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Design with Beacon
A living guide to building with AI at Dialpad. The workflow, the toolkit, and what's changing each week.
New here? Start with The process, then explore the Beacon toolkit. The Pair sessions are there when you're ready to work through it with someone.
What's new in Beacon
Auto-synced from beacon-app releases. Toolkit page reflects these changes.
Canvas streaming responses now display as feed rows
AI responses that are still generating now appear directly in the canvas feed instead of separate panels. This gives you a more integrated view of in-flight conversations. The new CanvasStreamingFeedRow component handles the rendering, while updates to the conversation hook keep everything in sync. If you run into display issues with streaming content, reach out to Josh.
Omnibox AI surfaces concurrent stream contention
The global search modal and AI service hooks now display information about concurrent stream limitations directly in the omnibox. This helps you understand when AI features may be constrained by system capacity.
Message composer refactored into modular components
The message composer has been split into focused sub-components and composables for better maintainability and clearer separation of concerns. If you're working with composer-related features or customizations, reach out to Josh for guidance on the new structure.
Omnibox AI classifier and canvas handoff added
The omnibox search in GlobalSearchModal now includes AI-powered classification and can hand off queries to canvas conversations. Two new composables (useOmniboxAi and useOmniboxClassifier) enable smarter search routing. Reach out to Josh if you want to explore how this affects search behavior in your workflows.
AI artifact cards and read-only feed view added
Four new card components (ArtifactCard, ListCard, SummaryCard, TableCard) are now available for displaying AI-generated content in feeds. The feed row layout has been updated to support these cards, and a new artifacts data layer powers the functionality. Check with Josh if you need to integrate these into your designs.
AI conversation side panel added to Beacon
A new resizable panel now appears alongside your design canvas, surfacing AI-assisted conversation features through DialpadPanel.vue and DialpadPanelHeader.vue. The panel integrates with your view history and feature flags to provide contextual AI capabilities. Reach out to Josh if you need guidance on how to use or customize this feature in your designs.
Account Hub construction page added
The Account Hub now includes a new construction page view accessible from AccountHubView.vue. Feature flag logic in useFeatureFlags.ts has been updated to support this addition. Reach out to Josh if you need details on enabling or testing this new section.
AI Receptionist wizard workflow and preview panel
The receptionist setup experience now includes a multi-step wizard (BusinessStep, IdentityStep, KnowledgeStep, SkillsStep, RoutingStep, ReviewStep, VoiceStep) with supporting widgets for persona and voice selection, plus a live preview panel and agent stats. The AiReceptionistControls and navigation panel have been updated to support this new flow. Reach out to Josh if you need guidance on integrating these components into your designs.
View older releases
Pinned messages panel added to right sidebar
The right sidebar now displays a dedicated pinned messages section, letting you quickly access and manage important conversation items. This new panel appears alongside your existing sidebar content in FeedTemplate, PanelArea, and the conversation rows themselves.
Agent record extensions and permission foundation
The Skills Workflows tab and agent-related composables now support extended agent records with permission controls. This lays groundwork for more granular access management in Agentic Studio. Reach out to Josh if you need details on how permissions affect your workflow designs.
Salesforce account data layer integrated
The data fetching layer for Salesforce accounts, contacts, and opportunities is now available in Beacon. This enables designers to prototype and test workflows that pull live account information from Salesforce. Reach out to Josh if you need guidance on implementing these hooks in your designs.
AI writing panel gets refined interactions and polish
The Composer AI panel and response cards now have improved UX details across states and interactions. Check out the Composer section in Beacon to see the refinements, and reach out to Josh if you have questions about the updated behavior.
Message Composer gains AI rewrite presets
The message composer now includes preset AI rewriting options in a new popover that appears when you're composing. You can quickly apply common rewrites like tone adjustments or length changes without typing custom prompts. If you want to customize these presets or have feedback on what options would help most, reach out to Josh.
AI receptionists navigation and detail views added
The left sidebar now includes AI receptionist management with a new dedicated section. You'll find a home view for AI receptionists and detail views accessible from the ReceptionistNavPanel and main navigation. Check with Josh if you need guidance on integrating these new views into your design workflows.
Preferences and segmented controls migrated to Dialtone
The Preferences Modal and related navigation controls now use Dialpad's Dialtone design system instead of custom components. This affects the appearance and behavior of theme settings, variant selection, and preference toggles across Beacon's settings panels.
AI Assistant feature flags consolidated in devtools
The AI Assistant Controls panel now has a unified feature flags section instead of scattered toggles. This makes it easier to manage AI-related experiments and settings in one place when testing designs.
Canvas AI conversation composer and inbox integration
The message composer and inbox detail feed now support AI-assisted conversations directly in the canvas view. New conversation management hooks and persistence features enable draft saving and mention handling across the canvas sidebar and content area. Reach out to Josh if you need details on the new useDialpadPanel and useCanvasConversations APIs.
Inbox adopts conversation index pipeline
The inbox now uses the conversation index pipeline for data handling across list views, message details, feed rendering, and content enrichment. This improves how inbox data flows through Beacon's design system. Reach out to Josh if you notice any changes to inbox behavior or performance.
Power Dialer campaign context added to callbar
The callbar now displays Power Dialer campaign information, giving you immediate context about active campaigns during calls. Check the ActiveCallOverlay and CallbarOverlays components to see the new campaign details in action.
Beacon Brief
Every Monday. The week's Beacon changes, in plain English.
Week of 11–17 May 2026
This was a big week for AI features in Beacon. The omnibox got smarter with AI-powered classification to route your searches correctly, and it now shows you when the system is under load from concurrent streams. The message composer was refactored into smaller pieces for easier maintenance. Four new card components landed (ArtifactCard, ListCard, SummaryCard, TableCard) to display AI-generated content in a feed. The AI conversation side panel is now live alongside your canvas, so you can talk to Claude without leaving your design workspace. The AI Receptionist wizard shipped with a full setup flow and real-time preview. And the pinned messages panel is now accessible from the right sidebar. This is the week Beacon started feeling less like a prototyping tool and more like an AI-first design canvas.
What actually changed
The omnibox AI now displays contention warnings when multiple concurrent streams compete for resources. It also classifies queries intelligently to route them to the right place, with new hooks managing how omnibox behavior connects to your canvas conversations.
The message composer was split into focused sub-components and composables. If you're designing with the composer, this shouldn't break your workflow, but reach out to Josh if you hit anything unexpected.
Four new card components shipped: ArtifactCard, ListCard, SummaryCard, TableCard. These power a new read-only feed display via a useArtifacts data layer. The feed row was updated to surface these artifacts.
The AI conversation side panel (DialpadPanel.vue and DialpadPanelHeader.vue) now appears alongside your canvas. It's resizable, persists your conversation context as you navigate, and integrates with view history and feature flags.
The AI Receptionist wizard includes new steps for business info, identity, knowledge, skills, routing, and voice selection. A preview panel lets you see your receptionist configuration in real time.
The pinned messages panel is now accessible from the right sidebar in conversation views.
New infrastructure shipped: Account Hub construction page, Salesforce data layer hooks for account/contact/opportunity data, agent record extensions with permission controls, and AI artifact cards feeding into the read-only display layer.
The bigger shift
The line between Beacon and a conversational AI workspace is blurring. You're no longer just prototyping UI in isolation. You can now have Claude conversations live in your canvas, see AI-generated artifacts rendered as cards, and access a persistent AI panel without switching windows. The omnibox got classification logic to understand what you're asking for. The Receptionist wizard gives you a full setup experience to test. This is moving Beacon toward being the place where you design with AI, not just design for AI.
Where things are still messy
The message composer refactor is fresh. Josh should be consulted on any impacts to your specific workflows. The Salesforce data layer is foundation-level right now — it can pull data, but integration patterns into your designs are still being figured out. The AI classifier behavior on omnibox searches is new and worth checking with Josh if you're testing complex search interactions.
What's coming next
More card types are likely coming to the artifact feed. The Receptionist experience will probably expand beyond the wizard into management and analytics views. The Salesforce integration will move from data hooks into actual UI patterns that surface CRM info in your designs. Conversation context across panels will get smarter.
Try this
Open the AI conversation side panel while you're building a design, and use it to ask Claude about your component structure or UX patterns without leaving the canvas. The panel stays open and remembers context, so it feels like a design partner sitting next to you.
Quick notes
- The
useArtifactscomposable is how you access the feed data layer for those new card components. - Feature flags got consolidated in the devtools panel a few weeks back, so toggling AI features during design is faster now.
- The conversation index
Week of 4–10 May 2026
This week was about conversation management and AI polish. The pinned messages panel landed in the right sidebar, giving you a dedicated spot to surface and organize saved highlights from conversations. That's the main UX addition. The rest of the week focused on backend groundwork: Salesforce account data is now live in the data layer, which means features that need CRM context can pull it directly. Agent permissions got a foundation too, so downstream features can enforce granular access controls when agents touch external data. The AI writing experience in the Composer got refinements to both the panel layout and how responses render. None of this breaks existing work, but if you're building features that lean on Salesforce data or AI-assisted messaging, the plumbing is fresher now.
What actually changed
Pinned messages panel now lives in the right sidebar (PanelArea). It lets you access and manage saved conversation highlights without digging through the feed.
Salesforce account data layer is integrated and live. The account hub pulls Accounts, Contacts, and Opportunities data through new hooks in the seeding layer. If you're building features that need CRM context, it's there now.
Agent record extensions and permissions got foundational setup in the Skills & Workflows tab and Salesforce integrations. This powers granular access controls when agents interact with external data.
AI writing panel and response cards were polished for better UX in the Composer section.
The bigger shift
The pattern this week is infrastructure maturity. Less visible UI work, more backend readiness. Beacon is getting the plumbing in place to support features that talk to external systems (Salesforce) and enforce permissions at scale. This suggests the next wave of design work will lean harder on CRM integration and agent capability features.
Where things are still messy
Reach out to Josh if you need clarity on how the agent permissions system actually affects design workflows. The foundational setup is there, but the design surface area is still being scoped.
What's coming next
Expect more Salesforce-powered features to land in the account hub and agent detail views. The permissions foundation suggests role-based controls are coming next. The AI rewrite presets and summary pills from earlier in May are probably getting more refinement too.
Try this
Check out the pinned messages panel this week. Add a few pins to a conversation in your prototypes and see how the panel updates in the right sidebar. It's a clean pattern for surfacing saved context without cluttering the main feed.
Quick notes
- Dialtone components are now used in Preferences and segmented controls. If you're designing preference or settings panels, reference these.
- Feature flags for AI Assistant functionality are consolidated in devtools now, making it faster to toggle features during design work.
- Feed layout now expands properly when you collapse the right panel. No more wasted space.
One thing to remember
The Salesforce data layer is live, so features that need CRM context don't have to fake it anymore.
Week of 27–3 May 2026
This week was light on shipping but solid on refinement. The AI writing panel got a visual polish pass, and the message composer now has preset rewrite options that let you quickly apply common adjustments without typing prompts. That's the kind of thing that matters—less friction in the actual design workflow. The bigger story is that Beacon keeps filling in gaps around AI features: the Canvas now talks directly to Dialpad's AI service, the devtools panel consolidated all those scattered feature flags into one place, and we've got dedicated navigation for AI Receptionists ready to go. Nothing earth-shattering, but the direction is clear. Reach out to Josh if any of these changes affect your current prototypes.
What actually changed
- AI writing panel and response cards now have refined interactions and visual feedback. Check ComposerAIPanel.vue and ComposerAIResponseCard.vue.
- Message composer preset rewrites surface common writing adjustments in a popover without needing you to type prompts. Customizable presets available on request.
- AI Receptionists navigation added to the left sidebar with home and detail views.
- Preferences modal and segmented controls now use Dialtone components instead of custom builds. May affect keyboard navigation behavior.
- AI Assistant feature flags consolidated in devtools. No more hunting through multiple panels.
- Canvas AI conversation hooks (useCanvasConversations, useDialpadConversation, useDialpadPanel) connect to Dialpad's AI service. Test AI features without leaving Beacon.
- Inbox conversation pipeline refactored for better data handling and performance across feed, list, and detail views.
- Power Dialer campaign context now displays in the callbar.
The bigger shift
The tool is getting more opinionated about AI workflows. Instead of just supporting them, Beacon is baking in AI patterns as first-class citizens—preset options, dedicated navigation sections, tighter integration with Dialpad's backend. This means the things you prototype in Beacon now have a clearer path to feeling like the real product.
Where things are still messy
The Preferences modal migration to Dialtone is new. If keyboard navigation feels off in segmented controls, that's worth flagging to Josh. The AI Receptionists navigation is scaffolding—the actual functionality is still coming.
What's coming next
More work around AI features and the Contact Center section. The navigation structure is in place. Expect to see actual interaction patterns and data flows filling in over the next few weeks.
Try this
Open the message composer and look for the preset rewrite options. Try applying one to some copy you're working with. It's faster than typing a prompt, and if it doesn't do what you need, you can always follow up with a custom request.
Quick notes
- Feed area now expands properly when you close the right panel. More breathing room.
- Fixed a bug where favorite stars were showing up on channel groups. They shouldn't.
- Inbox reply indicators and detail panel threading now work as expected.
One thing to remember
Reach out to Josh before assuming behavior has changed in Preferences or Dialtone components—the migration is recent.
Week of 20–26 Apr 2026
This was a solid week of consolidation and expansion. AI Receptionists got a full navigation home view added to the sidebar, which means designers can now prototype the complete receptionist experience end-to-end. The bigger move was collapsing all the AI Assistant feature flags into devtools so you're not hunting across five different panels to toggle things. Canvas conversations now talk directly to Dialpad services through new hooks, the callbar picked up campaign context, and the layout engine got smarter about reclaiming space when you close panels. These are the kinds of changes that make prototyping feel less janky.
What actually changed
AI Receptionists navigation and home view — Added AgentsLeftSidebar and ReceptionistNavPanel so you can build full receptionist flows with a dedicated home view and detail pages. New useReceptionists hooks support the whole thing.
AI Assistant feature flags consolidated — All the toggles for AI-assisted design features now live in a single devtools panel instead of scattered across the app.
Canvas AI conversations integrated with Dialpad — useCanvasConversations, useDialpadConversation, and useDialpadPanel hooks let the canvas talk to Dialpad services for real conversation management in the left sidebar and content area.
Power Dialer campaign context in callbar — The callbar now shows which campaign an active call belongs to without you having to leave the calling interface.
Inbox using conversation index pipeline — The entire Inbox section (detail feed, message list, data hooks) refactored to use the conversation index pipeline for better performance and filtering.
Preferences and segmented controls moved to Dialtone — The Preferences modal and segmented controls got refactored to use Dialtone primitives, so appearance settings and theme selection look and behave more consistently.
Layout space redistribution when right panel collapses — The feed area no longer leaves dead space when you close the right panel. Available space gets properly redistributed.
Star icon removed from channel sidebar groups — Fixed visual noise where favorites stars were showing up next to channels in system sidebar groups. Only individual contacts and conversations should have favorite status.
The bigger shift
There's a clear move toward making Beacon itself feel less like a prototyping tool and more like a real application. Adding campaign context to calls, integrating conversations with Dialpad services, and giving receptionist workflows their own navigation suggests the team is building out proper feature verticals instead of just generic UI components. The consolidation of feature flags and the Dialtone migration also signal a focus on making the tool more predictable and less scattered.
Where things are still messy
Canvas AI conversations are new enough that integrations may have rough edges. Reach out to Josh if you hit behavioral changes in the Preferences modal or segmented controls after the Dialtone migration.
What's coming next
Expect more feature-specific navigation scaffolds like the Contact Center structure that shipped earlier in April. The pattern of moving from generic hooks to domain-specific ones (receptionist, campaign, conversation) is going to keep going.
Try this
Go into devtools and toggle the AI Assistant feature flags. They're all in one panel now instead of spread out. If you're testing AI-assisted design, you'll notice it's much faster to flip things on and off for quick iteration.
Quick notes
- Power Dialer campaign context is live in the callbar — test it with active calls to see which campaign they belong to.
- Inbox is now using the conversation index pipeline for better data handling — if you notice changes in how messages load or filter, that's why.
- The callbar, inbox feed, and preferences modal all saw real improvements this week. None of these are breaking, but they're worth a quick look if you're working in those areas.
One thing to remember
Beacon is getting faster and more predictable. The infrastructure work around conversation pipelines and feature flags consolidation is boring but it means your prototypes will behave more like the real product.
View April 2026
Week of 13–19 Apr 2026
AI features got more organized this week, and the inbox got a real upgrade under the hood. Josh consolidated all the AI Assistant feature flags into one devtools panel, which means you're not hunting through settings anymore when you want to test different AI behavior. The bigger move was connecting canvas conversations directly to Dialpad's AI service — conversations now persist and you can interact with them right in your workspace. Meanwhile, the inbox switched to a new conversation index pipeline for how it retrieves and filters messages, which should make pagination and loading feel snappier. There's also new stuff for Contact Center navigation in the sidebar, Power Dialer campaign context in the call bar, and a few fixes that clean up visual clutter and interaction bugs.
What actually changed
- AI Assistant feature flags in devtools: All the toggle controls for AI behavior are now in one panel instead of scattered everywhere.
- Canvas AI conversation integration: Conversations now connect to Dialpad's service with persistence and panel management. Check out the new hooks if you're surfacing AI insights in your designs.
- Inbox conversation index pipeline: InboxList, InboxDetailFeed, and InboxMessageDetails now use a unified pipeline for retrieving and filtering messages.
- Power Dialer campaign context in callbar: ActiveCallOverlay and CallbarOverlays now display which campaign a call belongs to.
- Contact Center sidebar navigation: New CcList and CcListRow components let designers preview Contact Center organization in the left sidebar.
- AI summary pill enhancements: SummarizePill now has animated state transitions and a share action.
- Inbox thread display fixes: Reply indicators now show correctly and thread panels open when you click them.
- Removed star icon from system sidebar channel groups: Just a visual cleanup in the left sidebar.
The bigger shift
There's a clear momentum toward making AI features more discoverable and usable in the canvas. Feature flags are getting consolidated, conversations are persisting, and new components are shipping to surface AI insights directly in your work. At the same time, inbox and sidebar navigation are getting rebuilt with better data pipelines and scaffolding for larger feature sets like Contact Center.
Where things are still messy
The Contact Center sidebar navigation is a scaffold right now, so some behavior depends on feature flags. Josh has notes on that if you need them. The inbox refactor is solid, but if you notice any weird message loading or pagination, that's worth reporting.
What's coming next
Contact Center views will probably keep expanding beyond the sidebar navigation. The billing redesign that shipped last week suggests more of the UI is being rebuilt for consistency. Expect more conversation-based features to land in the canvas as the AI integration deepens.
Try this
Open devtools in Beacon and find the consolidated AI Assistant feature flag panel. Toggle a few settings and watch how the canvas AI conversation behavior changes. It's much faster than clicking through menus now.
Quick notes
- v2026.4.40 landed on the 16th and is the most recent stable release.
- If you're designing around inbox threads, test the new reply indicators — they work now.
- Reach out to Josh if you're exploring Contact Center sidebar behavior or the new billing component APIs.
One thing to remember
Feature flags, conversations, and inbox data are all getting unified pipelines this month — designs that rely on these should feel faster and more reliable.
View April 2026
Week of 6–12 Apr 2026
Josh shipped three releases this week, and they're all about getting you more space and better context while you work. The callbar now shows which Power Dialer campaign a call belongs to, so you don't have to hunt through panels to figure out what you're looking at. The feed area expands when you collapse the right panel, giving you breathing room to actually see your designs. And we fixed a bug where star icons were showing up next to channels they shouldn't have been. None of these are earth-shattering, but together they make Beacon feel a bit less cluttered and a bit more aware of what you're trying to do.
What actually changed
Power Dialer campaign context displays in the callbar. Calls now show which campaign they belong to without requiring you to open other panels.
The feed area now expands to fill available horizontal space when you collapse the right panel. You get actual room to work instead of a cramped center column.
Fixed star icons appearing next to channels in system sidebar groups. Only favorited items should show the star now.
The bigger shift
The pattern here is removing friction between you and your work. Less clicking to find context. More space to see what you're designing. Fewer visual false positives that make you second-guess what you're seeing.
Where things are still messy
Nothing reported as actively broken this week. The docs site had a fix for heading navigation that was causing false skips, but that's backend stuff.
What's coming next
Probably more panel and layout refinements. The expansion of the feed area suggests Josh is thinking about how designers actually use the workspace and where their attention needs to go.
Try this
Collapse your right panel right now and watch the feed expand. If you're working on anything with a lot of detail, you'll probably notice the difference immediately. It's a small thing that makes a real difference when you're trying to see the whole picture.
Quick notes
- v2026.4.35 ships campaign context in callbar
- v2026.4.29 fixes feed area expansion on right panel collapse
- v2026.4.28 removes incorrect star icons from channel lists
One thing to remember
Less hunting for context means more time actually designing.
:::
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