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Conversations & the inbox

The inbox at /conversations is where you spend most of your day. It gathers every customer message from all your channels into one list, keeps it updated in real time, and gives you everything you need to read, reply, organize, and hand off conversations. This guide covers the list, opening and reading a conversation, replying, and managing it from start to finish.

Sections#

The conversations list#

Open /conversations to see all your conversations. The list is built for triage:

  • Filter by status. Show only OPEN, PENDING, or CLOSED conversations to focus on what needs attention.
  • Search. Type to find conversations by content or customer.
  • Filter by channel and channel type. Narrow the list to a single channel, or to a whole type (for example, only email or only Instagram).
  • Filter by language. See only conversations in a particular language.
  • Pagination. The list shows about 20 conversations per page; use the controls to move through pages.
  • Mark all as read. Clear the unread state across the list in one click.
  • Real-time updates. New messages and changes appear instantly thanks to a live connection — you don't need to refresh.
  • Unread previews are bold. Conversations with unread messages stand out so you can spot new activity at a glance.

Opening a conversation#

Click any conversation to open it at /conversations/[id]. Opening it:

  • Marks it as read automatically, so it no longer appears bold.
  • Loads the full message history so you have the complete context.

Reading the thread#

The thread shows messages in order, with a clear distinction between:

  • Inbound messages — what the customer sent you.
  • Outbound messages — what your team (or the AI) sent back.

When auto-translation is on, customer messages are shown translated into your language so you can read them easily. For any message you can:

  • Send original. If a reply was translated before sending, you can choose to send the original (untranslated) text instead.
  • Retranslate. Re-run translation on a message — handy if a short or ambiguous message was detected in the wrong language.

For a deeper explanation of how translation decides languages, see About translation below.

Replying#

To answer, type in the reply box at the bottom of the conversation:

  • Press Enter to send.
  • Press Shift+Enter for a new line without sending — useful for multi-paragraph replies.
  • Drafts auto-save. Whatever you type is saved locally in your browser, so if you navigate away or your tab reloads, your in-progress reply is still there when you come back.

If auto-translation is on for the channel, your reply is translated into the customer's language before it goes out.

Managing a conversation#

Beyond replying, you have full control over each conversation:

  • Change status. Move a conversation through its lifecycle: OPEN → PENDING → CLOSED. Use PENDING for things you're waiting on and CLOSED when you're done.
  • Assign to a teammate. Hand the conversation to a specific team member so ownership is clear.
  • Set or auto-detect the language. HelpStack can detect the conversation's language automatically, or you can set it manually.
  • Add and edit internal notes. Leave private notes for your team. Notes are never visible to the customer — they're just for you and your colleagues.
  • Mark as unread. Flag a conversation to come back to later; it returns to the bold, unread state.
  • Delete the conversation. Remove it entirely when it's no longer needed.

The info sidebar#

Alongside the thread you'll find a details panel — shown as a sidebar on desktop and as a slide-out sheet on mobile. It collects everything you need to know about who you're talking to:

  • Customer info — name and email or social handle.
  • Metadata — details about the conversation and its channel.
  • Notes — your team's internal notes, where you can read and add more.

Typing indicators#

HelpStack shows live typing activity both ways:

  • You see a "visitor is typing" indicator when a website-chat customer is composing a message.
  • The customer sees an "agent is typing" indicator in the widget while you write, so they know help is on the way.

AI replies#

You can ask HelpStack to draft a reply for you: click the Sparkles button to generate one using your channel's AI provider and knowledge base. A draft panel lets you Approve (send), Reject (discard), Send Original, or Retranslate. Channels can also draft or send automatically. For the full walkthrough, see the AI replies guide.

About translation#

Each channel has its own Auto-Translate toggle. When it's on, incoming customer messages are language-detected and translated into your language for reading, and your replies are translated into the customer's language for sending. Very short messages (under six words) inherit the conversation's already-detected language, which prevents the language from flip-flopping between similar languages. The complete details live in the channels guide.

Related#

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