct messages don't apply. A selection made in your personal direct messages can't serve as a shared setting for the whole group chat.
5. Manage bindings and understand permission boundaries
Unbind and rebind
In Channel Accounts, find the bound instance, select Unbind, and check the confirmation message. Usually, unbinding removes only your identity link to the selected instance and doesn't delete the channel app that the admin configured. If unbinding fails, follow the error message and try again. Closing the dialog doesn't mean that unbinding succeeded.
Current Google Chat limitation: Unbinding removes all of your Google Chat bindings in the same company, not just the selected instance, and clears the native file sending authorization for those bindings. If you only want to unbind one of the instances, contact your admin first to confirm how to proceed.
After unbinding, you need to complete verification again before your identity can be recognized. Restoring a binding uses your personal default space again and clears the Agent you previously selected separately. To use another space or Agent, select it again after binding. If you're told that the external account is already bound to another AE user, deal with the existing binding first and then try again.
Binding doesn't grant all permissions
- Disabled channels: Even if Bound is still shown, that doesn't mean messages can be executed. Ask your admin to confirm whether the channel is enabled.
- Space access and running: Binding can't bypass space membership, company scope, or run permissions. If the space or runtime environment is unavailable, restore the access conditions first.
- Agents and capabilities: You still need to meet the Agent visibility and enabled-status requirements, as well as the authorization requirements of the workspace and related capabilities. Binding doesn't automatically give you access to all tools or knowledge bases.
6. FAQ and next steps
What to check first when you run into issues
- Can't find the channel instance: Check the current company, the instance name, and the admin configuration. Unbound instances that are disabled or have no available binding method may not be shown.
- The authorization window doesn't open: Check whether your browser blocks pop-ups, allow them, and start authorization again. If the window opens but authorization fails, check your account and the error message.
- Binding doesn't succeed after you send the binding command: Make sure you sent it to the correct bot or connected account, and that the command is complete and hasn't expired. If it has expired, get a new one instead of sending the old code again.
- Shows bound, but messages can't be executed: Check, in order, whether the channel is enabled, whether the current space is accessible and can run, and whether the selected Agent is available. The binding status only proves that your identity is linked.
- You're told that a previous binding is missing a workspace: First confirm that your personal default space and its runtime environment are available, and then unbind and bind again. Google Chat users should read the multi-instance impact described above before unbinding.
- Can't switch spaces or Agents: End the current run first, and then try again with the full name from the list. Duplicate names, missing permissions, a disabled space, or an abnormal runtime environment must be resolved first.
- Google Chat can chat but can't send native attachments: Check whether the Authorize files entry is available and complete authorization. If there's no entry, ask your admin to confirm the authorization configuration.
Continue by goal
- To create or enable channels, or to troubleshoot platform apps, permissions, and message connections, read Channel management.
- To create a personal or shared space, or to configure space capabilities and permissions, read Create a space.
- To configure the Agent you use, read Agent.
- To learn how to use conversations within the platform, read Conversations.
- To learn about Agent team collaboration, read Agent Team (Beta).
- To browse other channel-related topics, see the Channels and Integrations section.