Once you open a conversation from the inbox, you're working in the conversation view -- the core workspace where your team communicates with customers. This page covers everything you can do within a conversation, from reviewing customer details to resolving and closing threads.
Opening a Conversation
Click any conversation in the inbox list to open it. The conversation view is divided into three main areas:
- Center panel -- the message thread, where you read and send messages
- Right panel -- customer profile sidebar with contact information, assignment details, collaborators, and conversation metadata
- Top header -- customer name, channel identifier, and action buttons including the Resolve button
The layout is designed so that all the information you need is available without switching pages.
Viewing Customer Details
The right sidebar gives you a profile of the person you're chatting with. Depending on the information available, you'll see:
- Name and avatar (pulled from the channel profile or your contact records)
- Phone number or email
- Channel -- which platform they're messaging from
- Custom attributes -- any fields your organization has added, like "Company," "Plan," or "Account ID"
- Previous conversations -- quick access to past threads with this customer
Always take a moment to review the customer details panel before responding. Context from previous conversations can be incredibly valuable -- the customer won't need to repeat themselves, and you can provide relevant solutions right away.
Assigning Conversations to Agents or Teams
Not every conversation should land on the same person's desk. Chatmo lets you assign conversations to specific agents or teams through the Handled By dropdown in the customer profile panel (right side).
How to Assign a Conversation
- Open the conversation you want to assign.
- In the right panel (customer profile), find the Handled By section.
- Click the dropdown to open the assignment panel. You'll see 2 tabs:
- Agents -- Search and select individual agents. Each entry shows the agent's name, avatar, and job title.
- Teams -- Search and select teams. Each entry shows the team name, member count, and member avatars.
- Use the search field within each tab to find the agent or team you're looking for.
- Click on an agent or team to make the assignment.
If a conversation is in RESOLVED or PENDING status when you make an assignment, the status will automatically change to OPEN. The assigned agent receives a real-time notification and can immediately view the conversation along with its full history.
Reassigning Conversations
To move a conversation from one agent to another (or from one team to another), open the Handled By dropdown and select a different agent or team. The previous assignment will be replaced with the new one. This reassignment process effectively serves as a conversation transfer.
When to Assign
Some common scenarios:
- Technical questions -- Assign to a technical team that better understands product issues
- Billing issues -- Route to a finance or admin team
- VIP customers -- Assign to a senior agent experienced with priority clients
- Language-specific -- Assign to an agent fluent in the customer's language
Changing Conversation Status
Every conversation has one of three statuses:
| Status | When to Use |
|---|---|
| Open (OPEN) | The conversation is active and needs a response from your team |
| Pending (PENDING) | You've responded and are waiting for the customer to reply, or waiting on information from another party |
| Resolved (RESOLVED) | The issue has been resolved -- the conversation is closed |
Resolving a Conversation
To resolve a conversation, click the green Resolve button in the conversation header. This button is only visible when the conversation is in OPEN status and you are part of the conversation's assignment.
Setting the status to RESOLVED does not delete the conversation. If the customer sends a new message, the status automatically reverts to OPEN and the conversation reappears in your active inbox.
Labels and Tags
Labels are an effective way to categorize conversations beyond the standard status system. Your team can create custom labels to fit your business needs.
Common Label Examples
- Urgent -- Needs immediate attention
- VIP -- High-value customer
- Follow-up -- Requires a check-in later
- Billing -- Payment or subscription related
- Bug Report -- Technical issue that needs escalation
- Feedback -- Customer suggestions or input
Adding Labels
- Open the conversation you want to label.
- In the detail panel (right side), find the Labels section.
- Click the Add Label button.
- Select from existing labels, or create a new one by typing a name and choosing a color.
- The label will appear immediately in the conversation list in the inbox.
You can apply multiple labels to a single conversation. For example, a conversation can be labeled both "VIP" and "Billing" at the same time.
Private Notes
Sometimes you need to share information with your team that the customer shouldn't see. Chatmo provides a Private Note mode directly within the chat area, not as a separate panel.
Using Private Notes
- Open the relevant conversation.
- At the bottom of the message input area, you'll see a toggle to switch between Reply and Private Note mode.
- Click Private Note to switch to private note mode.
- Type your note in the same input area.
- Click Send -- the note will appear in the conversation thread with distinct styling.
How Private Notes Appear
Private notes are visually distinct so they're easy to differentiate from regular messages:
- Marked with a lock icon
- Styled with an amber/gold color scheme that differs from regular messages
- Sent with the
is_private: trueflag in the system
Private notes are only visible to your team members. Customers will never see these notes in their conversation.
When to Use Private Notes
- Recording important context: "This customer has complained twice last week, handle with extra care"
- Leaving instructions for the next shift: "Promised a 10% discount, just need to send the promo code"
- Documenting decisions: "Refund approved by manager on January 15"
- Coordinating with the team without leaving the conversation page
Chat History
Chat history stores all messages exchanged in a conversation -- including text messages, images, files, messages sent by AI agents, and private notes from the team.
Key things to know about chat history:
- Scroll up to view older messages. Chatmo loads history progressively as you scroll.
- Messages from different senders are clearly distinguished -- customer, human agent, AI agent, and system messages each have a different appearance.
- Private notes appear with distinctive styling (amber/gold color and lock icon) so they don't get mixed up with regular messages.
- Timestamps are visible on every message so you can track the chronology easily.
- Media and files shared during the conversation are stored and can be re-downloaded.
Before responding to a conversation that was reassigned to you from another agent, take the time to read through the chat history and private notes. Customers appreciate not having to repeat information they've already provided.
Best Practices
- Respond quickly, but accurately -- Customers value speed, but the right answer matters more. If you need time to find a solution, let the customer know you're working on it.
- Use private notes generously -- Don't rely on memory alone. Record important information so the next agent handling the conversation can get up to speed immediately.
- Reassign when needed -- There's no benefit to holding onto a conversation that's outside your area of expertise. Reassigning to the right agent or team speeds up resolution.
- Keep statuses up to date -- Accurate statuses help the entire team understand inbox conditions and prioritize work.
- Treat labels as a system -- Establish labeling conventions agreed upon by the whole team, not random labels per individual.
Next Steps
Now that you understand conversation management, continue to Chat Features to learn about the tools that can speed up and enrich your interactions with customers.