Overview
Active Chats shows all customers currently chatting on your website through the Live Chat Widget. Unlike the Inbox (which shows all tickets needing attention), Active Chats focuses exclusively on live, real-time conversations where a customer is actively waiting for a response.
Active Chats appears in the sidebar only when the widget channel is enabled and there are active conversations. A red badge shows the number of live chats.
What You See
Each active chat shows:
- Customer email (or "Anonymous" if email was not collected)
- Active now indicator with a pulsing green dot
- Last message preview from the conversation
- Time since last update
The list refreshes automatically every few seconds so you always see the current state.
How Active Chats Differ from Inbox
| Active Chats | Inbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Shows | Customers chatting right now on your website | All tickets needing action (escalations, approvals, stale tickets) |
| Channels | Widget only | All channels (email, widget) |
| Updates | Real-time (auto-refreshes) | Standard page load |
| Purpose | "Who needs a response right now?" | "What is my work queue?" |
| Customer status | Must be actively browsing your site | Any open ticket regardless of customer activity |
When a Chat Appears Here
A conversation shows in Active Chats when all of these are true:
- The ticket came through the widget channel
- The ticket has been escalated to a human agent
- The ticket is in an active status (not resolved or closed)
- The customer is currently on your website (their browser is sending activity signals)
When a customer closes their browser tab or navigates away from your site, the chat disappears from this list after about 60 seconds.
Responding to Active Chats
Click any active chat to open the ticket detail view. From there you can:
- Read the full conversation including any previous Ensoras responses
- See the customer's status - a "Live" indicator shows they are online and waiting
- Type a reply using the message composer at the bottom
- View context in the sidebar: customer info, tags, workflow history, and ticket properties
Your response is delivered to the customer instantly in their chat widget. There is no delay.
Customer Online Indicator
When viewing a ticket, a green "Live" badge appears in the header when the customer is actively on your website. This helps you prioritize:
- Live - Customer is waiting. Respond quickly.
- No indicator - Customer has left. They will see your reply when they return or via email follow-up.
Best Practices
Respond to live chats first. Customers in active chat sessions expect quick replies. Prioritize these over email tickets.
Keep responses short. Chat is conversational. Use 1-2 sentences per message rather than long paragraphs.
Use the Inbox for everything else. Active Chats is for real-time widget conversations only. Email tickets, pending approvals, and stale tickets all appear in the Inbox.
Next, configure Ensoras's behavior in Configuration.