# Inbox

> Read every conversation, jump in as a human, add notes and tags, and improve answers over time.

Source: https://www.hey.support/docs/conversations/inbox

---

The Inbox is where you see what the agent is actually doing. Every visitor conversation lands here, whether the agent handled it on its own or a visitor asked for a person. Open **Inbox** from the top navigation.

The left side is the list of conversations; the right side is the thread you have open.

## Status

Each conversation has a status:

* **Open** is active or unresolved.
* **Waiting** means it is waiting for a human reply after a handoff.
* **Resolved** means it is done. The agent can resolve simple chats on its own, and you can set the status by hand.

## Taking over

When a visitor needs a person, or you just want to step in, you can take over the conversation and reply yourself. The visitor sees that a human joined. While you are handling it, the agent stays out of the way. This is the other half of [human handoff](/docs/capabilities/overview).

## Replying

The composer has two modes:

* **Reply** sends a message to the visitor.
* **Note** adds an internal note that only your team sees. Notes are good for context, like "called back, left a voicemail." They do not count toward the conversation's message total.

Two tools speed up replies:

* **Canned responses.** Type `/` to pull up saved replies and insert one. They can fill in the visitor's name and other details automatically. Manage them in [Workspace settings](/docs/billing/workspace-settings).
* **Tags.** Label conversations so you can filter them later. Tags come from a shared library that grows as your team uses them, and the agent can suggest tags for a conversation.

<Screenshot src="/docs-media/conversations/inbox.jpg" alt="The Inbox in three columns. On the left a conversation list filtered by All, Needs you, Handoffs and Resolved. In the middle a thread with the visitor's question about a corporate rate, the agent's answer with a 'Why this answer? (5 sources)' link, and a divider reading 'Sidd has joined the conversation'. The composer below is in Note mode with a dashed border, a drafted internal note, and an Add note button. On the right a visitor panel showing device, location and tags." label="The Inbox — conversation list, thread, and the visitor panel, with the composer in Note mode" caption="The dashed border is how the composer says internal. A note never reaches the visitor and never counts toward the conversation's message total." />

## Improve this answer

When the agent gives a weak answer, open **Improve this answer** on that message. You provide the correct response, and it feeds straight back into the agent's knowledge, either as a quick answer or as a knowledge chunk. Over time this is how the agent gets sharper on the questions your customers actually ask.

## Visitor details

The sidebar next to a thread shows what we know about the visitor: their device, location, where they came from, when they first and last visited, and any details they gave, like a phone number or a captured lead. If the conversation is on a connected Shopify or WooCommerce store, their order context shows here too.

## Approvals

If an [AI Action](/docs/capabilities/ai-actions) needs a human to approve it, the request appears in the thread as a card. Approve or deny it, and the visitor gets the result.
