# Team chat Message colleagues, teams, your channel, everyone on the current website or an available AI agent, separately from visitor conversations. *Release 3.3 · operator, supervisor* **Team Chat** · **Settings › Teams** · **Settings › Account › Setup Sounds** · **Settings › Floor › Floor Settings** ## What it is **Team Chat** is INSIDE's internal messaging panel. You can speak privately to another operator, message a team, send to your channel or use **All** for the current website. Available AI agents have their own private conversations in the same panel. Visitors do not receive these messages. ## Who uses it and why - Operators ask colleagues for help, share context or consult an available AI agent while handling visitors. - Supervisors coordinate with teams, send direct messages to operators and share channel or website announcements. ## Where to find it Select **Team Chat** in the top toolbar. Use **Search people, teams or agents** to find a destination. The list groups choices under **Destinations**, **People** and, when available, **AI agents**. Teams appear by name alongside **All** and **Channel**. Team membership is managed in **Settings › Teams**. Personal alert preferences are in **Settings › Account › Setup Sounds** and **Settings › Floor › Floor Settings**. ## How it works 1. Select a person, group or AI agent. Check the conversation heading before sharing sensitive internal information. 2. Read the available saved history, then enter your message. Enter sends; Shift+Enter adds a line break. 3. Use **Attach files**, paste supported content or drop a file into the conversation. Wait for uploads to finish. An unsuccessful upload can offer **Retry**. 4. Select **Send message** or press Enter to send to the selected destination. Reopen that destination to return to its available history. Private messages go to the two operators. **All** sends across the current website. **Channel** sends to your current channel group, which is separate from team membership. Team messages go to that team's members; team history is available to members and Powerfront. The console remembers your selected destination for the current website and operator during the browser session. If that destination is removed or becomes unavailable, the selection clears. Choose another destination to enable composing again. Unread badges show messages you have not read. A destination is marked read when it is selected, **Team Chat** is visible and the INSIDE page has focus. Direct-message popup and desktop alerts open the corresponding conversation when selected. Your own messages and group messages do not trigger those direct-message popups. Each available AI agent is a separate destination with its own access and private session. Replies can appear as the agent produces them. You cannot send another message to that agent while it is responding. Use **Stop AI response** to interrupt a reply. **Reset session** asks for confirmation before permanently clearing the current private AI conversation and starting a new session. ## Configure it To set up access, an operator with the **Settings** role maintains accounts and website access in **Settings › Account › Operators**. Team membership is managed in **Settings › Teams** by operators with **Settings** or **Manager**, subject to their delegated permissions. Channel access is separate; join a channel through **Settings › Channel** before using **Channel** in Team Chat. With **Chat**, **Manager** or **Settings**, change **Team Chat Alert** under **Settings › Account › Setup Sounds**. It is on by default. Sounds normally have a 30-second cooldown. The option to sound on every message is off by default; ask Powerfront to change it for you. Those roles can also change personal desktop alert preferences in **Settings › Floor › Floor Settings**. Enable **Show Desktop Notifications** and allow notifications in your browser. Direct-message desktop alerts appear when the INSIDE page does not have focus, subject to both personal and website notification settings. Available AI agents depend on the website's AI configuration and your eligibility. See **Ask AI agents in Team Chat** for setup details. Messages expire after seven days when no positive retention period has been set. Ask Powerfront to check or change the retention period for your website. ## Limits and good to know - Both operators in a private conversation must belong to the same website. You cannot private-message yourself. - **All**, **Channel**, a named team and a private recipient have different audiences. Check the destination before sending. - Expiry removes messages from saved history as well as the live view. Cleanup is periodic, so it is not an exact-to-the-second deletion schedule. - Each file can be up to 25 MB, measured as 26,214,400 bytes. Blocked file types are rejected, and uploads must finish before sending. Send no more than 10 attachments in one message; only the first 10 distinct attachments are considered for sending. - Messages remain unread while you view another destination or the INSIDE page has no focus. - Stopping an AI response and resetting its session are different actions. Reset permanently clears that private conversation after confirmation. - A Team Chat message is not an internal note on a customer conversation. Use the conversation's comment or note tools when the information must stay with that customer record. ## Depends on and works with ### This feature uses - **Requires** [Operator accounts](ADM-007.md): Private messaging uses operator accounts on the same website. - **Configured in** [Teams](ADM-013.md): Team membership controls access to a team's messages. - **Configured in** [Departments](CHAT-006.md): Channel messages use the operator's channel group. - **Configured in** [Website, channel and subsite access](ADM-009.md): Website and channel access determine the current channel available for Channel messages. - **Configured in** [Operator notifications and alerts](CON-018.md): Floor Settings controls desktop alerts for direct Team Chat messages, subject to browser permission. - **Configured in** [Operator notification sounds](CON-020.md): Team Chat sound preferences determine audible alerts and their cooldown. - **Works better with** [Ask AI agents in Team Chat](AI-036.md): Available AI agents add private conversations, streamed replies, stop and session reset controls. - **Works better with** [Attachments in conversations](CHAT-018.md): The Team Chat composer supports attachment selection, paste and drag and drop. ### Used by - **Required by** [Ask AI agents in Team Chat](AI-036.md): Team Chat provides the agent list, private conversation and message controls. - **Required by** [AI customer and order search](COM-011.md): Unrestricted customer and order searches are confined to private operator Team Chat. - **Enhances** [Operator notifications and alerts](CON-018.md): Direct Team Chat messages have their own unread and notification behaviour. - **Enhances** [Operator notification sounds](CON-020.md): Team Chat activity can play its configured alerts. - **Enhances** [AI commerce functions and access limits](COM-029.md): Private operator Team Chat adds access to store-wide customer and order searches. ## FAQ and troubleshooting ### Why can I not find a colleague or open a team's history? Check that you and the colleague are on the same website and that their account is available in the recipient list. For team history, ask an operator with **Settings** or **Manager** to check your current membership. Team history is restricted to members and Powerfront. ### Why is the message box disabled? Select an available destination. A previously selected person, team or agent may have become unavailable. ### Why can I not send to Channel? Join a channel through **Settings › Channel**. The **Channel** destination uses your current channel, rather than your team membership. ### Why is a message still unread after I opened Team Chat? Select the message's destination and give the INSIDE page focus. Opening the panel on another destination does not mark it read. ### Why have old messages disappeared? The website's Team Chat retention period may have expired. The fallback is seven days. Ask Powerfront to check the period for your website. ### Why will an attachment not send? Check that the file type is permitted and each file is no larger than 25 MB. Wait for all uploads to finish, use **Retry** if offered and send no more than 10 attachments per message. ### Why can I not send to an AI agent, and should I reset its session? The agent may still be responding. Wait for it to finish or use **Stop AI response**. **Reset session** permanently clears the current private conversation after confirmation and starts a new AI session; use it when you want to clear that conversation. ### Why am I not hearing sounds or seeing desktop alerts? Check **Team Chat Alert** in **Settings › Account › Setup Sounds**. Sounds normally have a 30-second cooldown. For desktop alerts, check **Show Desktop Notifications** in **Floor Settings** and browser permission. These alerts apply to incoming direct messages while the page lacks focus, and website notification settings must also allow them. Group messages and your own messages do not trigger direct-message popups.