Managing Conversations
What it is
Conversation management in the BotBat Inbox gives agents full control over how customer conversations are organized, assigned, prioritized, and resolved. Every conversation carries a state, an assignment, tags, and a full cross-channel history. Together, these tools let agents triage incoming messages efficiently, collaborate with teammates through internal notes, and maintain a clean, actionable inbox at all times.
The management features are built around four conversation states (Open, Pending, Snoozed, Resolved) that model the natural lifecycle of a customer interaction. Combined with filtering, bulk actions, and the contact profile sidebar, these tools scale from a single agent handling a handful of conversations to a large team processing thousands of messages per day.
Effective conversation management directly impacts customer satisfaction. When conversations are properly assigned, tagged, and triaged, response times drop, issues get resolved faster, and no customer message falls through the cracks. The features described on this page are the foundation of a well-run support operation in BotBat.
Conversation states
Every conversation in the Inbox has one of four states. These states control where the conversation appears in the Inbox, how it affects agent workload counts, and whether automated actions (like snooze timers) apply to it.
| State | Meaning | Appears in | Counts toward workload |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Active and needs attention from an agent | Open tab | Yes |
| Pending | Waiting for the customer to respond | Pending tab | No |
| Snoozed | Paused until a scheduled time, then auto-reopens | Snoozed tab | No |
| Resolved | Closed; the issue is handled | Resolved tab | No |
Open conversations are the primary focus for agents. These are active threads where the customer is waiting for a response or where an agent is actively working. New incoming messages always create or reopen a conversation in the Open state. Agents should aim to minimize the number of open conversations by resolving or moving them to the appropriate state as quickly as possible.
Pending conversations are those where the agent has responded and is now waiting for the customer to reply. Moving a conversation to Pending keeps the Open tab clean and focused on conversations that actually require agent action. If the customer responds, the conversation automatically moves back to Open.
Snoozed conversations are paused for a specific duration. This is useful when you need to follow up later but do not want the conversation cluttering your active queue. When the snooze timer expires, the conversation automatically reopens in the Open tab. You can snooze for preset durations (1 hour, 4 hours, tomorrow, next week) or set a custom date and time.
Resolved conversations are closed. They move to the Resolved tab and stop counting toward agent workload. If the customer sends a new message after resolution, the conversation automatically reopens. Resolution timestamps feed into your team's analytics for average resolution time and first-response time metrics.
Filtering conversations
The filter bar at the top of the conversation list lets you narrow down conversations by multiple criteria simultaneously. This is essential during high-volume periods when your inbox may contain hundreds of open conversations across different channels, agents, and topics.
Available filter options include:
| Filter | Options | Example use case |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Open, Pending, Snoozed, Resolved | Show only open conversations needing immediate attention |
| Channel | WhatsApp, SMS, Email, Webchat | Focus on a specific channel during troubleshooting |
| Assigned agent | Any agent or "Unassigned" | Find conversations that have not been picked up |
| Tags | Any applied tag | Filter by topic, priority, or category |
| Date range | Start and end date | Review conversations from a specific period |
Filters apply only to the currently active state tab. If you switch from the Open tab to the Pending tab, your filters reset. You need to reapply them after switching tabs. This behavior ensures that each tab view starts clean, but it can be surprising if you expect filters to persist across tabs.
You can combine multiple filters for precise results. For example, filtering for "WhatsApp" channel + "Unassigned" agent on the Open tab shows you all WhatsApp conversations that need to be picked up by an agent. This combination is particularly useful for team leads monitoring inbox health.
Assigning conversations
Conversation assignment determines which agent or team is responsible for responding. Proper assignment prevents duplicate responses, ensures accountability, and enables workload balancing across your team.
To assign a conversation manually, click the assignment dropdown at the top of the conversation thread and select an agent or team. The assigned agent receives a notification and the conversation appears in their personal queue. Reassignment is supported at any time; simply select a different agent from the dropdown.
For teams with more than two or three agents, manual assignment does not scale well. BotBat supports auto-routing rules that assign conversations automatically based on configurable criteria. You can set up routing rules in Settings > Conversation Routing. Available routing strategies include:
| Strategy | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Round-robin | Distributes conversations evenly across online agents | Even workload distribution |
| Channel-based | Routes by channel (e.g., all WhatsApp to Team A, all email to Team B) | Specialized channel teams |
| Keyword-based | Matches keywords in the first message to route to specific agents | Topic-based routing |
| Least-busy | Assigns to the agent with the fewest open conversations | Workload balancing |
Auto-routing only assigns conversations to agents whose availability status is set to Online. Agents in Away or Offline status are skipped entirely. Make sure your team understands this behavior to avoid conversations piling up when agents forget to update their status.
Internal notes
Internal notes let agents document context, escalation reasons, and handoff instructions directly within a conversation thread. Notes are visible only to agents and are never sent to the customer.
To add a note, click the "Note" tab in the message input area. The input background changes color (typically yellow) to clearly indicate that you are composing an internal note, not a customer-facing message. Type your note and press Enter to save it. Notes appear in the conversation timeline with a distinct visual style so agents can quickly distinguish them from customer messages.
Notes are especially valuable in three scenarios: when handing off a conversation to another agent (explain the context and what has been tried), when snoozing a conversation (document why you are pausing and what the follow-up action should be), and when escalating to a supervisor (provide a summary of the issue and what resolution the customer is expecting).
Contact profile sidebar
The contact profile sidebar provides a complete view of the customer you are communicating with. It opens on the right side of the conversation thread when you click the contact info icon.
The sidebar displays the contact's name, phone number, email address, custom attributes (such as plan type, account ID, or region), tags, segment memberships, and a chronological list of all past conversations across every channel. This cross-channel history is critical for understanding the customer's full journey with your organization. If a customer first contacted you via webchat last week and is now following up via WhatsApp, the sidebar shows both conversations, giving you complete context without asking the customer to repeat themselves.
Custom attributes from your CDP (Customer Data Platform) are also surfaced in the sidebar. These can include data like subscription tier, last purchase date, lifetime value, or any other attribute synced from your backend systems. Agents can use this data to personalize their responses and make informed decisions about escalation or priority.
Bulk actions
During high-volume periods, managing conversations one at a time is not efficient. Bulk actions let you select multiple conversations and perform operations on all of them simultaneously.
To use bulk actions, check the selection box next to each conversation you want to include. A toolbar appears at the top of the conversation list with the available actions. Supported bulk actions include:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Assign | Assign all selected conversations to a specific agent or team |
| Tag | Apply one or more tags to all selected conversations |
| Snooze | Snooze all selected conversations for a chosen duration |
| Resolve | Resolve all selected conversations at once |
Bulk resolve is the most common bulk action, but it should be used carefully. Resolved conversations count toward resolution time statistics, and resolving a conversation that still has an unresolved issue will produce inaccurate metrics. Review the conversation list before bulk-resolving to make sure each conversation is truly complete.
Common pitfalls
- Unassigned conversations pile up. Without auto-routing rules, new conversations stay unassigned and may be overlooked entirely. Configure routing rules in Settings > Conversation Routing before your team grows beyond two or three agents.
- Snooze without context. Snoozing a conversation without adding an internal note means the agent who handles the reopened conversation has no idea why it was paused or what the next step should be. Always add a note before snoozing.
- Bulk resolve without review. Bulk-resolving conversations is fast but affects your team's resolution metrics. Make sure each conversation in your selection is genuinely complete before applying a bulk resolve.
- Filter confusion across tabs. Filters apply only to the active state tab. Switching from Open to Pending resets your filters. Reapply filters after switching tabs if needed.
- Missing cross-channel context. If a contact reaches out on both WhatsApp and email, these appear as separate conversations unless linked via the contact profile. Always check the profile sidebar to see all conversations for a contact before responding.
- Forgetting to update availability status. Agents who leave their status on Away or Offline do not receive auto-assigned conversations. Remind your team to set their status to Online at the start of each shift.
Set up auto-routing rules before your team grows beyond two or three agents. Round-robin assignment ensures even workload distribution and prevents conversations from sitting unassigned during busy periods. You can always layer in more sophisticated routing strategies (channel-based, keyword-based) as your team and conversation volume mature.
- Managing Conversations
- Conversation States
- Conversation Filters
- Conversation Assignment
- Internal Notes
- Contact Sidebar
- Bulk Actions
- Snooze Conversations