Set up conversations

This page is for admins (people with the Manage settings permission: Admins and Owners). It explains conversation types, statuses, the lifecycle, priority and workspace defaults.

One conversation for each request

Every request is one conversation with its own number, such as #1042. Numbers have no gaps. When a customer writes by email and then by chat about the same request, both can be in one conversation.

Cliedesk records where a conversation Started from: the app, a rule, the widget, the portal, a request form, an email, another channel, an import, WP-CLI or the API. It also keeps the first and the current Channel. The current channel follows the last public message. Nobody can edit these two values, but you can use them as conditions in views, rules and reports.

The Subject comes from the first line of an email, chat or API message and is never empty. Forms and the portal use the type’s title when the customer gives no subject. Agents must enter a subject in New conversation. Every subject change is logged.

Conversation types

Open Settings → Conversations → Conversation types. Two types are built in: Conversation (the default) and Request. They cannot be archived. Customers see Request with its own form in the portal and the widget.

To add a type, select Add type and set:

• Name and Icon (emoji).
• Who sees this type: Customers and agents or Agents only (internal).
• Allowed queues (none chosen means every queue).
• Statuses agents can pick, in your order.
• Form fields: the one form for this type. The agent New conversation dialog, the request form in the widget and the portal, and (with Cliedesk Pro) form plugins all use it. A form can be limited to one brand.
• The days before a resolved conversation closes, if this type needs its own value.

Agents can change the type of a conversation at any time in the header. Field values stay. The status moves to the status of the same kind in the new type. Cliedesk lists fields that the new type requires.

Statuses

Open Settings → Conversations → Conversations. Statuses are grouped as New, Open, Waiting, Resolved and Closed.

1. Select Add status in a group (not Closed: Cliedesk sets it).
2. Enter the Name and the Name customers see. Customers see this name in the portal and the widget.
3. Select Save status.

With Cliedesk Pro, a status can also pause SLA clocks (see SLA with Cliedesk Pro).

You can turn a status off and change the order. Snooze is a waiting status with a wake-up time.

Lifecycle

• Close resolved conversations after (days): 4 by default, from 1 to 90. A value per product is available with Cliedesk Pro.
• Start a new conversation after (days): 30 by default. Each time a conversation reopens, a new episode starts with its own first reply, resolution and satisfaction survey. After this many days, a customer reply starts a new conversation instead.

Priority

Agents and rules set the priority. Views can filter Priority is higher than a level, and lists can sort by it.

Turn on Compute the priority to let Cliedesk score the priority with a formula (not AI). It uses the urgency and sentiment fields and, with WooCommerce, a lifetime value of 1,000 or more (with Cliedesk Pro also the SLA state). The score gives Urgent, High, Normal or Low, and Cliedesk logs the reasons in the history. A priority set by a person or a rule is never overwritten. Fields filled by AI are available with Cliedesk Pro.

Workspace defaults and history

In Settings → Workspace & brands → General:

• Send button does: Send, Send and resolve, Send and wait for the customer or Send and snooze. Teams can still choose their own.
• Sidebar for new agents: Shown or Hidden.
• Agents can be the customer of a conversation: on by default.
• Settings history: every save is a version with its author and changes. Roll back to this restores a version as a new version.

With Cliedesk Pro, Settings → Team → Statuses can set people Away after some idle minutes, when nobody uses any Cliedesk tab.