# Internal comments

Keep staff discussion inside a conversation, control who sees it and give operators feedback on individual messages.

*Release 3.3 · operator, supervisor, visitor*

**Conversation pane › Internal Comment** · **Conversation message › Comment on the message** · **Academy**

## What it is

An **Internal Comment** keeps staff discussion inside a conversation without sending it to the visitor. Supervisors can also attach feedback to an individual message using **Comment on the message**. Feedback notes have a recipient and a read state, separate from ordinary internal comments.

## Who uses it and why

- Operators leave context for colleagues and read feedback addressed to them.
- Supervisors review messages and leave coaching notes against the relevant exchange.
- Administrators manage operator roles and personal-data access, and ask Powerfront to change attachment or phrase-filtering policies.
- Visitors receive ordinary replies; internal comments are excluded from their conversation feed.

## Where to find it

In the conversation composer, choose the note icon whose tooltip is **Internal Comment**. With the **Manager** role, click the relevant message text to open **Comment on the message**. Review feedback through the conversation and **Academy**.

Manage operator roles and personal-data access in **Settings › Account › Operators**. There is no separate Settings page for choosing a message's audience.

## How it works

To leave an internal comment:

1. Open the conversation and switch the composer to **Internal Comment**.
2. Enter your staff-only text and add a supported attachment if needed.
3. Send the comment and check its internal presentation in the timeline.
4. Switch back to the conversation's reply mode before sending text intended for the visitor.

INSIDE records the comment on the operator side of the conversation. Visitor conversation retrieval and normal outbound delivery use the message audience to select visitor-visible content. Some automatic operational messages also have an operator-only audience. In a voice conversation, typed text is an internal comment, not a spoken telephone reply.

For supervisor feedback, click a message, enter text in **Comment** and save. INSIDE attaches the note to that message and identifies its recipient from the message's operator or the conversation owner. Feedback is plain text; HTML formatting is removed. Feedback on historical work requires a valid operator recipient.

Only the recipient can mark their feedback note read using its acknowledgement control. Managers can delete feedback notes, but cannot acknowledge them for another operator.

## Configure it

With the **Settings** role, configure operator roles in **Settings › Account › Operators**. Use **Chat** for conversation work and give supervisors **Manager** access to add and delete message feedback. Access to operator account controls can also be delegated to the **Manager** role.

Users with the **Settings** or **Manager** role control personal-data access separately through **Can view Customer PII and Conversation Data** on operator accounts. This permission can mask conversation content for operators who lack access; it does not change a message's audience.

Ask Powerfront to change attachment policy in **Settings › General Settings › Attachments** or phrase filtering in **Settings › General Settings › Censorship**. **Censorship** can replace configured blocked phrases and apply warnings or blocking. Card masking can replace detected numbers. These text filters do not turn an ordinary visitor reply into an internal comment.

Choose the correct composer mode for each message. There is no website switch that makes all ordinary replies private. The internal comment and feedback controls do not include a separate retention setting.

### Permissions

| Permission | Lets you |
|---|---|
| Chat | Add internal comments to accessible conversations. |
| Manager | Add message feedback and delete supervisor notes. Only the note recipient can mark their note read. |

## Limits and good to know

- Internal comments remain part of the conversation record. They are not private messages to yourself and are not erased by being internal.
- Other operators' access still depends on their website, conversation and personal-data permissions.
- Internal comments do not trigger the ordinary public new-message workflow event on web chat or email tickets.
- Supervisor feedback is attached to a particular message. Creating, deleting and acknowledging feedback have separate access checks.
- Staff transcripts can include internal discussion, and personal-data exports can include non-system internal comments. Check the selected transcript audience and review the content before sharing it outside your organisation.
- Censorship can retain the original censored message for review. Stars in visible text do not establish that the original has been deleted.

## Depends on and works with

### This feature uses

- **Requires** [Messages and rich content](CHAT-002.md): Internal comments share the conversation timeline with public messages; message audience controls visitor delivery.
- **Configured in** [Roles and permissions](ADM-008.md): Operator roles govern feedback management and access to operator account controls.
- **Works better with** [Attachments in conversations](CHAT-018.md): Supported internal comment attachments use the attachment workflow.
- **Works better with** [Academy coaching and message feedback](CON-030.md): Academy presents message feedback and unread notes.
- **Works better with** [Customer identity and conversation visibility permissions](SEC-016.md): Personal-data permission can mask content even when an operator can access the conversation.
- **Related** [Transcripts by email and print](CHAT-025.md): Check transcript content before sharing a conversation containing internal discussion.
- **Related** [Personal data export](SEC-014.md): Personal-data exports can include internal comments, so review the workbook before disclosure.

### Used by

- **Enhances** [Operator replies and comments](CON-015.md): Comment mode adds an internal comment rather than a visitor reply.
- **Enhances** [History and message inspection](CON-016.md): Internal comments appear separately from visitor-facing replies.
- **Enhances** [Messages and rich content](CHAT-002.md): Internal comments add staff-only discussion alongside public messages.
- **Enhances** [Transferring conversations](CHAT-010.md): Internal comments keep staff-only handover context with the conversation.
- **Enhances** [Merging tickets and related conversations](CHAT-026.md): A ticket merge moves message feedback notes to the surviving ticket.
- **Enhances** [Virtual Assistant task actions](ENG-016.md): Task actions can add internal comments.
- **Enhances** [Email ticket handling and statuses](CHN-026.md): Internal comments record work without sending a customer reply.
- **Enhances** [Email replies and support conversations](CHN-027.md): Internal comments remain private unless explicitly included in forwarding.
- **Related** [Transcripts by email and print](CHAT-025.md): Review audience rules because emailed and printed transcripts can include different messages.
- **Related** [Rich content in AI replies](AI-026.md): Visitor delivery excludes protected operator-only content.
- **Related** [Conversation history tools for AI](AI-038.md): Conversation history tools return public messages and exclude private notes and system messages.

## FAQ and troubleshooting

### Can the visitor see an Internal Comment?

Internal comments are excluded from the visitor conversation feed and normal outbound delivery. They remain in the conversation record and can appear in exports, so check content before sharing it.

### Why can the visitor not see my message?

Check whether **Internal Comment** was selected. Switch back to the reply mode for a visitor reply. In a voice conversation, typed text is an internal comment.

### Why can I not leave feedback on a message?

Check that you have the **Manager** role, then click the message text without selecting a text range. Feedback is attached to a message; historical messages need a valid operator recipient.

### Why can I not mark a colleague's feedback read?

Only the note's recipient can acknowledge it. The **Manager** role does not let you mark another operator's feedback read.

### Why did an automation not run after my comment?

Internal comments are excluded from the ordinary public new-message event. On email tickets, they do not trigger **New Email**.

### Can another operator read my internal comment?

Yes, if their website, conversation and personal-data permissions allow it. An internal comment is a shared operator-side record, not a private note to its author.

### Does masking make a reply internal?

No. Personal-data restrictions, card masking and **Censorship** change the text shown. The message audience determines whether it is a visitor reply or an operator-only comment.

### Can an internal comment appear in an export?

Yes. Personal-data exports can include non-system internal comments. Review the workbook before disclosure, and check staff transcripts before sharing them.