> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://chatbase.co/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Helpdesk Overview
> Manage customer support tickets from a centralized dashboard.
## Introduction
The Helpdesk is a centralized support dashboard where your team can manage customer tickets across every channel - bubble, email, WhatsApp, and API - in one place. Agents can triage, assign, and resolve tickets without switching between tools, keeping response times low and customer satisfaction high.
### Sidebar
The sidebar is your primary navigation. It can be collapsed into icon-only mode for more screen space.
* **My inbox** - tickets assigned to you
* **Mentions** - tickets where you have been @mentioned in an internal note. The badge count shows how many unread mentions you have.
* **All** - every ticket across agents that is not Closed or Cancelled
* **Unassigned** - tickets with no agent assigned
* **Solved** - tickets that are Closed or Cancelled
* **Conversations** - all AI agent conversations, including those that have not been escalated to tickets
Each view displays a badge count when there are items requiring attention.
Below the built-in views, your saved views appear in two groups, **Shared views** and **My views**. Each group shows the first 5 views, with a **Show more** control to expand the rest. A search box filters views by name, and a **New view** button creates one. See [Saved views](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/saved-views.md) for details.
### User Profile
Click your avatar at the bottom of the sidebar to open the profile menu:
* **Away mode** - toggle to mark yourself as unavailable for auto-assignment. This only appears if an admin has turned on "Allow teammates to be able to change their availability status" on the Members page. Agents on a shift schedule don't see it, since their shift sets their availability
* **Sound notifications** - toggle notification sounds on or off
* **After closing a ticket** - choose what happens when you close a ticket from the ticket page: go to the next ticket in the list, go back to the list, or stay on the ticket. Each agent sets this for themselves
* **Single-key shortcuts** - toggle the helpdesk keyboard shortcuts on or off
* **After closing a ticket** - choose where the helpdesk takes you after you close a ticket. See [After closing a ticket](#after-closing-a-ticket)
* **Keyboard shortcuts** - open the list of shortcuts
* **Account settings** - manage your account
* **Logout** - sign out of the helpdesk
### Notifications
New activity on any ticket assigned to you triggers two notifications, wherever you are in the helpdesk:
* **Sound** - a notification sound plays (if sound notifications are enabled in your profile menu)
* **Tab badge** - the browser tab title updates to show the unread count, e.g. `(2) Helpdesk`
This works even when the tab is not in focus.
### Search
Click the search button to open a search modal with two tabs: **Tickets** and **Customers**. Results update in real time as you type, and you can click through to the full search results page.
### Keyboard Shortcuts
Press ? anywhere in the helpdesk to see every shortcut. J and K move between tickets, R opens a reply, N opens a note, and Cmd + Enter sends. See [Keyboard shortcuts](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/keyboard-shortcuts.md) for the full list and how to turn them off.
## Tickets Inbox
### Table Columns
The ticket list displays the following columns:
| Column | Description |
| - | - |
| Status | Color-coded badge indicating the ticket's current state |
| Ticket ID | Unique identifier, formatted as `#123` |
| Requester | The customer who submitted the ticket (name or email) |
| Assignee | The agent responsible for the ticket, or `-` if unassigned |
| Team | The team the ticket is assigned to, or `-` if none |
| Ticket Details | Subject line and a preview of the last message |
| Created At | When the ticket was created (relative time, e.g. "2 hours ago") |
| Last Updated | When the most recent message was sent (relative time) |
Click any row to open the ticket.
### Filters
Click the **Filter** button in the top right, above the ticket list, to narrow the results within the current view without changing it. Add one or more conditions, each made of a field, an operator, and a value. A badge next to the button shows how many conditions are active; **Clear all** resets them and **Apply** confirms your selection. Filters here are temporary, scoped to your session, and do not modify the underlying view.
To make a filter combination permanent, save it as a [saved view](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/saved-views.md), which persists conditions alongside a sort order, columns, and visibility. The full list of fields, operators, and values is documented in the [Filters reference](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/filters.md).
## Ticket Statuses
Every ticket has a status that reflects where it is in the support lifecycle. Statuses are grouped into **active** (New, On You, On Customer, On Hold) and **closed** (Closed, Cancelled). You can also configure your own custom status by clicking **Add status** on the **Settings → Helpdesk → Ticket statuses** page.
Moving a ticket to a closed status from the ticket page opens the next ticket in the list you came from, or returns you to that list when there is none left. This applies to Closed, Cancelled, and any custom status in those categories. You can switch this to always returning to the list, or to staying on the closed ticket, under **After closing a ticket** in your profile menu.
> **New**
>
> A freshly created ticket that hasn't been picked up by any agent yet. New tickets appear in the **Unassigned** view until an agent claims them.
> **On You**
>
> The ticket requires action from the assigned agent. This is the default status when an agent picks up a ticket or when a customer replies.
> **On Customer**
>
> The agent has replied and is waiting for the customer to respond. Use this status after sending a reply so your team knows no agent action is needed right now.
> **On Hold**
>
> The ticket is paused because of an external dependency - for example, waiting on a third-party service or an internal escalation. Use this sparingly and add a note explaining the reason.
> **Closed**
>
> The issue has been resolved. Closed tickets move out of the active queue.
> **Cancelled**
>
> The ticket was spam, a duplicate, or opened in error. Cancelled tickets are removed from the active queue.
### Custom Statuses
Every status belongs to one of the six categories above, and a category can hold more than one status. Add your own from **Settings → Helpdesk → Ticket statuses**, where each category has its own **Add status** button. A category always keeps one default and at least one active status.
The dialog names the category the status will join, then asks for:
| Field | What it sets |
| - | - |
| **Label visible internally** | The name your team sees in the dashboard, with a color that identifies the status in ticket lists. |
| **Label visible to customers** | The name the customer sees on their ticket. |
| **Description** | A note for your team explaining when to use this status. |
Back on the list, each status shows how many tickets currently hold it and what customers see for it, such as `0 tickets · Customers see "In progress"`. The **Default** badge marks the status its category falls back to, and the handle on the left lets you drag statuses into the order you want.
> [!TIP]
>
> These two labels are what `{{ticket.status}}` and `{{ticket.status_external}}` resolve to in trigger emails. Use the internal label for messages to your team and the customer-facing one for messages to customers. See [Triggers](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/triggers.md).
## Requester and Assignee
* **Requester** - the end user who submitted the ticket. Their profile can include a name, email, external ID, and phone number.
* **Assignee** - the agent responsible for handling the ticket. Tickets can be assigned manually or through auto-assignment.
> [!TIP]
>
> Configure auto-assignment rules for each team on the **Settings → Helpdesk → Teams & assignment** page. See [Assignment algorithm](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/assignment-algorithm.md) for how tickets get routed to available agents.
## Viewing a Ticket
When you open a ticket, the view splits into a **conversation thread** on the left and a **details panel** on the right.
### Conversation Thread
The conversation thread displays three types of entries:
* **Replies** - customer-visible messages from either the customer or an agent
* **Notes** - internal-only messages visible to your team (shown with an amber background)
* **Events** - changes to the ticket's status, assignee, team, priority, tags, and custom fields, plus [merges](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/merging-tickets.md), credited to the agent who made them or to **System**. Changes made by [triggers](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/triggers.md#checking-what-a-trigger-did) are grouped into one ⚡ entry per run.
### Ticket Details Panel
The right sidebar contains the following collapsible sections:
1. **Assignee** - view or change the assigned agent. Click the edit icon to reassign to another agent or unassign the ticket entirely.
2. **Author** - the requester's information: name, email, external ID, and phone number.
3. **Ticket Details** - ticket ID, status badge, [priority](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/priority.md), [tags](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/tags.md), submission date, subject, and a **View conversation** button that links to the original AI agent conversation that created the ticket.
4. **Customer History** - a list of other tickets from the same customer, showing subject, ticket ID, time, and status badge. This gives agents quick context on the customer's support history. The merge icon in its header combines duplicate tickets; see [Merging tickets](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/merging-tickets.md).
5. **Notes** - a list of internal notes attached to the ticket, including any @mentions.
Connected integrations can add their own panels, such as the **Shopify Orders** panel when a Shopify store is connected. See [Shopify integration](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/integrations/shopify.md) for details.
## Replying to Tickets
### Reply vs Note
The message composer at the bottom of the conversation thread has two tabs:
* **Reply** - sends a public message to the customer through the same channel they used to contact you. The menu next to **Send** offers **Send and close**, which sends the reply and then closes the ticket.
* **Note** - saves an internal-only message (shown with an amber background) that only your team can see.
> [!WARNING]
>
> Always double-check which tab is selected before sending. Notes are internal-only, but replies go directly to the customer.
### Send and close
To send your reply and close the ticket in one step, click the arrow next to **Send** and choose **Send and close**. You can also press Cmd + Shift + Enter (Ctrl + Shift + Enter on Windows and Linux). Send and close is only available on the **Reply** tab, not for notes.
### After closing a ticket
Choose what the helpdesk does after you close a ticket, whether you use **Send and close** or change the status to **Closed**. Click your avatar at the bottom of the sidebar, hover over **After closing a ticket**, and pick one of:
* **Go to the next ticket** (default): opens the next ticket in the view you came from.
* **Go back to the view**: returns you to the ticket list.
* **Stay on the ticket**: keeps the closed ticket open on your screen.
### @Mentions
Type `@` in the note composer to mention a team member. A dropdown appears listing available agents along with a colored dot indicating their current availability status. Select an agent to insert the mention into your note.
When you @mention someone:
* The mentioned agent receives a notification
* The ticket appears in their **Mentions** sidebar view
* The mention is rendered as a clickable link in the note
Use @mentions to loop in colleagues, escalate to another agent, or flag a ticket for someone's attention without reassigning it.
> [!WARNING]
>
> @mentions are only available in **Notes** (internal messages). They are not supported in customer-facing replies.
### Attachments
Click the **paperclip** icon to attach files to a reply or note. Any file type works, and you can remove an attachment before sending.
### Macros
Click the **lightning bolt** icon in the composer toolbar to insert a saved reply. Pick one from the list and it lands at your cursor as editable text, with its formatting. If the macro carries files, they are added to the reply as attachments, and you can remove them before sending. See [Macros](https://chatbase.co/docs/user-guides/chatbot/help-desk/macros.md) for writing macros and the variables and files they can carry.
### AI Compose
Click the **magic wand** icon in the composer toolbar to open the AI writing assistant. It offers the following options:
| Option | Description |
| - | - |
| Format text | Cleans up formatting and structure |
| More friendly | Adjusts the tone to be warmer and more approachable |
| More formal | Adjusts the tone to be more professional |
| Rephrase | Rewords the text while keeping the same meaning |
| Expand | Adds more detail and length |
| Fix grammar & spelling | Corrects grammar and spelling errors |
| Translate | Translates the text to another language (opens a language picker) |
You need to have text in the editor for AI Compose to be available.
## Recommended Ticket Workflow
A typical ticket lifecycle follows these steps:
1. A customer submits a request → ticket is created as **New**
2. An agent picks up the ticket → status changes to **On You**
3. The agent sends a reply → agent sets status to **On Customer**
4. The customer responds → status returns to **On You**
5. An external blocker is identified → agent sets status to **On Hold**
6. The issue is resolved → agent sets status to **Closed**
7. The ticket is spam or a duplicate → agent sets status to **Cancelled**
> [!TIP]
>
> **Best practices:**
>
> * Set the status to **On Customer** after every reply so your team knows you're waiting for a response.
> * Use **On Hold** sparingly - add a Note explaining what you're waiting on.
> * Add **Notes** to document your investigation steps, so other agents can pick up where you left off.
## Ticket Channels
Tickets can arrive from multiple channels. The channel is shown on each ticket so agents know where the conversation originated:
* **Email** - received via email forwarding
* **Help desk** - created manually by an agent directly in the help desk
* Using "Escalations" Action:
* **Chat bubble** - submitted through the AI agent on your website
* **WhatsApp** - from a WhatsApp conversation
* **API** - created programmatically through the API
* **Messenger** - from Facebook Messenger direct message.
* **Instagram** - from Instagram direct message.
* **Center stage** - submitted through the full-focus chat experience centered over your website
* **Phone** - from an inbound phone call handled by your AI agent
> [!TIP]
>
> When you reply to a ticket created from the chat bubble, the customer receives your reply in two places: their email **and** the chat bubble itself. To see it in the chat bubble, the customer opens the three-dot menu (•••) and selects **View tickets**.
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