The Channel.io Inbox is a powerful yet simple tool to use. Even if it’s your first time using it, whether you’re a small business with a handful of inquiries or large business handling more than 1,000 inquiries a day. You can utilize the Channel.io Inbox to manage your customers’ questions efficiently.
ContentsWhat is an ‘Assignee’?
An ‘Assignee’ is the person responsible for the chat. They manage the chats assigned to them and have the authority and responsibility to end chats. To clarify these roles and responsibilities, we are using a system where there is only one ‘Assignee’ allocated to a chat. If you need the help of others, you can invite ‘Followers’ to join and help you tend to the customer.
What is a ‘Chat Status’?
To handle chats efficiently, channel.io uses 3 statuses to differentiate chats – ‘Opened’, ‘Snoozed’ and ‘Closed’.
You can easily check the chat list by status by clicking the [Opened], [Snoozed], and [Closed] tabs. When the status of a chat changes, it automatically moves to the list of the changed status. Here you can view information such as a customer name, the ‘Assignee’ of each chat, chat tag, and date of the last received message – all in one glance.
Opened
This means that the chat has started and is currently in progress. The Channel.io Inbox is set out to help you focus on these chats. The key is to attend to Opened chats in a timely manner until they are set to Closed.
Closed
The chat has ended. Closed chats can be searched for at any time after they have ended. Because these chats have already ended, you don’t need to spend too much time on them.
Snoozed
Chats that can’t be responded to promptly or ended right away can be set to a Snoozed status. When the set time has elapsed, the status automatically changes to ‘Opened’.
Inbox UI
Navigation
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Inbox menu
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My space: Manage chats where you have been designated as the Assignee.
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Unassigned: No one has been assigned to the chat yet. Check ‘Unassigned’ chats here.
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All: View all chats here.
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Unread messages: Check new, unread messages here.
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Bookmarks: Collection of user chats marked ‘Favorite’ (You can ‘Favorite’ a chat by pressing the star key ☆)
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My sessions: Collection of user chats where you receive notifications regardless of being set as the Assignee or a follower.
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Assignee
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Check which managers are On and Off and check the number of user chats currently in progress for each manager in real-time.
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Chat tags
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You can check the number of user chats currently in progress by chat tags.
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If you click on a tag, you can only see user chats with that particular tag attached.
Chat list
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Bulk actions
You can perform a bulk action on selected or all user chats. Below are the 8 types of actions that are available.
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Assign Unassign Edit followers Edit chat tag Send a message Snooze chat Close chat Download data
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Sorting
You can sort and view incoming messages in order from most recent to oldest.
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Chats brought in from external messaging platforms
Chats brought in through Instagram Direct Messaging will display the relevant external messaging platform icon on the right hand corner of the customer’s profile picture.
Chat Field
[1] Space
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Bookmarks: Press the star symbol ☆ next to the customer’s name to add the user chat to the [Bookmarks] button so you can check it at any time.
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Close chat: Click the [Close chat] button to end the chat.
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Snoozed: You can put the chat on hold for periods of 3 hours, 1 day, 3 days, 7 days and 30 days. When the set period ends, the user chat status automatically changes to ‘In progress’ and the Assignee receives a notification.
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Copy link: You can copy links for both members and customers. Member links are only for members invited to the channel, and customer links are only for actual customers.
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Delete permanently: You can delete a chat permanently. Permanently deleted user chats cannot be restored.
[2] Chat Window
This is where you chat with the customer.
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Reply: messages sent to customers
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Internal notes: messages sent to managers. If you need help or need to go over something, discuss with your teammates through internal chats
[3] Compose message
These are functions to make messages sent through Channel Talk more fun!
Check functions for composing messages
Right Panel
User Info
General guest information is displayed here.
You can add and change categories displayed in the Customer Profile Information in Channel [Channel settings] → Settings > Customer Profile Data.
Chat Info
In ‘Chat Info’ you can
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Instantly check the status of a chat.
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Check the Assignee of the chat, and check and add Followers.
A Follower’s main role is to participate in chats, and if you are assigned as an Assignee, you are automatically added to the chat as a Follower.
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Set up to 8 chat tags.
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Add a record or explanation of the chat in the Chat Description column. You can input it through hashtag form by using #.
Events
In ‘Events’ you can check customer activity on your homepage. You can see what pages they visited and what page they were viewing when they initiated the chat.
Chat List
In ‘Chat List’ you can view the list of previous chats you had with the customer.
Files and web links
‘Files and web links’ is where you can view all images and files shared with the customer.
FAQ
What is a user chat in a ‘Preparing’ status?
