Best Practices

What you can do

• Quick search for conversations, contacts, and commands all from one place.
• Type to filter -- start typing and results update instantly as you narrow down your search.
• Jump to any section -- navigate to settings, inboxes, reports, or specific conversations without clicking through menus.

Key points about folders

• Access folders from the left sidebar for quick navigation.
• Create folders to group related conversation types together.
• Combine folders with filters for powerful, organized views of your conversations.
• Folders are especially useful for managers who need to oversee multiple conversation categories at once.

Recommendations

• Use canned responses for common questions -- Type / in the message composer to access your saved canned responses. Create responses for frequently asked questions to reply in seconds instead of minutes.
• Set up automation rules for repetitive tasks -- Configure rules to auto-assign conversations to specific teams or agents, and auto-label conversations based on keywords or inbox source.
• Use labels consistently across your team -- Agree on a standard set of labels and their meanings. Consistent labeling makes reporting more accurate and helps with conversation routing.
• Leverage private notes for internal communication -- Use Alt+M to add private notes that are visible only to your team. This keeps internal context attached to the conversation without exposing it to the customer.
• Set priorities to focus on urgent issues first -- Mark high-priority conversations so they stand out in your queue. Combine with segments to create a "High Priority" view.
• Use the snooze feature for conversations needing follow-up -- Snooze a conversation to temporarily remove it from your active queue. It will reappear at the scheduled time, ensuring you never forget to follow up.
• Review reports weekly to identify improvement areas -- Check your response times, resolution times, and customer satisfaction scores regularly to find opportunities for improvement.

Collaboration tips

• Establish clear label conventions -- Define a shared labeling system so every team member uses the same labels for the same purposes. Document this in your team guidelines.
• Use @mentions to loop in team members -- When you need input from a colleague, mention them with @ in a private note. They will receive a notification and can respond directly in the conversation thread.
• Set up teams by department or skill -- Create teams such as Sales, Support, and Billing so conversations can be routed to the group with the right expertise.
• Configure auto-assignment for even distribution -- Use round-robin assignment within teams to ensure no single agent is overloaded while others sit idle.
• Use private notes for handoff context -- When reassigning a conversation to another agent or team, always add a private note explaining the situation, what has been done, and what needs to happen next.
• Review team reports to balance workload -- Use the team overview reports to identify agents who may be overloaded or underutilized and adjust assignments accordingly.

High volume strategies

• Use automation to auto-categorize and route -- Set up automation rules that apply labels and assign conversations to the appropriate team based on inbox, keywords, or other criteria. This removes manual triage from your workflow.
• Set up canned responses for frequent inquiries -- Identify your top 10-20 most common questions and create polished canned responses for each. This lets agents respond to routine inquiries in seconds.
• Use priority levels to triage -- Mark urgent conversations as high priority so they are addressed first. Lower-priority conversations can be handled once the queue calms down.
• Enable Captain AI for suggested replies -- Captain AI can analyze incoming messages and suggest appropriate responses, helping agents respond faster and more consistently.
• Use macros for multi-step actions -- Create macros that combine multiple actions (such as adding a label, assigning to a team, and sending a canned response) into a single click.
• Monitor the Overview report for real-time status -- Keep the Overview report open to track your team's current workload, response times, and queue depth in real time. This helps you allocate resources where they are needed most.

How to set up push notifications

1. When you first log in to AstraChat, your browser will prompt you to allow notifications. Click Allow to enable them.
2. If you previously dismissed the prompt, you can re-enable notifications in your browser settings for the AstraChat domain.
3. Configure which events trigger notifications by going to Personal Settings → Notifications. You can choose to be notified for new assignments, new messages, mentions, and more.