Conversation history and search
Find current and previous conversations and open their messages using dates, search and conversation filters.
What it is
History lets you find stored conversations and open their messages. You can narrow the results by date, platform, operator and other available filters, or inspect a visitor's earlier conversations from their history view.
Who uses it and why
Operators look up earlier advice before replying. Supervisors review outcomes and historical work. Developers supporting integrations use the same conversation context to investigate client-reported issues.
Where to find it
Open History for historical results. Use Search in Conversations for current work, or open a visitor's history from their details.
How it works
- Choose the relevant platform and date range.
- Apply the available operator, team, status, disposition, tag, contact or data-field filters.
- Run the search and open the required conversation.
- Load earlier messages or further results as needed.
History and current conversation searches have different purposes and can offer different filters. A result row summarises a conversation; open it to read its messages and attachments.
Your access affects the results. Website, team and subsite restrictions can narrow what you see, while personal-data permissions can mask visitor identity or conversation content. Dates are presented using the applicable operator time-zone handling.
Configure it
Use the filters in the history screen for each search. An operator with the Settings role controls range restrictions, team and subsite reporting restrictions, and Allow History Export.
The chat pane can combine conversations for a linked contact. An operator with the Settings role can change Disable Merging Same Contact Conversations, which changes that display to visitor-only history; it does not physically merge stored conversations.
Settings
| Setting | Where | Applies to | Default | Who can change it | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restrict Chat History Range | Settings › General Settings › Website | website | Off | Settings role | Restricts the date range offered for chat history. |
| Restrict Chat History Range To (days) | Settings › General Settings › Website | website | 7 days | Settings role | Sets the permitted history range, with an input range of 1 to 31 days. |
| Filter Reports Data By Subsite | Settings › General Settings › Website | website | Off | Settings role | Applies operator subsite restrictions to reporting data, with administrative role exemptions. |
| Enable Team Restrictions for Reports | Settings › General Settings › Website | website | Off | Settings role | Applies operator team restrictions to reporting data, with administrative role exemptions. |
| Disable Merging Same Contact Conversations | Settings › General Settings › Website | website | Off | Settings role | Limits the chat pane's displayed history to the visitor rather than combining conversations for the linked contact. |
Permissions
| Permission | Lets you |
|---|---|
| Allow History Export | Allows the operator to export historical conversation results. |
| Can view Customer PII and Conversation Data | Controls access to personal information and conversation data in returned views. |
Limits and good to know
- The ordinary history date search can reject a range with Date range cannot be greater than 31 days. Search a shorter period when this appears.
- A website can impose a smaller range.
- Counts and result summaries do not contain every message body. Open the conversation to inspect the full available content.
- Masked data and deleted data are different. A restricted view does not mean the original conversation has been erased.
- Available history depends on your website's retention policy.
Depends on and works with
+2 more · this feature uses
- Conversation detail and abandonment reportsRelated
Conversation detail reports provide outcome and abandoned-work views alongside history.
- Customer identity and conversation visibility permissionsConfigured by
Personal-data permissions can mask identity and message content.
+25 more · used by
- Merging tickets and related conversationsRelated
Review the conversation history before choosing duplicate tickets to merge.
- Previous chat history for visitorsRelated
Operator History provides a separate search and review view of retained conversations.
- Virtual Assistant usageRelated
Conversation history helps check what was sent and answered during a recorded task.
- AI conversation summariesRelated
Saved summaries can be reviewed alongside conversations in History.
- Chat Translate and language detectionEnhances
On-demand translation can make historical transcripts readable in another language.
- AI conversation quality scoringRelated
Conversation History lets reviewers open the messages used as scoring evidence.
- AI resolution and first-contact metricsRelated
Earlier stored conversations provide evidence for reviewing first-contact outcomes.
- Conversation history tools for AIRelated
The conversation tools read stored conversations also available for review in History.
- WhatsApp Business App connectionRelated
Use conversation history to review messages imported from the Business App.
- Legacy Google Business Messages connectionRelated
History lets operators review retained messages even when the legacy connection is unavailable.
- Legacy Twitter direct messagesRelated
History lets operators review retained messages even when the legacy connection is unavailable.
- Outbound calling permissions and restrictionsRelated
Use conversation history to review completed outbound calls.
- Voicemail messages and follow-upRelated
Use conversation history to review voicemail recordings and saved transcription.
- Call recordingRelated
Use conversation history to find available recording playback and deletion notices.
- Telephone transcriptionRelated
Saved telephone transcripts can be read in conversation history.
- Browser call recording and live captionsEnhances
Recording links and saved transcript messages appear with the conversation history.
- Co-Browse with website visitorsRelated
A linked conversation records Co-Browse session start and end messages in its history.
- Conversation lead capture and follow-upEnhances
Leads can link to a conversation and open its transcript from History.
- Purchase details and conversion creditEnhances
Conversation History can open Conversion Info for a recorded conversion.
- Customer contact identities across channelsEnhances
Contact associations can bring conversations from different channels into the customer's history.
- Conversation detail and abandonment reportsEnhances
Conversation history provides the messages behind a report row.
- Audit search for retained customer recordsEnhances
Conversation history provides transcript inspection from search results.
- Labs, demo and testing tools · managed by PowerfrontRelated
Compact Filters changes the filter layout in Conversation History.
- Email verification for protected exportsRelated
Conversation-history exports use their own email-verification category.
- Customer identity and conversation visibility permissionsRelated
History views apply personal-data restrictions when displaying retained conversations.
View all connections as a list
This feature uses
- Admin settings and feature switches · managed by PowerfrontConfigured by
Admin settings control history date limits and team or subsite reporting restrictions.
- Website, channel and subsite accessConfigured by
Website and subsite access restrict the available conversations.
- Operator settingsConfigured by
Operator settings control wider conversation search and history export permissions.
- DispositionsEnhances
Disposition filters include closed conversations missing classification.
- Transcripts by email and printEnhances
Opened conversations can be printed or emailed where permitted.
- Tags and conversation dataEnhances
Tags and configured data fields help narrow conversation results.
- History and message inspectionRelated
The transcript-reading guide explains how to inspect messages after opening a history result.
- Contact matchingEnhances
Linked contact identity can bring together conversations from multiple visitors.
- Conversation detail and abandonment reportsRelated
Conversation detail reports provide outcome and abandoned-work views alongside history.
- Customer identity and conversation visibility permissionsConfigured by
Personal-data permissions can mask identity and message content.
Used by
- Saved search filtersEnhances
Conversation history supplies the search criteria saved in history filter tabs.
- Visitor browsing and activity historyRelated
Open conversation history to read the transcripts behind conversation milestones in the activity timeline.
- Floor search and filtersRelated
Use conversation history to find stored conversations outside the loaded floor.
- History and message inspectionEnhances
Conversation history adds earlier conversations and messages to the transcript view.
- Academy coaching and message feedbackEnhances
Conversation history lets managers add coaching comments to eligible earlier operator messages.
- Mobile consoleEnhances
Customer work includes available conversation history.
- Conversation translationRelated
History provides access to stored conversations for on-demand transcript translation.
- Transcripts by email and printEnhances
History provides an operator entry point for transcript actions on stored conversations.
- Merging tickets and related conversationsRelated
Review the conversation history before choosing duplicate tickets to merge.
- Previous chat history for visitorsRelated
Operator History provides a separate search and review view of retained conversations.
- Virtual Assistant usageRelated
Conversation history helps check what was sent and answered during a recorded task.
- AI conversation summariesRelated
Saved summaries can be reviewed alongside conversations in History.
- Chat Translate and language detectionEnhances
On-demand translation can make historical transcripts readable in another language.
- AI conversation quality scoringRelated
Conversation History lets reviewers open the messages used as scoring evidence.
- AI resolution and first-contact metricsRelated
Earlier stored conversations provide evidence for reviewing first-contact outcomes.
- Conversation history tools for AIRelated
The conversation tools read stored conversations also available for review in History.
- WhatsApp Business App connectionRelated
Use conversation history to review messages imported from the Business App.
- Legacy Google Business Messages connectionRelated
History lets operators review retained messages even when the legacy connection is unavailable.
- Legacy Twitter direct messagesRelated
History lets operators review retained messages even when the legacy connection is unavailable.
- Outbound calling permissions and restrictionsRelated
Use conversation history to review completed outbound calls.
- Voicemail messages and follow-upRelated
Use conversation history to review voicemail recordings and saved transcription.
- Call recordingRelated
Use conversation history to find available recording playback and deletion notices.
- Telephone transcriptionRelated
Saved telephone transcripts can be read in conversation history.
- Browser call recording and live captionsEnhances
Recording links and saved transcript messages appear with the conversation history.
- Co-Browse with website visitorsRelated
A linked conversation records Co-Browse session start and end messages in its history.
- Conversation lead capture and follow-upEnhances
Leads can link to a conversation and open its transcript from History.
- Purchase details and conversion creditEnhances
Conversation History can open Conversion Info for a recorded conversion.
- Customer contact identities across channelsEnhances
Contact associations can bring conversations from different channels into the customer's history.
- Conversation detail and abandonment reportsEnhances
Conversation history provides the messages behind a report row.
- Audit search for retained customer recordsEnhances
Conversation history provides transcript inspection from search results.
- Labs, demo and testing tools · managed by PowerfrontRelated
Compact Filters changes the filter layout in Conversation History.
- Email verification for protected exportsRelated
Conversation-history exports use their own email-verification category.
- Customer identity and conversation visibility permissionsRelated
History views apply personal-data restrictions when displaying retained conversations.
FAQ and troubleshooting
Why can a supervisor find a conversation that I cannot?
Compare website, subsite and team access, then check that the same platform, date range and filters are selected.
Why does a search show no messages?
Open the result to load the conversation. If it remains empty, check access, retention and whether you selected the correct visitor or contact.
Why can I not export the results?
Ask an operator with the Settings role to check Allow History Export and your access to the history screen.