A shared inbox for live chat puts every website conversation in one place your whole team can see. It works when four things are in place: clear statuses (who's with the bot, who's waiting, who's being helped, what's done), one owner for each conversation, private notes for internal context, and contact history so nobody asks a visitor to repeat themselves. Add a simple routine for checking the queue and handing over between people, and a small team can run chat without double replies or forgotten visitors.
Here's how to set it up and run it day to day.
Why chat needs a shared inbox
When chat notifications go to one person's email or phone, three things go wrong sooner or later:
- Coverage depends on one person. If they're busy, sick or on holiday, visitors wait.
- Nobody knows who's handling what. Two people reply to the same visitor, or both assume the other one did.
- Context gets lost. The next person doesn't know what was promised.
A shared inbox fixes this by making the queue visible to everyone and giving each conversation a clear state and owner.
Statuses that keep the queue under control
Every conversation should be in exactly one state, and everyone should know what each state means. RetroChat uses four:
| Status | Meaning | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| Bot | The visitor is talking to the chatbot | Nobody needs to, but anyone can read along or step in |
| Waiting | The visitor asked for a person, or the bot handed off | The next available teammate, as soon as possible |
| Open | A teammate has joined and is chatting | The assigned teammate |
| Closed | The conversation is finished | Nobody; it stays in history |
The status that matters most is Waiting. Make it everyone's habit to check it first.
Set ownership rules
Most shared-inbox problems are really ownership problems. Agree on a few rules and write them down:
- Every open conversation has one owner. Assign it before or as you reply.
- Check before you reply. If someone else is already assigned, leave it to them or add a private note.
- Reassign with a note. When you hand a chat to a colleague, say what's been done and what's next.
- Owners close their own chats once the visitor's question is resolved.
- Waiting chats belong to whoever is on duty, not to "someone."
For small teams, a simple rota works well: one person watches Waiting during each part of the day, and everyone else helps when it's busy.
Use private notes for internal context
Private notes are messages only your team can see. They keep context with the conversation instead of in a side chat or someone's head. Good uses:
- "Big lead, interested in annual billing. Sam to follow up tomorrow."
- "Asked about a refund outside our policy. Waiting for the owner to decide."
- "Second time this customer has reported this issue."
A useful rule: if a colleague picking up this chat next week would need to know it, put it in a note.
Read the contact before you reply
The inbox is only half the picture; the contact profile is the other half. Before replying, check:
- what the chatbot already collected (topic, team size, email);
- which page the visitor started the chat on;
- their past conversations with you.
Then open with that context: "Hi Sam, I can see you're asking about pricing for a team of 12." Our chatbot to human handoff checklist covers how to make sure the bot collects what agents need.
Plan coverage, online and offline
A shared inbox only helps if someone is looking at it.
- Online status: in RetroChat, keeping the inbox open in a browser tab is how the system knows you're online. Agree who keeps it open, and when.
- Office hours: set them to match real coverage, not ideal coverage, with the right timezone and your holidays.
- Offline handling: when nobody is online, the widget asks for the visitor's email, the conversation waits in the inbox with a note of that email, and owners and admins get an email alert.
- First thing each morning: someone clears the Waiting list before anything else.
Roles: who can change what
Not everyone needs access to everything. A simple role setup:
| Role | Can |
|---|---|
| Owner | Everything, including billing. There's one owner. |
| Admin | Change the chatbot, AI, widget, office hours and team; answer chats |
| Agent | Answer chats and work with contacts |
Give admin access to whoever maintains the chatbot and settings. Everyone who only answers chats can be an agent.
A daily routine for small teams
- Start of day: clear Waiting first, oldest to newest, prioritizing problems over general questions.
- During the day: the person on duty keeps the inbox open and watches Waiting; others jump in when it's busy.
- Before replying: check assignment, read the contact profile and any notes.
- After each chat: add a note if anything's pending, then close it when resolved.
- End of day: check for open chats with pending follow-ups and leave notes for tomorrow.
- Weekly: skim closed chats for repeat questions. Turn them into chatbot answers, website content or shared reply scripts.
Our live chat scripts give your team consistent starting points for the replies that come up most.
Common shared inbox problems and fixes
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Two people reply to the same visitor | No assignment habit | Assign before replying; check who's assigned first |
| Visitors left in Waiting | Nobody on duty | Name a person per time slot |
| Visitor repeats themselves | Agent didn't read the profile | Read collected answers and history first |
| Promises forgotten | Context lives in someone's head | Private note on every pending chat |
| Inbox cluttered with finished chats | Chats not closed | Close as soon as resolved |
| Offline messages missed | Alerts go to one person | Make sure the right people are admins and check alerts daily |
How to do this in RetroChat
Every conversation from your website lands in RetroChat's shared inbox, live, with the Bot, Waiting, Open and Closed statuses described above. You can filter by status and search by name, email or message. Agents see what a visitor is typing before they send it, everything the chatbot collected is shown next to the chat, and each contact's profile includes their location, the page they chatted from and past conversations. Private notes and assignment are included on Team plans and above, and so is CSV export of contacts. On Business and Autopilot, visitors can rate a conversation after it's closed. See Inbox and team for the full reference.
Team size depends on your plan: Starter includes one agent, Team includes one agent and lets you add up to 25, and Business and Autopilot include six. Extra agents are $49 per agent per month. Compare plans on our pricing page. If you haven't set up chat yet, our guide to adding live chat to your website covers the whole process.
Get your team on one inbox
Agree your ownership rules, name who's on duty, and make "check Waiting first" a habit. You can set it up with your team in a free 14-day RetroChat trial, no credit card required.
Frequently asked questions
What is a shared inbox for live chat?
It's a single place where every website chat arrives, visible to your whole team. Each conversation has a status and an owner, so teammates can see what's waiting, who's handling what, and the full history behind each visitor.
How do you stop two agents from answering the same chat?
Use assignment and make it a habit: assign the conversation to yourself before or as you reply, and check whether someone else is already assigned before jumping in. Private notes help when you want to add context without replying.
What are private notes in live chat?
They're messages inside a conversation that only your team can see. Use them to record what's been promised, why a decision was made, or what a colleague should do next. Visitors never see them.
How many people do I need to run live chat?
One person can run chat with clear office hours and good offline handling. As volume grows, add people in shifts so someone is always watching the Waiting queue during your hours, rather than everyone watching it all the time.