Today, we decided to re-launch Rake on the Product Hunt platform. There are several reasons for this, but none bigger than helping the world know Rake has been built by some wonderful Ukrainian developers and engineers. Our Ukrainian team have become our work brothers and sisters and they mean the world to us. Help us tell the world they are valued and we appreciate their work by visiting our new Product Hunt listing and sharing your positivity: https://producthunt.com/posts/rake-3

This re-launch does include big advancements for Rake and a tease for next month's release.

Pre-Chat Forms
Many of our customers have requested pre-chat forms for the website chat widget we provide. This build is now complete and a live option in the Rake workspace. These forms are built in a new 'templates' Rake category. The forms are smart forms in that they allow for rules and stacking associated with when they appear in the chat widget and how visitors use them.

https://docs.rake.ai/apps/rake-user-guide/live-chat-widget#message-templates-and-pre-chat-forms

Late March release
In very late March of this year, we plan to push our first iteration of OUTBOUND MESSAGING. Outbound Messaging can be thought of as automated campaigns with smart rules applied to who receives the campaign, what to do with message replies and more. Our first release will include single outbound message capability. This will essentially feel like you're sending someone an SMS text from your Rake workspace.

Universal Channels
At first glance, universal channels seem similar to guest functionality found in many messaging platforms. Upon further review, you'll agree Rake's Universal Channels are a stand-out feature in the Rake universal messaging platform. A Universal Channel from Rake allows users (guests) to fully participate in the channel while using their preferred messaging platform like SMS and WhatsApp. This means the guest will likely never see or use the Rake app and will never be exposed to your Rake workspace. We built this to help you host better conversations with more participation and less complaints about not liking Slack or not knowing how to use Monday.com.