When customer issues can’t be resolved immediately and require input from a partner or teammate outside of the Intercom Inbox, you can use Side Conversations to collaborate via email or Slack.
This feature allows you to:
Eliminate tool switching – Teammates handling complex queries can seamlessly communicate with external partners or internal experts from the same place they manage customer conversations.
Communicate with multiple parties – Teammates can initiate multiple side conversations across different email addresses or Slack channels from within a single ticket or conversation.
Never miss an update – Teammates receive updates from side conversations directly in the customer conversation, ensuring they never miss a response from a partner or colleague.
What are side conversations?
At Intercom, there are three main types of conversations:
Inbound conversations: These are initiated by customers through the Messenger or email when they need assistance.
Outbound conversations: These are initiated by your teammates from the Inbox by composing a new message via email or chat. They are primarily used to proactively reach out to a customer regarding an ongoing query.
Side conversations: These occur alongside existing conversations or tickets. They are created by teammates when resolving a query requires input from an external partner or a teammate who is not using the Intercom Inbox. You can manage these discussions via email or directly in Slack channels.
For example, a support teammate might start a side conversation with a delivery provider via email, or loop in an internal engineering team via a Slack channel to help resolve a technical bug.
Some clarifying points
Multiple side conversations – Every conversation or ticket in Intercom can have one or more ongoing side conversations attached to it. You can have a mix of email and Slack side conversations within the same parent thread.
Ticket and conversation support – Side conversations can be initiated from any Intercom conversation or any ticket, regardless of its category.
Shared assignments – Side conversations inherit the assignment of their parent conversation. If you reassign the main conversation to another teammate, the attached side conversations will also be assigned to that teammate.
Teammate experience
Starting a side conversation
In the Links section where you typically find tickets, there's also a section labeled Side conversations, teammates can create side conversations directly from within a conversation or a ticket of any category when they realize it involves collaboration with an external partner.
Composing a side conversation
After initiating a side conversation, you'll notice that the inbox interface is divided into two sections. On the left, you can view the parent conversation thread or ticket and its details. On the right, you'll see the panel where you can compose the message intended for an external partner.
You must first choose your channel:
Email: Best for external partners. You must include a recipient email address and a subject line.
Slack: Best for internal teams. Select a public or private Slack channel from the dropdown.
Note: Slack permissions You can only send side conversations to Slack channels where the Intercom Slack app has been added.
You can’t start a side conversation to email an existing teammate with an Intercom account. Instead, mention the teammate in a note on the parent conversation thread.
Sending a message
Once your message is sent, a new event will be cross-posted to the parent conversation. This serves as a clear indication to anyone handling the conversation that a side conversation was initiated during a specific timeframe, helping to maintain a chronological record of events and communications.
Browsing conversation details while viewing or creating a side conversation
While creating or viewing a side conversation, you can switch between the Thread and Details of the main parent conversation. This allows you to effortlessly cross-reference customer information or previous messages while communicating with your partner or teammate.
Receiving updates from a side conversation
Whenever an inbound reply is added to the side conversation from an external user, that same message will be posted to the parent conversation. This ensures that teammates working on the main issue are always informed of any updates from external partners, preventing them from missing important information.
Using macros and composer actions in side conversations
Side conversations operate through email or slack, offering you the flexibility to enrich your messages with attachments, images, emojis, or even GIFs when communicating with third-party providers. This adaptability also applies to macros, allowing you to utilize several macros for a more efficient message composition to external partners. However, it's worth noting that the available macros for side conversations are more limited, given that complex actions such as tagging, assignment, or parsing customer data aren't supported within Side conversations.
Sending a message in a side conversation from a custom email address
If you're interested in sending side conversations emails from a different email address, perhaps a shared one, it's possible by adding it as a custom email address. This can be handy when you want emails to look like they're coming from a team, especially when reaching out to third party providers through side conversations.
If you want to use custom email addresses for side conversations, make sure you follow these two steps:
Initiating side conversations from a custom email address: First, ensure your custom email address is added and verified in Intercom.
Getting replies in a side conversation when using a custom email address: Next, make sure your email client is set up to forward replies to Intercom, ensuring side conversation responses land right back in Intercom and in their side conversations.
If you choose a custom email address when starting a side conversation, it will be prefilled the next time you open one.
Customer experience
How the emails that external partners receive look
An example of how the emails external users receive from side conversations can be seen below.
The signature included in the email is the same signature you configure via Settings > Channels > Email > Customization > Email signatures.
Important to note:
Side conversations are initiated only via email and slack.
Side conversations inherit the assignment of their parent. If the parent is reassigned, the side conversation follows suit.
The state of a side conversation mirrors its parent. If the parent is closed, the side conversation is too.
Replies to side conversations will wake up the parent conversation or ticket. For example, if a side conversation receives a reply and its parent is snoozed, the parent gets unsnoozed.
Reporting on side conversations is currently not available.
Every new email address introduced while starting a side conversation creates a lead within Intercom.
Complex macros like assignment, tagging, or dynamic attributes don't work with side conversations.
@Mentions aren't supported inside side conversations.
The Inbox search function does not display side conversations.
Side conversations do not appear under “Created by you” in the Inbox left sidebar.
Customers in the parent conversation won't see replies sent in side conversations.
Default company association does not apply to side conversations. Even if the participant belongs to exactly one company, that company will not be automatically linked when the side conversation is created.
Collaborating in Slack
Using Slack for side conversations allows you to loop in internal experts or other departments where they already work.
How it works
Open a conversation or ticket in the Inbox.
Click the + icon next to Side conversations in the Links sidebar.
Select Slack from the channel options.
Choose a public or private Slack channel. The Intercom Slack app must be added to a channel before you can select it for a side conversation.
Compose your message and click Send.
Replying from Slack
When you send a side conversation to Slack, it appears as a new post in the channel.
Threaded replies: Teammates in Slack can use the Reply to this message button to respond within a thread.
Automatic sync: Any replies made in the Slack thread will automatically sync back to the side conversation in the Intercom Inbox and the parent conversation.
Replying from Intercom
You can continue the discussion by replying directly from the side conversation panel in Intercom. Your response will post as a new reply in the Slack thread, keeping the history consistent across both platforms.
FAQs
How email recipients see your message
External partners receive a standard email. The signature included is the same one configured in your Email customization settings.
How Slack members see your message
When sent to Slack, the message appears as a new post in the selected channel. Teammates can use the Reply to this message button in Slack to respond, which syncs the reply back to the Intercom Inbox.
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