One conversation, two kinds of replies
Every conversation is one continuous thread. Replies from the agent, from its AI Agent gambits, and from human agents all appear in the same thread, in order. The end user stays on the same widget or WhatsApp chat when a human joins. Human agents reply to Web and WhatsApp conversations from the same inbox. See Channels overview for how the two channels differ.The Live Chat gambit
A flow hands a conversation to your team through the Live Chat gambit. In the builder palette it sits under Handoff with the description Escalate the conversation to a human agent. When the gambit runs, the conversation is handed to a human agent and the agent pauses. The agent resumes when the human agent resolves the conversation, the wait window elapses, or nobody is available.Assignment
The Assignment section decides who picks the conversation up.
If you leave the strategy unset on the gambit, the inbox default applies. Inbox defaults are covered in Set up inboxes.
End user identity
At handoff, the latest name, email, and phone are saved so the human agent sees them. The Visitor name, Visitor email, and Visitor phone fields take a literal value or a flow variable. Type@ to insert a variable, for example the answer captured by an earlier gambit. An email or phone confirmed by an earlier OTP gambit is marked as verified.
End user messages
Three messages go to the end user around the handoff. Each field accepts variables with@.
The two exits
The gambit has two exits on the builder, Resolved and No Agents. Connect Resolved to the gambit that should run after the human agent closes the conversation, for example a CSAT question. Connect No Agents to a fallback, for example a gambit that collects an email address. Wiring exits is covered in Flow control and branching.What happens after the handoff
The conversation is assigned to a human agent by the strategy above and appears in that person’s inbox. While the agent still controls a conversation, a seated member who opens it sees You’re observing this conversation. Take over to reply. with a Take over conversation button. When a conversation belongs to another human agent, the composer is replaced by Reassign to me. The dashboard has no control that hands a conversation back to the agent. Once a human agent takes over, the conversation stays with human agents until someone resolves it. The human agent closes the conversation with Resolve. Tars then sends the Conversation Resolved message and, when the Resolved exit is wired, continues the flow from there. Working the queue and the composer are covered in Work the inbox and Use the Agent Workspace.The Conversations area
Conversations in the sidebar, under Engagement, opens the live chat area. The left rail carries a Live and Test toggle, the Mentions, Participating, and Unattended views, and your inboxes. Seated members also see their availability control at the bottom of the rail. The Settings entry in the rail opens the live chat settings pages. Each has its own guide.Who needs a seat
A live-chat seat is the permission to reply to end users. Seats are separate from organization roles. A role controls what a member can see and manage across the organization, and only a seat grants replying in live chat. Roles themselves are covered in Roles and permissions.
Only Admins and Members can hold seats. These roles can already read and manage end user records. A seat lets them handle conversations and reply.
The Team members page under live chat settings lists everyone with live chat access, with an online status dot and the count of active conversations. Its Manage button opens the organization member list.
What a member sees without a seat
A Member without a seat can read conversations but cannot reply. Viewer and Billing roles have no access to Conversations and cannot hold a seat. An Admin must change their role to Admin or Member before assigning a seat. Admins and Members can manage conversations, write internal notes, and use Copilot without a seat. Members must belong to the conversation’s inbox. The composer shows A seat is required to reply when they have no seat, with Manage seats for Admins. Replies to end users still require a seat. Auditors can read conversations but have no composer or management actions.Where seats are managed
Admins manage seats on the Livechat seats tab of Settings > Organization. The Manage seats buttons across live chat, and the link on the Billing page, open the same seats page. Buying seats and assigning them are covered in Manage live-chat seats.Seat counts
A card at the top shows four numbers:- Included in plan: the seats that come with your plan.
- Purchased: the seats bought in addition to your plan.
- Assigned: the seats attached to members.
- Available: the seats left to assign from the pool.