Communication & Channels
Chat
Use internal one-to-one messaging for staff collaboration.
Chat
Chat covers internal staff messaging and lightweight collaboration, separate from customer-facing Omnichannel and webchat. Use this page when you are setting up the product surface, reviewing a rollout, or troubleshooting why users see a different result from an administrator.
What this surface is
- Primary purpose: internal staff messaging and lightweight collaboration, separate from customer-facing Omnichannel and webchat.
- Where users start: Internal chat is used for staff coordination; customer conversations are handled from
/omnichannel/home. - Where administrators configure it: Related operational context lives in tasks, tickets, records, call logs, comments, and notifications.
- Runtime/detail surface: Chat is useful for quick coordination, while tasks, tickets, and approvals remain the accountable record.
- Platform connections: Chat connects staff users, notifications, records, comments, tasks, tickets, and realtime updates.
Where it lives
| Area | Path or surface | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| User surface | Internal chat is used for staff coordination; customer conversations are handled from /omnichannel/home. | Day-to-day work and review. |
| Configuration | Related operational context lives in tasks, tickets, records, call logs, comments, and notifications. | Setup, permissions, routing, labels, and behaviour. |
| Runtime/detail | Chat is useful for quick coordination, while tasks, tickets, and approvals remain the accountable record. | Testing the live experience users actually see. |
Configure it
- Confirm the audience for this surface and whether they are staff users, portal users, customers, public visitors, or administrators.
- Open the owning product route: Internal chat is used for staff coordination; customer conversations are handled from
/omnichannel/home. - Review the configuration route and permissions before changing live behaviour: Related operational context lives in tasks, tickets, records, call logs, comments, and notifications.
- Define the primary records, fields, statuses, owners, and notifications involved in this workflow.
- Configure Internal chat, Record comments, and Task comments first because they shape the rest of the rollout.
- Add Ticket thread and Notifications only after the core path works with sample data.
- Test the runtime surface as a restricted user, not only as a superadmin: Chat is useful for quick coordination, while tasks, tickets, and approvals remain the accountable record.
- Check downstream connections after saving: Chat connects staff users, notifications, records, comments, tasks, tickets, and realtime updates.
- Record the owner, rollout date, and support path for the configuration.
- Review the first week of activity and remove any option that users do not understand or need.
Configuration options
| Option | Use when | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Internal chat | Staff need quick coordination | Use for lightweight conversations. |
| Record comments | Discussion belongs to one record | Keep context on the detail page. |
| Task comments | Work update belongs to one task | Keep completion context with the task. |
| Ticket thread | Customer-facing support must be tracked | Use Tickets or Omnichannel. |
| Notifications | Users need alerts for messages | Configure notification settings. |
| Calls | Phone interactions need structured logs | Use Call logs. |
Operating notes
- Keep labels aligned with the words users see in the product, especially Internal chat and Record comments.
- Permissions still matter even when a menu, page, or link is visible.
- If users see empty data, check role filters, enabled apps, ownership rules, and saved filters before editing records.
- If a change affects customers or public visitors, test from a logged-out or customer account as appropriate.
- Use reports or logs to confirm the change produced the expected operational result.
- Capture configuration decisions in rollout notes so support teams know what changed.
- Do not reuse one option for unrelated processes just because it is already configured.
- Review linked notifications, workflows, dashboards, and reports after changing this surface.
- Prefer narrow changes that can be tested with sample data before a tenant-wide rollout.
- When troubleshooting, start at the route users open, then inspect configuration, permissions, and logs in that order.
- Keep retired settings hidden or archived so users do not choose outdated paths.
- Assign an owner for ongoing review; unattended configuration becomes stale quickly.
For developers
Use these pages when the surface is read or changed by code, scripts, embeds, widgets, API clients, webhooks, or realtime listeners.