Previous releases

Control over the Do not disturb status visibility

Admins can now manage whether users can view or set the Do not disturb (DND) status and calendar-based availability in the 8x8 Work for Desktop app. This helps ensure agents stay reachable for queued calls in 8x8 Engage and prevents misuse of DND to block call routing.

Configuration Options

Admins can configure DND visibility in two ways:

• Globally via the 8x8 Admin Console: Navigate to Work Apps Settings > Allow users to set Do not Disturb under Status.

  Note: By default, the setting is enabled. Disable the setting to hide DND status and calendar-driven options for all users. To learn how to manage settings for 8x8 Work applications, see Configure Work Apps Settings.

• Per User via configuration file: Update the user’s 8x8-work-config.json:

  json

  {

  “allow-to-not-disturb”: false

  }

  Note: Deploy this file to the user’s machine only after setting the preference. To learn more about setting system requirements per user by 8x8 Work admins, see About system requirements.

When DND is disabled, users will no longer see:

• Do not disturb status on their Profile Page

  

• Do not disturb preview when hovering over the 8x8 Work icon in the system taskbar.

  

• Set my status to Do not disturb in Calendar & Settings panel

  

To learn how to manage settings for 8x8 Work applications, see 8x8 Admin Console - Configure Work Apps Settings.

Guidance on enforcing E.164 format for Video Elevation in 8x8 Engage

When inviting participants to a Video Elevation session in 8x8 Engage, phone numbers must follow the international E.164 format:

Start with a + plus sign, followed by the country code and number. The full number has no spaces, dashes, or parentheses.

Example:

+14155552671

A reminder tip now appears under the To field to enter the number in the international format. If the number is not properly formatted, delivery fail silently.

To learn more about sending Video Elevation invites, see Communication with your contacts using Video Elevation.

Other updates and enhancements in version 8.23

• Improved Accessibility: Enhanced support for screen readers in the Messages view and General settings, improving navigation and usability for visually impaired users.
• AI-Powered Writing Assistance: Smart suggestions to help users compose and refine replies when editing messages.
• Personalized Chat Summaries: AI-generated summaries now respond in the user’s selected language, supporting better multilingual engagement.

Note: All AI-assisted writing tools and chat summaries are disabled by default. Administrators must explicitly enable it in the Work Apps Settings section of the 8x8 Admin Console by toggling on the Allow hat AI feature option, under General. For more details, refer to 8x8 Admin Console - Configure Work Apps Settings.

Rebranding 8x8 Work for Desktop and Web

The new brand identity refreshes the 8x8 Work desktop and web applications, bringing a modern and vibrant experience that reflects the company's commitment to innovation and a customer-centric approach.

• Updated colours: A vibrant, diverse palette enhances visual appeal and freshness.

• New illustrations: Provide 8x8 Work users with a vibrant visual language that enhances their experience, making navigating and understanding features easier.

  

• New logo and app icon: These have been redesigned to reflect the evolution of the 8x8 brand.

  

• The same great features now accompany a brand-new aesthetic, including a completely redesigned and modernized user interface that offers a fresh and enhanced user experience.

Ability to create expressive messages with AI Writing Tools

A new AI Writing Tools feature has been integrated into the chat area, allowing users to create efficient and expressive messages.

Note: The AI Writing Tools feature is disabled by default. Administrators can enable it in the Work Apps Settings section of the 8x8 Admin Console by toggling on the Allow AI in Chat option.

The chat input area now features an AI Writing Tools button and a list of tools designed to help you craft the perfect message:

• Generate Reply: Instantly creates a response.
• Professional: Maintains a formal and polished tone.
• Casual: Keeps the message relaxed and conversational.
• Sympathetic: Adds warmth and empathy.
• Expand: Adds more detail and depth.
• Shorten: Makes the message concise and straight to the point.
• Rephrase: Improves the submitted response.
• Original: Restores the original response.

To learn more about how to send and receive messages, see Use IM and SMS messages.

Note: A Generate Reply option has been added to the More menu for any text message, making responses quicker and easier.

Other enhancements

• Enhanced accessibility for screen readers in areas such as Messages and General.

In this release, we introduced the following enhancements:

Enhanced experience for uploading a profile picture

When users upload a profile picture that exceeds our size limit of 10 MB, they will receive a warning message detailing the reason for the unsuccessful upload. Previously, the image would fail to upload without any notification.

To learn more about configuring the profile picture, see Set your profile image.

Other enhancements

• Enhanced accessibility for screen readers in areas such as Messages and General.
• When agents use 8x8 Work as their softphone endpoint for the 8x8 Contact Center, the X button on the incoming Contact Center calls info pop-up is unavailable.

In this release, we introduced the following enhancements:

• Ability to summarize chat messages
• Ability to create group MMS messaging
• Other enhancements

Ability to summarize chat messages

Note: This feature is free of charge and available for the 8x8 Desktop/Web apps version 8.20 and later.

We are introducing conversation summaries for the last 24 hours, the past 3 days, unread messages, or messages starting from any specific message. If you have participated in extensive discussions with colleagues or teams and wish to obtain a summary, you can easily generate one.

To summarize chat messages:

1. Open your list of Messages .

2. Depending on your needs, you can:

   • Summarize the conversation from the past 24 hours, the last 3 days, and any unread messages:

     • Hover over the desired chat, and then click More Options > Summarize .
     • Choose the desired time frame: Unread, Last 24 hours, or Last 3 days, .

     

   • Summarize the conversation starting with a specific message:

     • Go to that message, and click More Options > Summarize from here . from here to choose the starting point for the summarization.

     

3. Once you select an option, a new Chat Summarization panel shows the summarized text.

   

To learn more about chat messaging, see 8x8 Work for Desktop – About messages.

Ability to create group MMS messaging

Note: This feature is only available for usage-based billing customers.

The group messaging feature allows you to create MMS groups to communicate with internal and external numbers.

To create a MMS group:

1. Click Messages .

2. Click New > Text Message .

   

3. In the Text Messages window, add the internal and external numbers you want to chat with.

   Note: You must enter at least one external number to create an MMS group.

   

4. Click Ok to create a Group MMS room containing all the specified numbers.

   Note: An MMS group room can only include domestic external numbers from the US or Canada.

   

5. Whenever members are added or removed from the group, a new Group MMS room will be automatically created with the updated participants.

Note: This feature is enabled by default for all customers on usage-based billing. Admins can disable it via the 8x8 Admin Console app by toggling the Disable Group MMS option in the Profile Policies section.

To learn more about how to send and receive messages, see8x8 Work for Dekstop – About messages.

Other enhancements

• Improved accessibility for screen readers in areas like Messaging and General.

In this release, we introduced the following enhancements:

• Improved accessibility for screen readers in areas like Call Control and General.
• Various bug fixes.