The Inbox is where your team delivers customer service, the place where you can see every conversation across every channel (WhatsApp, email, live chat, Instagram), assign work across your team, access a customer's full Shopify order history, and coordinate with colleagues.

Think of the relationship between the AI section and the Inbox this way:

The Inbox is organized into three panels that work together.

Left panel: navigation and conversation list. This is your starting point. At the top, you'll find your inbox types (My Inbox, Mentions, Not Assigned, All, Filtered Out) and below them, your Shared Views. The conversation list shows every conversation matching your current view, with each preview displaying the contact's name, a snippet of the latest message, a timestamp, and a channel icon (green for WhatsApp, red for live chat, blue for email, pink for Instagram). A search bar and filter icon sit above the list for quick lookups. You switch between conversation states (Open, Automated, Idle, Closed, Snoozed) using the dropdown at the top of the list.

Center panel: the conversation feed. When you click into a conversation, the full message history appears here. You'll see every message exchanged between the customer, the AI, and any human agents in this conversation, along with system events (like escalations and assignment changes) and integration events from connected platforms like Shopify and Klaviyo. At the bottom, the message composer lets you type replies, switch channels, and access templates.

Right panel: contact profile. This panel shows everything you know about the customer: their name, contact details, custom fields, and data from connected integrations like Shopify and Klaviyo. You'll find order history, lifetime spend, tags, linked accounts, and WhatsApp marketing opt-in status. The full breakdown is in the Contact Profile Panel section below.

📸 [Image: Screenshot of the three-panel Inbox layout showing the sidebar, conversation list, and conversation feed]

The left sidebar gives you five default inbox views, each serving a different purpose.

My Inbox shows only conversations assigned to you. This is your personal work queue and typically where agents spend most of their time. If something is assigned to you, it appears here.

Mentions collects conversations where a colleague tagged you in an internal note using @. This is how your team pulls you into a conversation without formally reassigning it. For example, a colleague handling a return might @mention you to ask about a product detail. That conversation appears in your Mentions inbox.

Not Assigned is your triage queue. These are conversations that have been escalated from the AI (or arrived through a channel with AI disabled) but haven't been claimed by anyone yet. If your team doesn't use auto-assignment through Flows, this is where new work lands.

All shows every conversation across all inboxes combined. Use this for a bird's-eye view of everything happening, or when you need to find a specific conversation that might not be in your personal queue.

Filtered Out contains conversations from contacts where the AI has been turned off. This is common for VIP customers who receive human-only service. Instead of cluttering your main inbox views, these conversations are separated into their own section so you can handle them intentionally.

The number next to each inbox type shows the count of open conversations in that view.

📸 [Image: Screenshot of the Inbox sidebar showing My Inbox, Mentions, Not Assigned, All, and Filtered Out]

Every conversation in Konvo exists in one of five states. You switch between them using the dropdown at the top of the conversation list.

Open means a conversation needs human attention. This includes conversations escalated by the AI, conversations on channels without AI enabled, and any conversation a human agent has taken over. If it's in Open, someone on your team should be looking at it.

Automated means the AI is currently handling the conversation. You can monitor these to see how the AI is performing, but you don't need to intervene unless something looks off. These conversations move to Open if the AI escalates, or to Closed if the AI resolves the issue.

Idle is a timed pause between open and closed. Use it when you've responded to a customer but aren't sure the issue is fully resolved. For example, you've answered an angry customer's complaint and want to give them time to cool down. Set an Idle timer (say, one hour), and the conversation disappears from your active view. If the customer replies, it moves back to Open. If the timer expires without a reply, it auto-closes. It's a way to avoid premature closure without keeping the conversation in your active queue.

Snoozed is a personal reminder to revisit a conversation. Unlike Idle (which is about the customer's response), Snooze is about your own workflow. You might snooze a conversation because you're waiting for internal information, or because you want to follow up tomorrow morning. You can choose from preset times (1 hour, tomorrow, next week) or pick a custom date and time. When the snooze expires, the conversation reappears in your inbox.

Closed means the conversation has been resolved. Closing a conversation is an important action: if the same customer reaches out again, Konvo creates a new conversation, and the AI starts fresh without context from the previous one. Human agents can still access the full history by browsing the Closed section, but the AI cannot. Only close a conversation when you're confident the issue is fully resolved.

The typical flow: A new conversation arrives and the AI picks it up (Automated). If the AI can resolve it, it moves to Closed. If not, it escalates to Open. A human agent resolves it, possibly using Idle or Snooze along the way, then closes it.

📸 [Image: Screenshot of the conversation state dropdown showing Open, Automated, Idle, Snoozed, and Closed]

When you're inside a conversation, a toolbar at the top gives you quick access to key actions.

Pin keeps a conversation pinned to the top of your list for easy access. Useful for high-priority issues you're actively working on.

Snooze lets you set a reminder to revisit the conversation later, with preset options or a custom time.

Hide removes a conversation from your view without closing it. The conversation still exists and can be found through search or other views.

Assign opens a dropdown where you can search for and assign the conversation to a specific agent. The agent picker shows each team member's name and role.

Site Conversations shows all the automated conversations the AI has had with this particular customer across your website. If you've configured Live Chat in Deploy (article 2.7), this is where you can review what the AI said. Note: this is not the same as Side Conversations — the feature in article 2.4 that lets your AI contact your warehouse or 3PL by email.

Close resolves the conversation and moves it to the Closed state. Remember: only close when the issue is fully resolved, since closing starts a fresh context for the AI if the customer returns.

At the bottom of the center panel, the message composer is where you write and send replies.

Channel selector. A dropdown next to the text field shows which channel you're replying on (e.g., "Live Chat" or "WhatsApp"). You can switch channels mid-conversation, but only between WhatsApp and email. This is useful when a WhatsApp conversation needs a more detailed email follow-up. Note that the email arrives as a standalone message to the customer, not as a continuation of the WhatsApp thread.

Templates. For WhatsApp conversations specifically, you may need to use Meta-approved message templates. WhatsApp has a 24-hour messaging window: if more than 24 hours have passed since the customer's last message, you can't send a freeform reply. Instead, you must select a pre-approved template. Templates are created in Settings (not by agents), and are only relevant for WhatsApp. Email and live chat have no such restrictions, and you can message freely at any time.

Starting new conversations. To initiate a conversation with a new contact, use the "+" button at the top of the conversation list. For WhatsApp, you'll need to use a template since there's no existing conversation window. For email, you can compose freely. Contact creation in Konvo is always tied to starting a conversation; you can't add a contact without initiating a message.

📸 [Image: Screenshot of the message composer showing the channel selector and template button]

The right panel is your customer intelligence center. Here's what you'll find.

Contact details include the customer's name, phone number, email address, and any custom fields your team has created. Custom fields are flexible: teams commonly use them for things like VIP tier, preferred language, loyalty program status, or any operational data that helps agents serve the customer better. Agents can update these fields manually at any time.

Shopify data appears automatically when the integration is connected. You'll see three summary metrics at the top (total orders, total spent, average order value) and a full order history below. This gives agents instant context: before you even read the conversation, you can see whether you're talking to a first-time buyer or a loyal repeat customer with dozens of orders.

Klaviyo data appears when the Klaviyo integration is connected. You may see subscription status and campaign event data for the contact, giving you additional marketing context alongside the Shopify commerce data.

Tags can be applied to both conversations and contacts. They're fully freeform, meaning agents type whatever tag they want rather than choosing from a predefined list. Use conversation tags to categorize issues (e.g., "refund-request," "shipping-delay," "product-question") and contact tags to flag customer attributes (e.g., "VIP," "influencer," "wholesale"). Tags are searchable and can be used as filters in Shared Views.

Double opt-in status shows whether the customer has consented to receive WhatsApp marketing messages. This is specific to WhatsApp and doesn't affect other channels.

Linked accounts shows any connected external accounts for the customer.

📸 [Image: Screenshot of the Contact Profile Panel showing Shopify order history, tags, and contact details]

The Inbox is built for teams, not just individual agents.

Assignment is the primary way work gets distributed. You can assign conversations to specific agents using the assign button in the conversation toolbar. Unassigned conversations land in the Not Assigned inbox, which acts as a shared triage queue. If your team uses Konvo Flows, you can configure auto-assignment rules so that escalated conversations are automatically routed to a specific agent or distributed evenly across the team.

Internal notes let agents leave messages inside a conversation that only the team can see. Customers never see notes. Use them to add context ("Customer called earlier, wants to escalate to manager"), document decisions ("Approved one-time 20% discount"), or coordinate with colleagues.

@Mentions in notes notify the mentioned colleague and add the conversation to their Mentions inbox. This is the fastest way to loop someone in without reassigning the conversation. For example: "@Maria, can you check if this product is back in stock?"

Bulk actions let you act on multiple conversations at once from the conversation list. You can bulk assign conversations to an agent (available in any state) or bulk close conversations (available only from the Open section). These are useful during high-volume periods when you need to quickly distribute or clear work.

The conversation list includes a search bar and a filter icon at the top.

Search lets you find specific conversations or contacts without scrolling through the list. Use it when you know who you're looking for or need to pull up a specific case.

Filters let you narrow the conversation list by criteria like channel, assignment, or tags. Combined with Shared Views (article 3.3), filters become powerful workflow tools. For example, you might filter to show only WhatsApp conversations that are unassigned, or only email conversations tagged "refund-request."

Konvo provides in-app notifications to keep agents aware of new activity. You'll see a notification toggle in the bottom-left of the sidebar (under Settings). When enabled, you receive badge indicators and sounds within the Konvo interface when new messages arrive or when you're mentioned. ⚠️ Konvo does not currently support desktop push notifications or email alerts, so agents need to keep the Konvo tab open to stay updated.

📸 [Image: Screenshot of the notification toggle in the sidebar settings]

Default inbox is a setting just below the notification toggle that controls which inbox view loads when you first open the Inbox. Most agents set this to "My Inbox" so they immediately see their assigned work.

Understanding how these three sections work together helps you use the Inbox effectively.

When a customer sends a message on any connected channel, the AI (configured in the AI section) picks it up first. Using the Knowledge Hub, Skills, Processes, and Persona you've set up, it attempts to resolve the customer's request. If it succeeds, the conversation is closed automatically and appears in your Closed section.

If the AI can't resolve the issue, it follows the escalation behavior you configured in Deploy (article 2.7). (The terms 'escalation' and 'handover' refer to the same event — see article 3.2 for the full explanation.) If you chose "Handover to Inbox," the conversation moves to Open in the Inbox. If you chose "Handover to Email," the transcript goes to your team's email and the conversation moves to Closed. If you chose "Close Conversation," the AI sends a closing message and the conversation moves to Closed.

For agents, this means: if a conversation appears in your Open inbox, the AI already tried and couldn't solve it. You can scroll up through the feed to see exactly what the AI said and where it got stuck, giving you full context before you respond.

📖 Understanding the Feed (3.1): Learn how to navigate conversations, read feed events, and use the message composer effectively.

📖 Agents' Configuration (3.2): Set up your support team, manage agent roles, and configure assignment workflows.

📖 Shared Views Configuration (3.3): Create custom filtered views to organize your Inbox around your team's specific workflow.