Intercom has two separate AI summary features that are easy to confuse. This article explains what each one does, how they differ, and what to check when either isn't working.
| AI Issue Summary | AI Conversation Summary |
What it is | A reporting attribute generated automatically after a conversation closes | A note posted into a live conversation via a Workflow action |
When it runs | After a conversation is closed | When a Workflow step triggers it |
Where it appears | As a conversation attribute in reporting (e.g. chart drill-in) | As a note in the conversation, visible to teammates |
Plan requirement | Requires the Pro add-on | Expert plan required |
Rate limits | None | Yes — see details below |
AI Issue Summary
AI Issue Summary is a reporting attribute that Intercom generates automatically once a conversation is closed. It captures the main issue from the conversation and makes it available as a data attribute in reporting — for example, in chart drill-in views.
AI Issue Summary requires the Pro add-on. There is no manual step required and no rate limit — summaries are generated automatically for eligible conversations. If you’re not seeing AI Issue Summaries on any eligible conversations, first confirm your workspace has an active Pro add-on, then contact support if the issue persists.
Eligibility requirements
A conversation must meet all of the following criteria to receive an AI Issue Summary:
The workspace must have an active Pro add-on — AI Issue Summary is not available without it.
The conversation must be closed (open or snoozed conversations are not eligible).
The conversation must not be spam.
The conversation must have sufficient back-and-forth between at least two participants — at least 2 replies from the customer and 2 from a teammate or Fin.
The conversation must have been closed within the last 90 days.
Note: Conversations that are too brief, low-quality, or don't meet these criteria may not receive an AI Issue Summary. This is by design — the system prioritizes meaningful conversations where a main issue can be clearly identified.
Troubleshooting: AI Issue Summary not appearing
Note: AI Issue Summary requires the Pro add-on. If you’ve recently ended a trial or changed your plan, confirm that your workspace still has an active Pro add-on before troubleshooting further.
Check that your workspace has an active Pro add-on — AI Issue Summary is not available without it. If your Pro trial has ended or your plan changed, summaries will stop generating across the entire workspace from that date.
Check that the conversation is closed — AI Issue Summaries are only generated after a conversation closes, not while it is open or snoozed.
Check that the conversation is not marked as spam.
Check that the conversation has sufficient back-and-forth — at least 2 replies from the customer and 2 from a teammate or Fin are required.
Check the recency of the conversation — AI Issue Summaries are only generated for conversations closed within the last 90 days.
AI Conversation Summary
AI Conversation Summary posts an AI-generated summary note directly into a live conversation. It is triggered by an Add summary note step in a Workflow — for example, after Fin hands a conversation over to a teammate, or when a conversation is closed.
The summary note is visible only to teammates in Intercom. It is not visible to customers in the Messenger or any other customer-facing channel. Whether it appears in connected helpdesks such as Zendesk or Salesforce depends on whether those integrations are configured to sync internal notes.
Note: The Add summary note Workflow action requires the Expert plan. On the Advanced plan, teammates can generate summaries manually from the inbox, but cannot trigger them automatically via Workflows.
Common use cases
After Fin hands over to a teammate — so the teammate can see what Fin tried to do before the conversation arrived in their inbox.
After closing conversations — so teammates can quickly get up to speed when a conversation reopens, or when reviewing conversations for quality assurance.
Rate limits
The Add summary note Workflow step is subject to the following limits. If any condition is not met, the step will not post a summary:
The conversation must have at least 4 messages (visible conversation parts only — system events are not counted).
Up to 2 summaries may be posted per conversation per hour.
Up to 1,500 summaries may be posted per workspace per hour.
Note: These rate limits apply to the Workflow step only. The manual Summarize button in the inbox is not subject to these limits. Phone call conversations are not summarized using this Workflow step — a dedicated summary is generated for phone calls automatically.
Troubleshooting: AI Conversation Summary not appearing
Confirm your workspace is on the Expert plan — the Add summary note action is not available on the Advanced plan.
Check that your Workflow includes an Add summary note step, and that the Workflow is set to live.
Check that the conversation has at least 4 messages — the step will not fire on shorter conversations.
Check whether the per-conversation rate limit has been hit — if more than 2 summaries have already been posted to the same conversation in the past 60 minutes, the step will be skipped. This is a rolling window, not a fixed hourly reset.
Check whether the workspace rate limit has been hit — if 1,500 or more summaries have been triggered across your workspace in the past 60 minutes, the step will be skipped. This is a rolling window, not a fixed hourly reset.
FAQs
Can I trigger an AI Issue Summary manually?
Can I trigger an AI Issue Summary manually?
No. AI Issue Summaries are generated automatically after a conversation closes — there is no manual trigger. To be eligible, a conversation must be closed, not spam, have at least 2 replies from the customer and 2 from a teammate or Fin, and have been closed within the last 90 days.
Can customers see the AI Conversation Summary note?
Can customers see the AI Conversation Summary note?
No. The summary note is visible only to teammates in Intercom. It is not visible to customers in the Messenger or any other customer-facing channel. Whether it appears in connected helpdesks such as Zendesk or Salesforce depends on whether those integrations are configured to sync internal notes.
Does AI Issue Summary have a plan requirement?
Does AI Issue Summary have a plan requirement?
AI Issue Summary requires the Pro add-on. If your workspace previously had access during a trial and summaries are no longer appearing, confirm that your workspace has an active Pro add-on.
What happens to phone call conversations?
What happens to phone call conversations?
Phone call conversations are not summarized by the Add summary note Workflow step — this step applies to text-based conversations only. Phone calls receive a dedicated automatic summary through a separate process.
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