External Channels in Zoho Cliq let you communicate and collaborate with people from other organisations, such as vendors, distributors, or clients, all within a single shared chat window. Access is restricted to whoever has actually been added as a channel member, and external users must accept an invite before they can join.
External Channels are the right fit when you need ongoing, group-based collaboration with people outside your organisation, rather than a single one-off conversation. Unlike Guest Chat, which is designed for a lightweight, single conversation without the guest ever needing a Zoho account, an External Channel behaves like a proper group channel, supporting multiple external participants alongside your own team in the same structured space.
An invite is sent to the external user's email address, and they must accept it before gaining access to the channel. Only accepted members can view or participate in the channel's conversation.
Like any Cliq channel, External Channels use the standard channel permission structure, letting admins control who can add participants, edit channel details, or take other administrative actions, so external collaboration can be structured with the same level of control as internal channels.