# External Contacts

**Navigation:** Admin → Directory → External Contacts

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## What Are External Contacts?

External Contacts is the central repository for people and organizations **outside your company** — customers, vendors, partners, suppliers. Contact records surface in the agent workspace during live interactions, giving agents immediate context without switching systems.

There are two object types:

| Object | What It Represents |
|---|---|
| **External Organization** | A company or entity (e.g., "Oracle Support", "Acme Corp") |
| **External Contact** | An individual person, optionally linked to an External Organization |

> ✅ **Best practice:** Create the External Organization first, then create contacts linked to it. This allows you to track all individuals from the same company under one record.

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## Creating an External Organization

1. Admin → Directory → **External Contacts**
2. Click **Add → Organization**
3. Fill in:

| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| **Name** | Company name — required |
| **Website** | Company URL |
| **Address** | Physical address |
| **Custom Fields** | Org-specific fields you've configured (e.g., Account ID, SBC Serial Number) |

4. Click **Save**

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## Creating an External Contact

1. Admin → Directory → **External Contacts**
2. Click **Add → Contact**
3. Fill in:

| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| **First Name / Last Name** | Required — the only mandatory fields |
| **Associate Org** | Link to an External Organization (search and select) |
| **Email** | Work, cell, or home addresses |
| **Phone** | Add one or more numbers |
| **SMS Toggle** | ⚠️ Click the SMS icon next to each phone number to explicitly enable or disable SMS — not enabled by default |
| **Social Media** | Add handles for WhatsApp, Twitter/X, Facebook, Line |
| **Survey Opt-Out** | Check to prevent automated post-call surveys from being sent to this contact |
| **Notes** | Free-text historical context not captured in standard fields |
| **External System Link** | A URL pointing to your own internal CRM or database record for this contact |

4. Click **Save**

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## SMS Toggle — Important Detail

SMS capability on a phone number is **not enabled by default**. For each number on a contact record:

- Click the **SMS icon** next to the number
- Toggle to **On** to allow agents to send SMS to that number
- Toggle to **Off** to block SMS to that number

This must be set explicitly — there is no org-wide "enable SMS for all contacts" switch.

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## Survey Opt-Out

The **Survey Opt-Out** checkbox on a contact record:
- Prevents automated post-interaction surveys from being sent to that contact
- Applies across all survey methods configured in the org
- Should be set when a customer has explicitly requested no surveys

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## Custom Fields

Both External Organizations and External Contacts support **custom schema fields**:
- Fields are configured by admins at the schema level (not per-record)
- Examples: Account Tier, Contract ID, SBC Model, Support Level
- Appear in the contact/org record and in the agent workspace pop-up

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## Bulk Management

For large contact databases, manual entry is not practical. Three methods:

| Method | Best For |
|---|---|
| **CSV Upload** | One-time or periodic bulk imports from a spreadsheet |
| **CRM Sync** | Continuous sync from Salesforce or other supported CRMs — keeps contacts current automatically |
| **External Contacts API** | Custom integrations pushing data from internal systems (ticketing, billing, ERP, etc.) into Genesys |

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## Where Agents See This Data

During a live interaction, the **CX Agent Workspace** automatically surfaces the matching External Contact record when the caller's number matches a record in External Contacts. Agents see:

- Contact name and organization
- Phone numbers and email addresses
- Social handles
- Notes and custom fields
- Link to the external system (if configured)

This eliminates the need for agents to look up customer records manually during a call.

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## Division Behaviour

> ⚠️ External Contacts **cannot be reassigned between divisions** after creation. If a contact needs to move to a different division, you must delete the record and recreate it in the correct division.

Plan your division structure before bulk-importing contacts.

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## Quick Reference — Key Facts

| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Object types | External Organization + External Contact |
| Required fields (Contact) | First Name and Last Name only |
| SMS | Must be explicitly toggled per phone number |
| Survey opt-out | Per-contact checkbox |
| Division reassignment | Not supported — delete and recreate |
| Bulk import | CSV, CRM sync (Salesforce), or API |
| Agent visibility | CX Agent Workspace during live interactions |
| Custom fields | Configurable at schema level for both Orgs and Contacts |

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## See Also

- **Divisions & Access Control** — division assignment at contact creation time
- **Integration Management** — CRM sync configuration (Salesforce, etc.)
- **Queue & Routing Management** — how interaction routing connects to contact lookup