Salesforce is retiring Open CTI, and Twilio Flex customers need a plan

Maximilian Deuber

Portfolio Lead EMEA, Zennify

Salesforce officially announced on February 4, 2026, that Open CTI, the API that lets third-party telephony tools like Twilio Flex embed inside Salesforce, is now in maintenance mode and scheduled for retirement. No new features or enhancements will be added, the API is already unavailable for newly created Agentforce Service organizations, and full retirement is set for February 28, 2028.

Existing integrations still work, but the clock has started

Flex customers don't need to move today. Current Open CTI integrations continue to work until February 28, 2028, but Salesforce has given no indication they'll work beyond that date.

The runway is what's shrinking. Salesforce won't add new features or guarantee compatibility as the platform evolves, and no new Flex CTI deployments in Agentforce orgs are possible now. Every quarter that passes narrows the window for a low-risk migration.

The simplest path: stay on Flex with a native integration

Twilio is building a modern integration for Salesforce that doesn't rely on Open CTI. It preserves existing Flex investment, routing logic, and omnichannel capabilities, so it isn't a rip-and-replace. For most Flex customers, this is the most pragmatic path forward. There's no re-platforming, loss of existing configuration, or dependency on an API Salesforce has already stopped investing in.

It's also the path Zennify is set up to support directly. We work with Twilio on migration planning for this exact transition, and our Flex accelerators (the Flex Kickstarter and the Service Cloud Accelerator) already cover the routing, omnichannel, and Salesforce-integration work this migration requires.

The timeline is shorter than it looks

Open CTI stopped receiving new investment as of the announcement. From here, the timeline breaks into three windows:

2026: Start evaluating options now, while there's still runway to choose deliberately.
2027: The last realistic window for a well-planned migration, since early adopters will already be running on the new connector.
2028: Existing integrations stop being supported, and anyone still on Open CTI is migrating under pressure.

Enterprise contact center migrations are long programs, not quick swaps. Starting late means fewer options and higher risk.

The silver lining: new capabilities, built for scale

This isn't only a forced migration. Open CTI was introduced in 2012, and replacing a 14-year-old bridge with a purpose-built connection means cleaner data flows, better reliability, and less custom code to maintain. It also unlocks capabilities Open CTI was never built for, including real-time transcription, Next Best Action, and Agentforce AI. All of these require a native telephony integration, and the new Twilio-Salesforce connector is built for exactly that.

Zennify sits at the intersection of Twilio and Salesforce

Zennify is a Twilio Gold Certified Consulting Partner and a Salesforce Platinum Consulting Partner. We're already helping Flex customers scope this exact migration and build a roadmap before the 2027 window closes.

To scope an evaluation of your Flex environment, contact Zennify.