Managing Chat Conversations

Even with a strong AI handling most questions, you will want human eyes on the edge cases. The TrailerBase Chat Inbox is where your team reviews everything the bot has handled, jumps in on live chats, and closes out threads cleanly.

Where to find it

In the sidebar, click Chat > Inbox. You will see a two-pane layout: the conversation list on the left, the active thread on the right.

Filtering the inbox

Across the top of the list are four filter chips:

• AI — conversations currently being handled by the bot.
• Human — conversations where a staff member has taken over.
• Resolved — conversations that have been closed.
• Unread — anything with messages you have not seen yet.

You can combine filters. A common setup is to default to Unread + Human so you only see threads that need your attention right now.

You can also search by visitor name, email, phone, trailer, or any text inside the conversation.

Taking over a conversation

When you want to jump in live, click the conversation, then click the Take Over button at the top of the thread. Three things happen:

1. The AI immediately stops responding in that thread.
2. The visitor sees a short "You are now chatting with [Your Name]" message.
3. The thread is assigned to you and marked as Human in the filter.

You can hand the conversation back to the AI at any time with Return to AI — useful if a visitor's question becomes simple again after the complex part is resolved.

Sending canned responses

For questions you answer over and over, build a library of canned responses. In any thread:

1. Click the lightning-bolt icon in the composer.
2. Pick a canned response or type / followed by the shortcut.
3. Edit if needed, then send.

Manage your library at Settings > Chat > Canned Responses. Good starter snippets: "Pickup instructions," "Deposit policy," "Insurance options," "How to reschedule."

Tagging conversations

Tags help you segment conversations for reporting. Click the tag icon at the top of a thread to add one or more:

• Lead — someone genuinely shopping.
• Support — an existing renter needing help.
• Complaint — anything negative you want to review later.
• Custom tags you create (for example, InsuranceQuestion or Partner).

The inbox report breaks volume down by tag so you can see the top reasons people reach out.

Closing conversations

When a thread is done, click Close at the top right. You will be prompted to:

• Confirm any tags.
• Optionally rate the outcome (Resolved / Unresolved / Escalated).
• Optionally trigger a follow-up email — for example, a booking link if the visitor was shopping.

Closed conversations stay fully searchable and are visible in the customer's profile forever.

Step-by-step daily workflow

1. Open Chat > Inbox each morning.
2. Set the filter to Unread + Human.
3. Work through each thread top to bottom.
4. Use canned responses where possible.
5. Tag, close, and clear your queue.
6. At end of day, glance at the Resolved count to make sure nothing is lingering.

Teams that follow this workflow consistently resolve 95% of chats within the same business day.