Communications Hub

The Muin Communications Hub centralizes all your organization’s messaging into a single inbox. Connect WhatsApp Business, email, and SMS. Let AI handle routine inquiries, route messages by intent, escalate when needed, and send campaigns to your audience — all from one place.

Overview

Channel Support

Channel	Inbound	Outbound	AI Responses	Broadcasts
Email	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
WhatsApp	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (template-based)
SMS	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
In-App Chat	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

Key Capabilities

Unified Messages - All messages from all channels in one view
AI Auto-Responses - Automatically answer common questions
Intent Routing - Route messages to the right team based on content
Escalation Workflows - Ensure nothing falls through the cracks
Broadcasts - Send targeted messages to segments
SLA Tracking - Monitor response times and resolution rates
Contact Resolution - Automatically match messages to existing contacts

Setting Up the Communications Hub

Prerequisites

Muin admin permissions
For WhatsApp: Meta Business account (see WhatsApp Setup)
For SMS: Phone number or short code
For Email: Domain for sending (or use Muin’s default)

Initial Configuration

Navigate to Communications —> Settings
Enable the channels you want to use
Configure each channel (details below)
Set up team members and assignments
Configure business hours

Business Hours

Set your organization’s availability:

Go to Communications —> Settings —> Business Hours
Define hours for each day of the week
Set timezone
Configure after-hours behavior:

Setting	Description
Auto-Reply	Send a message acknowledging receipt
AI Only	Let AI handle after-hours messages
Queue	Queue for next business day
Emergency Routing	Route urgent messages to on-call staff

Channel Setup

Email Configuration

Muin gives every tenant a working sender out of the box — no DNS setup required for the default path. Want a branded sender on your own domain? Run the optional 6-step wizard.

Path C — Default sender (zero setup)

Donor receipts, payment alerts, and broadcast campaigns send from <your-tenant-slug>@falaah.ai over Muin’s managed AWS SES infrastructure. Replies go to a Reply-To address you configure at Settings → Communications — typically your team’s shared inbox.

Account and system emails (sign-in alerts, password resets, member welcome) use the same managed sender.
Add your team’s Reply-To at Settings → Communications → Channels so donor replies route to a real inbox you watch.
Reputation is shared across all tenants on this path; bounce/complaint events route to the muin-platform-default SES Configuration Set.

Path A — Branded sender on your own domain (optional)

Run the 6-step wizard at Settings → Communications → Set up branded sender. The wizard generates DKIM and MAIL FROM records; you add them at your DNS host; SES verifies; replies route into the Muin comms hub via tokenized addresses.

After setup, receipts come from support@your-foundation.org (or whatever From you choose) with your domain’s reputation.
The wizard takes ~5 minutes plus DNS propagation (typically under 15 minutes).
If a record won’t verify, every wizard step has a built-in Get help → link that opens a tagged support ticket.

When to use which

Need	Path C (default)	Path A (BYO branded)
Zero setup	✓	—
Receipts within 30s of signup	✓	After wizard + DNS
Branded sender on your own domain	—	✓
Replies routed into the Muin comms hub UI	Replies go to your Reply-To inbox	✓ Replies in Muin
Best email reputation	Shared (Muin manages)	Your domain’s reputation

Mailbox Connections (Path B)

Connect your team’s existing Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace mailbox so the messages you already receive in Outlook/Gmail show up alongside donor receipts in the Muin unified inbox. Connection is per-user — each teammate connects their own account at Settings → Communications → Connected mailboxes.

Connect a Microsoft 365 mailbox — work or Outlook.com.
Connect a Google Workspace mailbox — work Gmail.
Workspace admin setup — one-time IT step.
Connect a personal Gmail account — privacy-first forwarding bridge with no inbox-read access.

Path B is independent of Path A and Path C — pick any combination. Most nonprofits run Path C for donor receipts (zero setup) and Path B for staff inbox visibility (per-user OAuth).

SMS Setup

Go to Communications —> Settings —> SMS
Choose your number type:

Type	Description	Best For
Local Number	Standard 10-digit number	General messaging
Toll-Free	1-800 style number	Professional image
Short Code	5-6 digit code	High-volume broadcasts

Complete carrier registration (required for A2P messaging)
Configure opt-in/opt-out keywords
Set up auto-replies for STOP, HELP, and INFO keywords

WhatsApp Setup

Connecting WhatsApp Business requires a Meta Business account and approved phone number. See the dedicated WhatsApp Business Setup Guide for step-by-step instructions.

Unified Inbox

Inbox Layout

The messages view at Communications —> Messages shows:

Left panel - Conversation list with filters
Center panel - Active conversation thread
Right panel - Contact details, history, and actions

Conversation Filters

Filter	Options
Channel	Email, WhatsApp, SMS, In-App, All
Status	Open, Pending, Resolved, Closed
Assigned To	Specific team member, Unassigned, Mine
Priority	Urgent, High, Normal, Low
SLA Status	On Track, At Risk, Breached
Tags	Custom tags applied to conversations

Working with Conversations

Replying:

Type your reply in the message box
Select the channel to reply on (defaults to the inbound channel)
Attach files, images, or documents
Use saved replies for common responses

Actions:

Action	Description
Assign	Route to a specific team member
Tag	Add labels for categorization
Priority	Set urgency level
Snooze	Hide until a specified time
Resolve	Mark the conversation as resolved
Merge	Combine duplicate conversations

Internal Notes:

Click the Note tab in the reply area
Add notes visible only to your team
Tag team members with @mentions
Notes appear in the conversation timeline but are never sent to the contact

AI Auto-Responses

How AI Responses Work

Inbound Message → AI Analyzes Intent → Knowledge Base Match?
       │                                     │
       │                              Yes ──→ AI Responds
       │                              No  ──→ Route to Human
       │
       └─→ Confidence Score ──→ High: Auto-send
                                Medium: Draft for review
                                Low: Route to human

Configuring AI Responses

Go to Communications —> Settings → AI tab
Toggle Enable AI Auto-Responses
Configure behavior:

Setting	Options	Description
Confidence Threshold	0-100%	Minimum confidence to auto-send (default: 80%)
Review Mode	Auto-send, Draft, Off	How AI responses are handled
Channels	Per-channel toggle	Enable AI per channel
Business Hours Only	On/Off	Limit AI to business hours or 24/7
Fallback Message	Custom text	Sent when AI cannot answer

Training AI

Improve AI responses over time:

Thumbs Up/Down - Rate AI responses in the messages view
Corrections - Edit AI responses before sending
New Q&A - Add new question-answer pairs from real conversations
Review Dashboard - See AI performance metrics at Communications —> Analytics

Intent Routing

How Routing Works

Messages are automatically analyzed and routed based on their content:

AI identifies the message intent (billing, support, sales, etc.)
Routing rules determine the destination team or person
Message appears in the assigned inbox

Configuring Routes

Go to Communications —> Automations → Routing Rules tab
Click Add Rule
Configure:

Setting	Description
Intent	The detected message intent
Keywords	Additional keyword triggers
Channel	Apply to specific channels or all
Assign To	Team, individual, or round-robin
Priority	Set default priority
SLA	Apply specific SLA policy

Default Intents

Muin recognizes these intents out of the box:

Intent	Description	Default Route
Billing	Payment, invoice, refund questions	Finance team
Support	Technical help, troubleshooting	Support team
Sales	Pricing, demos, purchasing	Sales team
HR	Employment, benefits, policies	HR team
General	Everything else	General inbox
Spam	Detected spam messages	Auto-archive

Custom Intents

Create custom intents for your organization:

Click Add Intent
Define:
- Intent name
- Description
- Example messages (at least 5 examples)
- Routing destination
AI learns to recognize the new intent

Escalation Workflows

Setting Up Escalations

Ensure critical messages get attention:

Go to Communications —> Automations → Escalation Rules tab
Click Add Rule
Configure triggers and actions:

Triggers:

Trigger	Description
No Response	No reply within X minutes
SLA Warning	Approaching SLA breach
SLA Breach	SLA deadline passed
Priority Change	Message marked as urgent
VIP Contact	Message from a VIP-tagged contact
Keyword	Specific words detected (e.g., “cancel”, “legal”)

Actions:

Action	Description
Notify	Send alert to team or individual
Reassign	Move to a different team member
Escalate	Move to a manager or senior staff
Auto-Reply	Send an automated acknowledgment
Create Task	Create a follow-up task in Muin

Escalation Chains

Define multi-level escalation:

Level 1 (0-15 min):  Notify assigned agent
Level 2 (15-30 min): Reassign to team lead
Level 3 (30-60 min): Escalate to manager + send email alert
Level 4 (60+ min):   Alert admin + create urgent task

Broadcasts

Creating a Broadcast

Send targeted messages to groups of contacts:

Go to Communications —> Broadcasts
Click Create Broadcast
Configure:

Setting	Description
Name	Internal name for the broadcast
Channel	Email, SMS, or WhatsApp
Audience	Contact list, segment, or tag
Message	Content (supports personalization)
Schedule	Send now or schedule for later

Personalization

Use merge tags in your messages:

Hi {{first_name}},

Your invoice #{{invoice_number}} for {{amount}} is due on {{due_date}}.

Pay now: {{payment_link}}

Thanks,
{{org_name}}

Multi-Step Sequences

Create automated message sequences:

Go to Communications —> Automations
Click Create Sequence
Add steps:
- Step 1: Initial message (Day 0)
- Step 2: Follow-up if no response (Day 3)
- Step 3: Final reminder (Day 7)
Set exit conditions (e.g., contact replies, payment received)
Activate the sequence

Broadcast Compliance

Muin enforces messaging compliance:

Opt-in tracking - Only message contacts who have opted in
Unsubscribe handling - Automatic processing of unsubscribe requests
Rate limiting - Comply with carrier and platform limits
Quiet hours - Do not send during configured quiet hours
CAN-SPAM / TCPA - Built-in compliance for US regulations

SLA Tracking

Configuring SLAs

Set response time expectations:

Go to Communications —> Automations → SLA Policies tab
Click Add Policy
Configure:

Setting	Description
Name	Policy name (e.g., “Standard”, “Premium”)
First Response	Maximum time to first reply
Resolution	Maximum time to resolve
Business Hours	Apply only during business hours
Applies To	Channels, priorities, or contact segments

SLA Dashboard

Monitor SLA performance at Communications —> Analytics:

Metric	Description
Compliance Rate	Percentage of conversations meeting SLA
Average First Response	Mean time to first reply
Average Resolution	Mean time to resolution
Breaches Today	Number of SLA breaches today
At Risk	Conversations approaching breach

Analytics

Communications Dashboard

View performance at Communications —> Analytics:

Volume - Messages received and sent by channel
Response Time - Average and median response times
Resolution Rate - Percentage resolved within SLA
AI Coverage - Percentage handled by AI without human intervention
Team Performance - Per-agent metrics
Busiest Hours - Peak messaging times
CSAT - Customer satisfaction (if surveys enabled)

Next Steps

WhatsApp Business Setup - Connect WhatsApp
AI Support Widget - Embed chat on your website
Smart Forms - Collect structured information
Building Workflows - Automate communication flows