Use this article to set up, configure, and get productive with the Intercom Inbox. You'll learn how to receive and route messages, customize your workspace, use keyboard shortcuts to move faster, and take bulk actions across large sets of conversations.
Step 1: Set up the Inbox for your support team
Set up your custom email address so you can start sending emails from your own support address.
Auto-forward your own support emails (e.g. help@examply.io) to Intercom so you can manage all of your messages from the one place.
Assign incoming messages to the right teams and teammates.
Create macros to help you answer common questions your customers are asking again and again.
Step 2: Configure the Inbox to suit your needs
Check out this onboarding tour to familiarize yourself with the core features of the Inbox. You'll choose your language and theme (don't worry, you can always change your customization preferences later) and it's a great way to get your bearings.
Read our article on how to customize your inbox to suit you.
Decide to self-assign by replying or keep the conversation in the team inbox. Assignment preferences can be updated under Settings > Inbox > Assignments > General.
Note:
When a new workspace is created, the default for "Self-assign when replying" is "Keep it unassigned or assigned to the team inbox."
When self-assign by replying is enabled, un-snoozing an unassigned conversation will assign the conversation to you.
Note: Assignment preferences are teammate-specific — each teammate controls their own.
Step 3: Learn how to use keyboard shortcuts and Command-K
Learn how to use Command-K ⌘ K and you'll soon be blazing through conversations and performing your everyday actions faster without lifting your fingers off the keyboard. This might take some getting used to but it’ll soon start saving you valuable time.
Use direct shortcuts to the most popular actions, such as composing replies, inserting content, snoozing conversations, and moving between inboxes. Find a full list of available shortcuts.
Want an interactive way to learn shortcuts? Click on Manage > Keyboard shortcuts from the left sidebar in the Inbox.
Step 4: Take bulk actions on conversations
Bulk actions let you act on multiple conversations at once — without opening each one individually. There are two ways to select conversations for a bulk action, depending on how many you need to act on.
Manually selecting conversations
To act on a specific set of conversations you choose:
In your Inbox list or table view, select the checkboxes next to the conversations you want to act on.
A bulk action bar appears at the bottom of the screen.
Click the pencil (edit) icon in the bulk action bar to see the available actions, then select the one you want to apply.
The pencil (edit) icon in the bulk action bar gives you the following actions:
Send a reply or note (and insert a macro)
Assign to team
Assign to teammate
Add tag
Snooze
Close
Change priority
Trigger a data connector (run an automated data lookup or action)
Add topic
Select all matching conversations (up to 10,000)
To act on every conversation that matches your current search or filter — not just the ones you’ve manually selected — use the Select all matching option. This is available from the Command-K menu (the keyboard shortcut menu: press ⌘K on Mac or Ctrl-K on Windows) on any search or filter results view in the Inbox.
Run a search or apply a filter in the Inbox to get a results view.
Press ⌘K (Mac) or Ctrl-K (Windows) to open the Command-K menu.
Select Select all items.
A banner appears confirming the number of conversations selected. Choose the action you want to apply from the options below.
Available actions when using Select all matching:
Close
Reopen
Assign to team or teammate
Set priority
Change ticket state
Trigger a workflow
Link to tracker ticket
Note: When your selected set contains both open and closed conversations, both the Close and Reopen actions are offered so you can choose which state to apply.
How background bulk jobs work
When you apply a bulk action using Select all matching, the job runs in the background so you can keep working. Here’s what to expect:
A “started” notification appears immediately to confirm the job has begun.
For jobs over 1,000 conversations, a “completed” notification appears when the job finishes.
The results list refreshes automatically when the job completes — conversations that no longer match the active filter (for example, conversations just closed under an “open” filter) are removed from the list without a manual reload.
Limitations and things to know
10,000 conversation cap. Select all matching acts on at most 10,000 conversations per job. If your filter matches more, only the first 10,000 are selected. To act on a larger set, narrow your filter (for example, by date range) and run the action in batches.
Silent skips — no per-record breakdown. The action is applied on a best-effort basis. Conversations that can’t take the chosen action — for example, because they’re already in the target state, or because of permission constraints — are skipped silently. The job reports as completed regardless, and there’s no breakdown of which conversations were skipped.
Manual selection cap. When selecting conversations manually using checkboxes, the limit is 1,000 conversations. Use Select all matching for larger sets.
Search and filter results only. Select all matching is currently available on search and filter results views. Support for Inbox views in the left-hand navigation is coming soon.
Link to tracker, 2,500 record limit. The Link to tracker ticket action is limited to 2,500 conversations. If your selected set contains more than 2,500 conversations, this action is hidden. To use it, narrow your filter to bring the result set within the 2,500 limit.
Bulk actions via the REST API
If you need to automate bulk actions or integrate with other systems, the REST API gives you another way to manage conversations at scale. This section is intended for developers — if you're managing conversations through the Inbox, the options above will cover most use cases.
The API supports bulk conversation updates, including closing, replying, snoozing, and assigning conversations.
To perform any of these actions, you'll need a list of conversation IDs matching your chosen criterion. Learn how to search for conversations using the API.
For example, the API request to close a conversation looks like this:
$ curl https://api.intercom.io/conversations/<id>/parts -X POST -H 'Authorization:Bearer <Your access token>' -H 'Accept:application/json' -H 'Content-Type:application/json' -d { "message_type": "close", "type": "admin", "admin_id": <your_admin_id>, "body": "Closed conversation because of X." }
Tip: Read our best practice guide to customer support.
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