This document provides a clear, logical framework for managing the entire customer conversation lifecycle, detailing the synergistic relationship between the automated Chatbot and the agent-powered Inbox. By understanding these core components and the rules that connect them, your team can deliver efficient, organized, and exceptional support.
1.0 Foundational Concepts: Managing Users and Teams
1.1 Understanding User Roles and Permissions
A clear understanding of user roles is the foundation for security, operational efficiency, and the proper delegation of responsibilities within the platform. Assigning the correct role to each team member ensures they have the access they need to perform their duties without being granted unnecessary permissions.
BusinessChat User Roles
Role | Key Responsibilities & Capabilities | Key Limitations |
Owner | The primary account holder with full administrative control. Possesses all Admin privileges. | Cannot be deleted by any other user. |
Admin | Manages all operational aspects of the account, including adding/removing users, creating teams, modifying settings, and accessing all conversations and reports. Can create assets like WhatsApp templates, saved replies, and topics. | Cannot delete or modify the Owner's account. |
User | The standard agent role, primarily responsible for handling assigned customer conversations. | Cannot create templates, saved replies, or topics. Visibility is limited to their own conversations and those of their assigned teams, based on permissions. |
Special Permissions
Beyond the standard role definitions, an Owner or Admin can grant specific, powerful permissions to any user, allowing them to handle tasks that extend beyond typical conversation management.
Campaigns Permission: Grants access to the platform's marketing sections, enabling the user to manage and launch marketing campaigns and automations. This, however, doesn’t mean they can create new templates; they would still need an admin to create the template to be used.
Subscription Management Permission: Allows a user to manage the account's billing information, including accessing invoices, handling payment methods, and paying for the subscription.
Note: Users with no marketing permissions will not be able to see the marketing or automations icons on the platform.
With a clear structure of user roles and permissions in place, the next step is to organize these individuals into functional groups, or teams, to streamline operations.
1.2 Adding new users
To add a new user to the BusinessChat platform, you must be an Owner or an Admin. The platform allows you to add as many users as you need, though your subscription plan determines how many are free (usually a minimum of 5 users) versus paid additions.
Follow these steps to add a new user:
Navigate to Settings: Click on your profile avatar in the bottom corner of the screen and select Account Settings.
Access Users Menu: Click on Users.
Initiate Addition: Click on the New User button.
Enter User Details: You will need to provide the following information:
◦ Name: First name and Last name (Surname).
◦ Email: The user's email address.
◦ Phone Number: The user's mobile number, including the country code.
◦ User Role: Select whether they will be an Admin or a User (see role definitions above).
◦ Teams: Select which team(s) this user belongs to.
Send Invite: Once the information is filled out, click Send Invite.
What happens next? The new user will receive an email containing a link to confirm and activate their account.
Important Considerations: Subscription Limits & Costs for users:
• Your plan includes a specific number of free users.
• If you exceed this limit, you can add additional users for a fee ( 79 SAR/month or 790 SAR/year per user)
1.3 Organizing for Success: How Teams Work
In the BusinessChat ecosystem, "Teams" are the primary mechanism for routing conversations, managing workloads, and enabling collaboration. They are functional groups (e.g., "Sales," "Support," "Returns") that allow you to direct customer inquiries to the correct set of experts and manage their capacity effectively. Every user on the platform must belong to at least one team.
Organizing users into teams provides several key benefits:
Targeted Routing: Allows the chatbot to direct specific types of customer inquiries to the correct group of experts automatically.
Shared Inbox: Gives all team members access to a shared queue of conversations, enabling collaboration and ensuring no customer query is left waiting.
Workload Management: Enables settings like "Working Hours" and "Assignment Limits" to be applied to an entire group, helping to manage team availability and prevent agent burnout.
1.4 How to Add a New Team
To add a team on BusinessChat, you must be an Admin or Owner. Follow these steps to create a new team:
Navigate to Settings: Click on your profile avatar at the bottom of the screen and select Account Settings.
Open General Settings: Click on Teams.
Create Team: Click the Add Team button.
Name the Team: Enter a name for the team (e.g., "Sales" or "Support") and click Save.
Once created, you can click the Edit button (pencil icon) next to the team name to configure its specific settings.
Team Settings Explained
Team settings allow you to control how work is distributed, when the team is available, and what data they can see.
Member Management
• Add/Remove Users: You can add specific users to the team. Every user on the platform must belong to at least one team.
• Impact: Members of a team share a common "Team Inbox," allowing them to collaborate and pick up unassigned conversations routed to that specific group.
Assignment Limit (Workload Control)
• What it is: This setting lets you cap the maximum number of "Open" conversations a user can handle simultaneously.
• How it works: If a user reaches their limit (e.g., 3 chats), the system will stop assigning new chats to them until they close an existing one. The remaining incoming conversations will be available in the Unassigned View. Any user can reply, and they will be assigned immediately, regardless of currently assigned conversations. If disabled, the system assigns chats evenly to all available users regardless of their current workload.
• Benefit: Prevents agent burnout and ensures faster response times.
Working Hours
• What it is: You can define specific operating hours and holidays for each team.
• Impact on Chatbot: If a customer requests this team outside of these hours, the Chatbot will trigger an "Outside Working Hours" message, informing the customer when the team will be back online. The outside of the working hours message can be set up from the Operator.
Conversation Access (Permissions): This setting dictates what conversations team members can see in their inbox. There are generally four levels of visibility:
• Level 1 (Default): Users see their own chats, the team’s shared chats, and bot conversations. This doesn’t require changing this specific feature to grant default access to all conversations.
• Level 2 (Restrictive): Users see only the conversations assigned specifically to them.
• Level 3: Users see their own chats and the team's shared chats, but cannot see Bot conversations.
• Level 4 (Broad): Users can access conversations from their team and other specific teams you select.
Mandatory Topic Selection
• What it is: You can force agents to select a "Topic" (e.g., "Complaint," "Inquiry") before they are allowed to close a conversation.
• Benefit: This ensures accurate reporting on why customers are contacting you
This organization of users into teams is the prerequisite for the platform's intelligent rules that govern how conversations are assigned.
2.0 The Automated Frontline: Mastering the BusinessChat Chatbot
2.1 Core Chatbot Architecture and Initial Setup
The BusinessChat Chatbot serves as your 24/7 frontline support, designed to handle repetitive queries automatically and escalate more complex issues to human agents. Its primary goal is to provide immediate answers to common questions, freeing up your team to focus on high-value interactions that require a human touch.
The Basic Chatbot is constructed from a few simple, powerful components:
Menu Message: The first message a customer sees after selecting their language, which presents the main options for interaction.
Bot Path & Buttons: The interactive journey you design for the customer. The bot can have up to 10 main menu buttons, each directing the customer down a specific path.
Button Actions: The specific outcomes tied to each button, such as sending a message, transferring to a human team, or ending the conversation.
Initial Chatbot Setup
Follow these steps to set up the basic chatbot:
Click the Chatbot icon from the BusinessChat main page, and then click Settings
Adding Languages: The chatbot can communicate in up to three languages. For each language added, you must provide a friendly welcome message. The language selection prompt will only appear to customers if more than one language is active.
Naming Your Bot: In the settings, assign a "Bot Nickname." This helps customers easily distinguish between automated responses from the bot and messages from a human agent.
Displaying Employee Names: A simple toggle allows you to choose whether the specific agent's name (First + Family Name) is displayed when a human takes over a conversation, adding a personal touch to the interaction.
With the basic configuration complete, you can begin designing the interactive journey your customers will experience.
2.2 Architecting the Customer Journey
A well-designed conversation flow is intuitive, efficient, and guides the customer to a resolution with minimal effort. Once you’re in the Chatbot interface, click Chatbot to start designing the flow:
Crafting Your Main Menu Message
This is the first message a customer sees after the welcome/language selection. It should be clear and concise, explaining what the bot can help with and how to navigate the options.
Building Your Menu Buttons
You can create up to 10 main menu buttons, which you can reorder using a simple drag-and-drop interface. For each button, you define its name and the automated response that is sent when a customer clicks it. Crucially, the bot does not support exact text matching. If a button is named "Support," a customer typing the word "Support" will trigger the "Incorrect Input" rule rather than activating the button's path. Customers must click the buttons to navigate.
Defining the Automated Response
When a customer clicks a menu button, the system sends an Automated Response. This is a message you craft that can include text, images, or documents to provide information or guide the customer.
Attaching Action Buttons
In addition to the automated response to be sent based on the customer’s choice, you can attach up to three action buttons to guide the customer's next step. The available actions are:
Talk to a team: Transfers the conversation to a human support team. You need to specify which team the conversation will be assigned to from the dropdown menu of the Talk to a team button.
Return to main menu: Restarts the conversation flow from the beginning.
Go to a menu button: Jumps to the path of another main menu button without restarting.
End the conversation: Formally closes the bot interaction.
Smart Routing & Categorization
To fully automate your triage process, you should configure "Actions" behind every button. This ensures that when a customer makes a choice, the system immediately organizes the conversation before an agent even sees it.
Auto-Assign to Teams (Routing):
How to setup: When adding a "Talk to a Team" action button, you will be prompted to select a specific team from your dropdown list (e.g., Select "Sales Team" for the "Buy a Product" button). * Result: This bypasses the general queue and routes the chat directly to the agents best equipped to handle that specific topic.
Auto-Tagging Conversations (Topics):
How to setup: In the button settings, look for the "Add Topic" option. Select the relevant Topic you created earlier (e.g., assign the "Returns" topic to the "Return an Item" button).
Result: The conversation arrives in the Inbox already categorized. This saves agents time and ensures your "Conversation Topics Report" is accurate without manual data entry.
Integrating Order Tracking
A special "Track Order Status" function can be assigned to a button. When selected, the bot will prompt the customer for their order number. It then retrieves the current order status directly from your connected e-commerce store (Shopify, Salla, or Zid) and displays it to the customer. When your ecommerce platform is not connected, this button will not work properly and will not retrieve the customer’s order status correctly.
Test and launch the chatbot
Once you finish setting up your flow, you can test the chatbot to make sure everything is according to what you need. Simply click Test Chatbot, scan the QR code, and interact with the bot on your phone in real-time. Once satisfied, click Launch to go live. Make sure you launch the chatbot before you move to the Operator section, as the flow will not be saved automatically.
While this main flow handles standard interactions, the Chatbot Operator is essential for managing the exceptions that inevitably arise.
2.3 Fine-Tuning with the Chatbot Operator (المقسم)
The Chatbot Operator is the rulebook that governs how the chatbot handles exceptions and non-standard scenarios. It ensures a smooth customer experience even when interactions fall outside the predefined button paths.
The Operator includes several key automated rules:
Idle Customer: If a customer stops responding to the bot for one hour, this rule automatically routes the conversation to a human team for follow-up. This is why you might see conversations get assigned to users and appear in their inbox view long after the customer’s last interaction. Please note that although the rule states the chatbot waits an hour to assign idle conversations, it might actually take a bit longer.
When routed to a team: if activated, you can write a message to let the customer know that they have been transferred to a human agent and someone will be assisting them soon.
Incorrect Input: When a customer types a message that the bot doesn't recognize (instead of clicking a button), this rule triggers a message that gently guides them back to using the menu options. You can activate transferring the conversation to a teammate if the customer continues typing multiple times, which indicates they’re unable to handle the chatbot.
Outside Hours: If a customer requests to speak to a team outside of their configured working hours, this rule sends an automated message informing them of the team's availability. This relies on the working hours being correctly set in the team's settings.
Agent is Busy: If a conversation is escalated to a team but an agent has not replied yet, this message can be configured to reassure the customer that they are in the queue and will be attended to shortly.
Conversation Rating: This rule automatically sends a satisfaction survey to the customer 10 minutes after the conversation closes, providing valuable feedback on agent performance.
Reconnect with Same Agent (Sticky Agent): When enabled, this feature routes a customer who replies within 24 hours of their last conversation directly back to the same agent who previously assisted them, bypassing the chatbot entirely for a more continuous experience.
Once these rules are configured and the flow is designed, the final steps are to test the experience thoroughly and launch it for your customers.
2.4 Handling External Support Numbers (The Redirect Strategy)
In some operations, your Customer Service team may use a separate WhatsApp number (e.g., a standard WhatsApp Business App on a phone) that is different from the API number connected to BusinessChat. Since the platform cannot "transfer" a live chat to a different phone number directly, you must set up a "Redirect Workflow" using a smart link. This ensures customers know they need to click a button to reach your agents.
1. Creating the "Click-to-Support" Link: First, you need a direct link to your support number.
Format: Use the standard WhatsApp short link format: https://wa.me/ followed by the number in international format (no zeros or +). Or use this online free tool to create a lin automatically: https://www.businesschat.io/free-marketing-ressources/whatsapp-link-generator?
Example: https://wa.me/966500000000
2. Configuring the Redirect message: first, you need to remove all the standard "Talk to a Team" buttons from the bot options.
Step 1: First, remove all standard "Talk to a Team" buttons from the bot options.
Step 2: Add a Customer service menu option and write a message informing customers that they need to click the link to talk to support, and paste the wa.me link you created earlier into the message.
Step 3: Edit your operator rules for when a customer is transferred to a human agent, when the customer types after being transferred, and the working-hours message to accommodate this scenario.
Note: you cannot add the wa.me link as a button; it must be added to the message body.
3. Managing the "Ghost" Ticket When a customer clicks the link, they leave the BusinessChat bot, but the conversation technically remains open in your dashboard unless you close it.
Manual Clean-up: instruct your team to bulk-close these conversations in the "Unassigned" view using the Bulk Actions tool to keep your analytics clean.
4. Limitations to Note
Analytics Split: Conversations that happen on the external number will not appear in your BusinessChat reports (Response Time, CSAT, etc.).
No Re-routing: You cannot transfer them back to the main bot automatically; they would need to message the main number again.
3.0 The Human Hub: Mastering the BusinessChat Inbox
3.1 Navigating the Inbox Interface
The Inbox is the central command center for all live, human-to-human interactions. Its structure is logically organized into distinct views, allowing your team to quickly find, manage, and collaborate on customer queries escalated from the chatbot.
My Conversations: This is the agent's personal workspace, showing only the conversations that are explicitly assigned to them.
Chatbot Conversations: This view provides a complete log of all conversations currently being handled by the automated chatbot, which will include inbound customer conversations that weren't escalated to human support, bulk campaign messages, and automations messages.
Unassigned: This is a crucial queue that holds all conversations escalated by the chatbot that are awaiting assignment to a human agent.
Teams: These are shared inboxes accessible to all members of a specific team (e.g., "Sales," "Support"). This view is ideal for Admins and supervisors monitoring overall team activity. Warning: Standard users should avoid replying from this view, as it can cause confusion about who owns which conversation.
Conversations by Topic: This filtered view allows you to see all conversations that have been tagged with a specific topic (e.g., "Returns," "Billing Inquiry"), making it easy to analyze trends. If not enabled by default, you need to click the three dots next to the Topics View and click the name of the topic you wish to view conversations listed under. Automations views: while all automations messages can be found in the chatbot view, this divided view allows you to see sent messages by automation type.
Conversation Status Tabs (Open vs. Closed): Within each of the views above (e.g., "My Conversations" or "Teams"), you can toggle between two primary states: Open: Active conversations currently requiring attention. And Closed: Historical conversations that have been resolved.
Note: In a single-user account, the "Team" and "My Conversations" views will be identical. However, in a multi-user environment, the "Team" view shows the aggregate of all conversations for that team, while "My Conversations" shows only those assigned to the individual agent.
Understanding this layout is the first step to efficiently managing the lifecycle of a conversation within the Inbox.
3.2 The Conversation Lifecycle and Agent Actions
Every customer query handled in the Inbox follows a structured workflow, from the initial message to the final resolution.
Identifying and Prioritizing Messages
A blue line appears next to any conversation with a new, unread message. This indicator is only visible in the My Conversations view.
Any conversation that receives a new message from a customer automatically moves to the top of the list, ensuring that active queries get priority.
Filtering for Efficiency: Use the "Show Unread Only" button to filter your queue instantly. This hides all read messages and isolates only those requiring an immediate response, allowing you to clear your backlog faster without distraction. This is available only in the My Conversations view.
Replying to Customers
Within the open 24-hour window since the customer messaged your business, agents can type free-form messages or use powerful tools for efficiency. Saved Replies allow for fast, consistent answers to frequently asked questions.
The reply box also supports attachments, including Files, Images, Location pins, Voice notes, and Emojis.
Note: If two agents attempt to reply to the same conversation simultaneously, the conversation stays assigned to the first agent it was automatically or manually assigned to.
Collaborating with Internal Notes
Internal notes are a vital tool for team collaboration. These messages are highlighted in yellow and are visible only to your team members—they are completely hidden from the customer.
Use notes to share context, ask a colleague for help, or leave a reminder for the next agent.
Limitation: The platform does not send automatic alerts when a user is mentioned in a note.
Categorizing the Conversation (Topics): Applying a topic is essential for the "Conversation Topics Report," which helps the business understand why customers are contacting you. Click the Topic icon from the top of the conversation interface and choose the correct topic; it will be added to the conversation.
Note: A conversation is removed from the "Topic View" if the conversation is closed and then reopened (by a user or customer), or if the topic is manually removed or archived.
Closing a Conversation
It is critical to distinguish between two types of "closure":
BusinessChat Closure: This is an organizational action taken by an agent to signify that a customer's issue has been resolved. Closing conversations keeps the inbox tidy and, most importantly, allows the chatbot to re-engage if the customer messages again.
Meta's 24-Hour Window: This is a platform rule from WhatsApp. A messaging session automatically expires 24 hours after the customer's last message.
To help manage this deadline, a visual SLA Indicator circle appears next to conversations:
🟡 Yellow: 20–21 hours have passed.
🟠 Orange: 21–23 hours have passed.
🔴 Red: Final hour (23–24 hours).
Critical Note: The Chatbot is muted as long as a conversation is open and assigned to a human agent. The bot only resumes control after the agent formally closes the conversation.
Re-Opening a Conversation
A conversation can be re-opened, but the method depends on Meta's 24-hour window:
Within the 24-hour window: An agent can simply re-open the conversation from the "Closed" tab and continue sending free-form messages.
After the 24-hour window has expired: Free-form messages are blocked. The agent must use an approved "Utility" message template to re-engage. This template costs 0.4 SAR to send, per Meta's pricing, and the 24-hour window only restarts if the customer replies to it.
How to create a customer service template: Admin Configuration:
To use a Utility Template for the agent to re-open a closed 24-hour conversation, an Admin must create and a template:
Go to: Account Settings > WhatsApp Templates.
Create New: Select category "Agent Response”, which is the equivalent of customer service.
Draft Message: Write a clear re-engagement message (e.g., "Hello {{1}}, we have an update regarding your ticket. Please reply to continue.").
Submit for Approval: Meta must approve the template (usually takes a few minutes to 24 hours). > * Note: This template costs 0.4 SAR per use.
Note: Meta is strict in categorizing templates, and most likely the template will be categorized as Marketing. While it can still be used in the inbox, as long as the local usage is set to Agent response, it might fail to send due to the "Maintaining a healthy ecosystem" error. If this happens, we suggest that you create a template with the exact body message of the available Agent response templates on the platform to be approved as Utility. Once that’s sent and the customer replies, you can write whatever message you want.
3.3 Essential Inbox Tools and Management
The Inbox is equipped with tools designed to enhance agent efficiency and provide administrative oversight.
Saved Replies Management: While agents use these for speed, only Admins can create them. To create a saved reply: Navigate to Account Settings > Inbox Settings > Saved Replies. Click "Add New," enter a name (e.g., /refund), and type the full standard response. To send a Save Reply in a conversation, you just need to click the Saved Reply icon from within the typing box and choose the right Reply and click Send.
Topic Management: Topics are tags used to categorize conversations for reporting. While users can use them from the inbox to tag conversations, only Admins can create new topics. To create a topic, Go to Account Settings from your profile avatar > Inbox Settings > Topics. Click "Add New," assign a name (e.g., "Refund Request," "Technical Issue") and save.
Searching Conversations: The platform offers two distinct search functions:
The main search bar at the top of the inbox searches for text within internal notes across all conversations. It requires at least four characters to initiate a search.
The search bar in the right-hand panel searches for keywords within the message history of the currently selected conversation.
Customer Details Panel: Located on the right-hand side, this panel displays key customer information, including their name and contact details. If an e-commerce store is connected, it also shows a history of their previous orders. From this panel, you can block a user or sign them out of receiving marketing messages if they request it.
Bulk Actions: This Admin-only feature allows you to manage multiple conversations at once. For example, an Admin can use time filters to bulk-close all conversations that have been inactive for more than 48 hours. To locate the Bulk Close feature, go to Settings from the profile avatar, click Conversations settings, and Bulk close. Closing a massive number of conversations might take a while. You will receive an email once all conversations are closed.
These tools, combined with the structured workflow, depend on an underlying system logic that delivers conversations to the right agent in the first place.
3.4 Managing Customer Contacts
While the Inbox manages conversations, the Contacts section allows you to manage the people you interact with. This is essential for initiating new support messages or updating customer details.
1. Searching for a Contact: Before adding a new contact, always search to avoid duplicates.
Global Search: Go to the Contacts Icon from he main BusinessChat page, locate the search field to search for your contact.
Search Criteria: You can find customers by Name or Phone Number (in international format, e.g., 966...) or with order IDs. Make sure to click the right search criteria from the filter “Search by.”
Results: Clicking a result will open their conversation. If they have an active conversation, it will take you directly to it.
2. Adding a New Contact (Individually) If a customer contacts you via a different channel (e.g., phone) and you want to message them on WhatsApp:
Step 1: Navigate to the "Contacts" icon
Step 2: Click "Create or upload contacts". And choose “add a new contact.”
Step 3: Enter the required details:
First & Last Name (Required for personalization).
Phone Number (Must include country code, e.g., 9665XXXXXXXX).
Step 4: Once saved, you can immediately send a template message to start the conversation (standard 24-hour rules apply).
3. Bulk Importing Contacts (Admin Only) For marketing campaigns or migrating from another system, do not add contacts one by one.
Step 1: Go to the "Audience" or "Contacts" section.
Step 2: Click "Import" (usually requires a CSV file).
Step 3: Map your columns: Click the phone numbers column.
Step 4: Click “New Group” or “Add to existing group”
Step 5: Add the country code
Step 6: Click Save
Note on Permissions:
Standard Agents can typically search and add individual contacts.
Admins have exclusive permission to perform Bulk Imports and export customer data.
4.0 The Core Workflow: Conversation Assignment and Synergy
4.1 The Escalation Pathway: From Bot to Human
The seamless handover from the automated Chatbot to a human agent in the Inbox is the core of BusinessChat's powerful hybrid support model. This process ensures that customers who need human assistance receive it promptly and efficiently.
Escalation is triggered in two primary ways: either through an explicit customer request (e.g., clicking a "Talk to an Agent" button) or automatically via the "Idle customer" rule in the Chatbot Operator.
Once escalated, the conversation begins its journey to an agent. It is first routed to the correct team. If no employee of the assigned team is available, the conversation will appear in the Unassigned view, which acts as a central holding queue. Once an agent is available, the system's assignment logic automatically moves the conversation to that agent's inbox.
After assignment, the conversation becomes visible in two places: the agent's personal My Conversations view and the broader Team's view. This pathway is governed by a detailed logic that ensures fairness and efficiency.
4.2 Automated Assignment Logic Explained
The platform uses a precise, step-by-step automated logic to ensure conversations are routed efficiently to the right agent at the right time. When a new conversation is ready for a human, the system follows this three-step process:
Check for Active Users: The system first identifies all users within the designated team who are currently logged in and have their status set to "Active." It ignores any users who are offline or have enabled "Watching Mode."
Check Assignment Limits: Next, it filters out any active users who have already reached the maximum number of concurrent conversations allowed for their team.
Find the Least Busy User: Finally, from the remaining pool of available agents, the system assigns the conversation to the person who currently has the fewest open conversations in their queue.
What if No One is Available?
If all users in a team are offline, in watching mode, or have reached their assignment limit, the conversation is placed in the Unassigned queue. The system continuously monitors this queue, and as soon as an agent becomes available, it automatically assigns the conversation to them based on the standard logic.
Beyond this primary automated flow, Admins can use several settings to control and fine-tune how conversations are distributed.
4.3 Manual Assignments and Special Cases
While the automated logic handles the majority of routing, there are several other ways a conversation can be assigned to an agent, providing flexibility for unique situations.
Manual Reassignment: Any user with access to a conversation can manually reassign it to another specific user or move it to a different team's queue entirely.
Sticky Agent: If enabled, this feature automatically reconnects a customer with the same agent who last handled their inquiry if they reply to a closed conversation within 24 hours.
User Action: If an agent proactively replies to a conversation that is still in the "Bot" or "Unassigned" queue, the system automatically assigns that conversation to them.
These mechanisms work in concert with administrative settings that control overall agent workload and availability.
4.4 Controlling the Flow: Key Assignment Settings
To architect a balanced and sustainable support operation, Admins must strategically manage agent capacity using the following tools at the team level. These settings are designed to manage capacity, maintain service quality, and support a healthy work environment.
Assignment Limits: An Admin can set a cap on the maximum number of concurrent conversations an agent can have open at one time. This is strategically valuable for preventing agent burnout, ensuring an equitable distribution of workload, and discouraging "cherry-picking" of easier conversations.
Working Hours: This feature allows Admins to define specific operating hours for each team. When a customer tries to reach a team outside these hours, the chatbot can trigger an automated message. This protects the business's response time metrics and professionally manages customer expectations. If an agent is available as per assignment rules, a new incoming conversation will be assigned to that agent even if the working hours say it’s outside of official working hours.
Watching Mode: This is a user status that allows an individual to be logged into the platform to monitor conversations and reports without being automatically assigned new chats. It is invaluable for managers and supervisors. By default, Admins and Owners log in to Watching Mode, while standard Users default to Active status. You can control the Watch Mode from the profile avatar by toggling it on or off. If it’s On, the user is not active; if it’s Off, the user is active and ready to handle conversations.
Together, this system of roles, teams, automation, and rules creates a powerful and efficient engine for delivering exceptional customer service.
5.0 Performance Analytics: Measuring and Optimizing Success
5.1 Analyzing Conversation Trends with Reports
Data-driven decision-making is fundamental to improving any customer service operation. The Reports section in BusinessChat is the tool for measuring team performance, understanding customer needs, and identifying operational bottlenecks.
Conversation Topics Report
What it Measures: This report classifies conversations by topic to reveal the most common reasons customers contact you.
Business Benefit: By identifying frequent issues (e.g., "how to return a product"), you can proactively address them by improving your website's FAQ, enhancing chatbot responses, or clarifying product descriptions. This reduces future inquiry volume.
Exported Data Includes: Topic, date, user who added the topic, team, customer details, and a link to the conversation.
Analyst's Angle: Export this report along with the CSAT report. A pivot table combining the two can quickly reveal which topics are most correlated with customer dissatisfaction, helping you prioritize areas for immediate improvement.
Conversation Status Report
What it Measures: It tracks the total number of conversations opened versus closed over a specific period.
Business Benefit: This report is a direct measure of team capacity and activity. A large and growing gap between opened and closed conversations is an early warning sign of a backlog, indicating that the team may be understaffed or that agents are not following the best practice of closing resolved chats.
Exported Data Includes: Conversation ID, status (open/closed), open date, assigned user, team, and a link to the conversation.
Analyst's Angle: Group this report's data by "Day" to identify weekly patterns, such as a consistent spike in open conversations on Mondays. This insight can help optimize weekly work schedules.
Conversation Completion Time Report
What it Measures: This report calculates the average time (in minutes) from when a conversation is opened until it is closed, also known as Average Handle Time.
Business Benefit: It is a key metric for evaluating agent efficiency. You can identify top performers to learn from their workflows and pinpoint agents who may need additional training on product knowledge or internal processes.
Exported Data Includes: Customer name, assigned user, team, completion duration, and a link to the conversation.
Pro Tip: Don't just look at the overall average. Filter this report by "Topic" to see if certain types of inquiries take significantly longer to resolve. A high completion time for "Billing Issues" might indicate a complex internal process that needs to be simplified.
Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Report
What it Measures: It aggregates results from the post-conversation satisfaction surveys to measure service quality. (Prerequisite: The "request conversation rating" feature must be enabled in the Chatbot Operator).
Business Benefit: CSAT provides a clear, quantitative measure of customer happiness. It helps you track service quality over time, evaluate individual agent performance, and use direct customer feedback to identify strengths and weaknesses. The score is calculated as: 🤩 Satisfied = 100%, 😐 Neutral = 50%, 😞 Unsatisfied = 0%.
Exported Data Includes: User, team, date, customer info, rating, comments, and a link to the conversation.
Analyst's Angle: The numeric score tells you what the customer felt, but the comments tell you why. Regularly review written feedback to identify specific agent behaviors to praise or process frictions to eliminate.
Chatbot Relationship with Automations
It is essential to understand the relationship between the chatbot and other automations (like Cart Abandonment).
Chatbot: Handles direct, real-time conversations initiated by the customer.
Automation Flows: Triggered by behavior over time (e.g., abandoned cart).
Note: If a customer replies to a Marketing Campaign or an automation message, the Chatbot will immediately trigger the Main Menu.
FAQs
Can I pause the chatbot?
Once you launch the chatbot, you cannot pause it. You can only delete it.
Can I edit the chatbot?
You can edit the chatbot buttons and options as you need. You can follow the same launch steps to edit the flow and then save the changes.
Can I change a customer’s name?
Yes, open the customer's conversation and click the pen icon next to their name, type the right name, and click save.