Layout
The Inbox adapts to your screen size:
A green “N online” indicator at the top shows how many teammates are currently connected.
Conversation List
The left pane lists conversations, sorted with escalated-and-unassigned conversations first, then by status (new, awaiting reply, active), then by most recent activity.Filters
Additional filters stack with the tab: a channel filter (Web, WhatsApp, Email, Messenger, Instagram), a tag filter, and an “SLA breached only” toggle (only shown when SLA targets are enabled for the workspace). A search box (
Cmd/Ctrl+K to focus) searches conversation content and visitor name/email; typing 2+ characters switches the list into search mode.
Row indicators
Each row shows the visitor’s name (or “Anonymous visitor”), a channel icon for non-web conversations, an unread badge, a truncated last-message preview (or a “typing…” indicator when the visitor is actively typing), and status badges:- Needs agent (red, pulsing) — escalated and unassigned
- New (blue) — unassigned, not yet escalated
- Unassigned (outline) — open with no agent
- Awaiting reply — assigned, waiting on the agent
- Snoozed
- A green dot or agent first name when assigned
- SLA chips: a red SLA breached badge, or an amber due in Xm countdown when a target is close to breaching
- A waiting-time label (e.g. “12m waiting”) while the visitor is waiting on a response
- Up to 2 tag color dots, with a “+N” overflow count
Presence
A live dot next to the visitor’s name shows whether they’re currently online, with “Last seen Xm/Xh/Xd ago” when offline.Selecting and Reading Conversations
Click a row to open it in the center pane. Keyboard shortcuts (desktop only, ignored while typing):
Opening a conversation (or an unread message arriving while it’s open and the tab is visible) marks it read. On the first desktop load, the first conversation in the list is auto-selected.
Assignment and Presence
1
Claim
Click Claim on an unassigned conversation to take it over. Claiming pauses the AI — you’re now responding directly, shown by an “AI paused — you’re responding directly” banner in the chat header. Claiming also wakes a snoozed conversation.
2
Assign to a teammate
If your workspace has more than one team member, an assignment picker lets you hand the conversation to another agent (grouped by online/offline), or use Auto-assign to route it through your routing rules.
3
Release
Click Release to unassign yourself. If the AI hasn’t replied yet, the conversation returns to New; otherwise it returns to Awaiting reply, and the AI can resume responding.
If a conversation is assigned to someone else, the chat header warns “Assigned to {name}. Replying will reassign to you.” — sending a reply as a different agent takes over the conversation.
Replying vs. Internal Notes
The composer has two modes, switched with tabs above the input box:- Reply — sends a message the visitor sees.
- Internal note (amber background, sticky-note icon) — visible only to your team, never to the visitor. Type
@in a note to mention a teammate; mentioned members get a notification (and an email, if configured).
Enter sends, Shift+Enter inserts a newline, / opens the canned-response menu, @ opens the mention picker (notes only).
Saved replies
Typing/ opens a searchable list of your workspace’s saved replies by shortcut or title. Selecting one inserts the resolved template text — variables like the visitor’s name/email, your name, and the workspace name are filled in automatically.
Attachments
The paperclip button attaches a file (images, PDF, TXT, CSV, or Office/ZIP documents, up to 10MB). Attachments are only available on web conversations — email, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram threads don’t support outbound file delivery yet, so the button is hidden for those.AI Copilot
The Sparkles button (or the “Copilot” tab in the sidebar) generates an AI-suggested reply for the open conversation. Suggestions appear in a strip above the composer with Insert, Dismiss, and Retry actions; inserting one loads it into the composer as an “AI-generated draft — review before sending” for you to edit before sending.Read receipts and delivery status
Each of your sent messages shows a status icon: clock (sending), single check (sent), double check (delivered), or eye icon (read). Delivery status updates in real time as the visitor’s client acknowledges the message.Typing indicators
Both directions are live: the visitor sees when an agent is typing, and the agent sees a “typing…” indicator (in the list row and above the composer) when the visitor is composing a reply.Snoozing
Snooze a conversation to hide it from your active queues and get reminded later. Presets: In 1 hour, Tomorrow, 9 AM, and Next week — or set a custom time up to one year out via the API. Snoozing preserves the conversation’s prior status so it’s restored correctly when it wakes. A conversation un-snoozes automatically when:- Its snooze time elapses (checked by a background job every 2 minutes)
- An agent clicks Unsnooze
- An agent claims it, gets assigned it, or replies to it
Tags
Add relational tags to a conversation from the tag picker in the chat header or the sidebar’s Tags section. Tags are workspace-defined (managed elsewhere in Settings) and can be used to filter the conversation list.Closing and Reopening
Click Close to resolve a conversation, choosing a resolution: Resolved, Unresolved, or Abandoned. Closing clears the assignment and shows a 5-second “Undo” toast. Closed conversations show a “This conversation is closed” message in place of the composer — click Reopen to reply (or the header’s Reopen button) to resume, which moves it back to New.Bulk Actions
Select multiple conversations using the row checkboxes (which appear on hover, or always once any row is selected) or the header’s “select all in view” checkbox.Shift-click extends a range selection.
A floating toolbar appears at the bottom of the screen with:
- Close (resolved)
- Assign — to a teammate, or unassign
- Snooze — same presets as the single-conversation menu
- Tag — add a tag to every selected conversation
- Mark read
- Clear selection
Bulk selection and all mutating actions (reply, claim, assign, close, snooze, tag) require the Editor or Owner role. Viewers can read conversations but the selection checkboxes and action buttons are hidden for them.
Conversation Details Sidebar
The right pane (inline on extra-wide screens, a slide-over panel below that) has two tabs:Details
- Escalation Context — shown for new, unassigned, escalated conversations: visitor identity, wait time, why it escalated (visitor-requested vs. AI-detected), and a Claim & Reply button.
- Recent activity log of actions taken on the conversation.
- AI Summary — an AI-generated recap of the conversation so far.
- Browsing — the visitor’s page journey on your site with live online/offline status (web conversations only).
- Contact — name and email.
- Conversation — status, created/last-activity times, CSAT rating if the visitor rated the conversation, and a link to the full conversation history.
- Tags — add/remove tags.
- Device & Location — browser/device info and geolocation.
- Notes — internal notes with author and timestamp; add or delete notes here (deleting requires Editor/Owner).
Copilot
A dedicated AI assistant tab for the open conversation — ask questions, search your knowledge base, and insert suggested excerpts directly into the composer.Realtime Updates
The Inbox connects over WebSocket for live updates: new messages, assignment changes, typing indicators, presence, and read receipts all arrive without refreshing. Connection status is shown as a banner:- Reconnecting to live updates… — temporary drop, retrying automatically
- Live updates disconnected — with a manual Reconnect link
- This inbox session was replaced by another tab — you opened the Inbox in a second tab/window
- Agent seat limit reached — with a link to upgrade your plan
Tips
- Claim before replying if you want to make sure AI won’t reply first — claiming immediately pauses the AI for that conversation.
- Use internal notes with @mentions to loop in a teammate without the visitor seeing it.
- Snooze instead of closing conversations you’ll need to follow up on — closing clears the assignment, snoozing preserves it.
- Watch the SLA chips in the conversation list to catch conversations approaching a breach before it happens.