> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.visitoai.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Manage customer conversations, escalations, and Auto-Freeze
> Manage customer conversations in Visito, assign owners, pause AI replies with Auto-Freeze, handle escalations and reviews, and archive or block threads.
The Conversations inbox combines WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Webchat threads in one operational view.
## Understand conversation states
Visito tracks several independent signals on each conversation. Use the signal that matches the work you need to do.
| Signal | What it means | How to complete it | Effect on AI replies |
| - | - | - | - |
| **Unread** | A teammate has not opened the latest message | Open the conversation | None |
| **Needs reply** | The conversation needs an operator decision or response | Send a reply or select **Mark done** | Depends on the response mode |
| **Handoff** | The AI escalated the customer to a person | Handle the request, then select **Resolve handoff** | AI replies stay paused while the handoff is open |
| **Internal review** | A teammate requested an operator-only review | Review the thread, then select **Mark reviewed** | None |
| **Owner** | A teammate is accountable for the conversation | Reassign it or choose **Unassigned** | None |
| **Frozen** | A temporary operator-control window is active | Wait for the timer to end or use the conversation’s resume control | AI replies pause until the displayed time |
| **Archived or Blocked** | The conversation has a lifecycle restriction | Unarchive or unblock it when appropriate | See [Archive or block a conversation](#archive-or-block-a-conversation) |
Opening a conversation only clears its unread state. It does not resolve a handoff, complete an internal review, clear **Needs reply**, or change the owner.
## Use inbox views
* **All** - all conversations matching the current filters.
* **Needs reply** - conversations waiting for an operator response.
* **Handoff** - conversations escalated by the AI for human action.
An internal review is not the same as a handoff. Review requests appear with an **Internal review** badge and can also surface in the Home attention queue.
## Search and filters
Search contacts by name or identifier. Open **Filters** to narrow by:
* Channel
* Owner, including **Mine**
* Conversation status: Active, Blocked, Archived, or Any
* Response mode: AI or Manual. Frozen conversations appear under Manual with a timer
* Actions such as availability checks, quotes, checkout creation, and human support requests
Filters remain in the page URL, so you can bookmark or share a focused view.
## Open a conversation
Select a row to open the conversation drawer.
The drawer includes:
* Full message history and date separators
* Images, video, audio, and files when available
* Reply references and delivery state
* The latest detected conversation language, confidence, and mixed-language indicator when available
* Customer information, assignment, reservations, commerce, review, and history details
* Previous/next conversation navigation
* Manual reply composer with file attachment
* Handoff or needs-reply resolution controls
Language detection is cached and refreshed at selected points in the conversation, so it may not change after every message. A value of **unavailable** means Visito could not produce a usable detection at the latest checkpoint; it does not block operators from reading or replying to the conversation.
## Assign an owner
Use the owner selector in the conversation drawer or row actions to assign a teammate. Choose **Unassigned** to remove the current owner.
Assignment identifies who is responsible for the whole conversation. It does not send a message, change the AI or Manual response mode, resolve attention, or change the conversation status.
Use the **Owner → Mine** filter to focus on conversations assigned to you.
### Conversation owner vs review reviewer
These assignments are separate:
| Role | Scope | Use it for |
| - | - | - |
| **Conversation owner** | The entire conversation | Ongoing responsibility for the customer relationship |
| **Review reviewer** | One open internal review | A specific quality, policy, or coaching check |
A conversation can be owned by one teammate while its internal review is assigned to another. Changing the reviewer does not change the conversation owner.
## Handle an AI-to-human escalation
A handoff is a customer-facing escalation created when a Handoff Rule matches or the customer asks for a person. While it remains unresolved, Visito keeps new messages in the thread, marks the conversation for attention, and pauses AI replies.
Open it from **Home** or the **Handoff** Conversations view. Review the handoff reason, the customer's messages, captured details, missing fields, and working-hours context.
Choose a conversation owner when one teammate should carry the request through completion.
Complete the operational task and reply to the customer when a response is needed. A manual reply does not resolve the handoff automatically.
Add an optional resolution note describing the outcome, then select **Resolve handoff**. This closes the handoff and clears the needs-reply state created by that handoff.
Resolve the handoff only after the customer request has an owner and a clear outcome. If no customer reply is needed, record why in the resolution note.
Conversation policy actions, including response-mode and lifecycle changes, are locked while a handoff is unresolved. Resolve the handoff before changing those controls.
### If AI or Manual controls are disabled
When a handoff is open, Visito keeps the conversation under human ownership until the escalation is resolved. During that time, response-mode controls can appear disabled because the open handoff is the active policy controlling AI replies.
To let the AI respond again:
1. Finish the customer request or decide that no more operator action is needed.
2. Add a short resolution note if useful.
3. Select **Resolve handoff**.
4. Refresh the conversation if the control still appears disabled.
After the handoff is resolved, the conversation can return to AI replies as long as no other restriction applies, such as Manual mode, Auto-Freeze, archive, or block.
## Request a manual internal review
Use an internal review when a teammate should inspect a conversation without escalating the customer or pausing the AI. Common uses include quality assurance, coaching, checking a sensitive answer, and confirming that a process was followed.
Open the conversation, find the conversation actions, and select **Mark for review**.
Enter an optional note explaining what the reviewer should check. Choose a reviewer or leave it **Unassigned** for a shared review queue.
The reviewer opens the conversation, reads the request details, and can reassign the review if another teammate is better suited.
Add an optional resolution note and select **Mark reviewed**. The review history records who requested, reassigned, and completed it.
Only one internal review can be open on a conversation. You cannot request one while a handoff is active. If a new handoff is created while a review is open, the urgent customer-facing handoff supersedes the internal review and the history records that change.
An internal review is invisible to the customer and does not pause AI replies. Use a handoff when a person must take over the customer request, and use an internal review when your team needs an operator-only check.
## Reply manually
Type a message in the composer and select **Send**, or press Enter. Use Shift+Enter for a new line. You can attach one supported file and reply to a specific message.
Manual response mode is different from sending one manual reply. In Manual mode, Visito stores new customer messages and marks the thread as needing a reply instead of generating an AI response. Assigning an owner or reviewer does not turn on Manual mode.
## Pause AI replies with Auto-Freeze
Auto-Freeze gives an operator temporary control after sending a message. It prevents the AI from replying immediately while the teammate is still working with the customer.
### When you send from the Visito dashboard
The **Pause AI** selector appears when composing text or attachments, on web and mobile. It inherits the business preference from **Configuration → Personalization → Assistant settings** (normally 30 minutes until changed).
Choose **5, 10, 15, 30, 60, or 120 minutes** to override the current conversation composer, or **Off** to skip creating or extending a pause. Each accepted reply with a duration restarts the timer. Off preserves an existing pause; use the conversation's resume control to end it early.
Changing the business preference affects future replies only. Older installed app versions may still use their previous 30-minute default and clear pauses when explicitly set to Off; update the app to use the shared preference and new behavior.
### When a teammate replies from a Meta channel
Visito can also receive an outbound message echo from a connected WhatsApp, Instagram, or Messenger account. An echo tells Visito that a message was sent directly from a native Meta surface instead of the Visito dashboard.
When the outbound message does not match one already sent by Visito:
1. Visito adds the message to the conversation history as a native channel message.
2. The existing needs-reply state is cleared because a teammate responded.
3. Visito freezes AI replies for 30 minutes from the time of that message.
If the echo matches a message that Visito already sent, Visito treats it as a duplicate. It does not add a second message or start another freeze.
This automatic Meta freeze helps prevent the AI and a teammate working in Meta from replying at the same time. To keep human control beyond the temporary window, switch the conversation response mode to **Manual**.
### What happens during and after a freeze
| Moment | Visito behavior |
| - | - |
| A freeze starts | The conversation appears as Manual with a frozen-until time |
| A customer writes during the freeze | The message is stored and the conversation is marked **Needs reply**, but the AI does not answer |
| An operator replies | The message is sent normally and the needs-reply state is cleared after a successful send |
| The timer expires with the customer's message still latest | If AI mode is active and no handoff or other restriction applies, Visito re-evaluates the latest customer message and may reply |
| The timer expires after an operator already replied | The freeze clears without generating another reply |
Auto-Freeze is temporary. Manual mode remains active until a teammate changes it, and an unresolved handoff continues to suppress AI until it is resolved.
### Freeze vs Manual mode
| Control | Duration | Best for |
| - | - | - |
| **Auto-Freeze** | Until the selected timer ends | A short operator intervention after a dashboard or native Meta reply |
| **Manual mode** | Until a teammate turns AI replies back on | A conversation that a person will manage for an extended period |
| **Handoff** | Until a teammate resolves the escalation | A customer request that requires a person to take ownership and record an outcome |
## Resolve attention
* For a handoff, finish the request, add an optional resolution note, and select **Resolve handoff**.
* For an internal review, complete the check, add an optional resolution note, and select **Mark reviewed**.
* For a needs-reply thread, select **Mark done** if no message is needed.
Each action clears only its own attention state. For example, **Mark done** does not close an internal review or resolve a handoff.
## Archive or block a conversation
Use the lifecycle action that matches your intent:
| Action | Best for | What happens | How to recover |
| - | - | - | - |
| **Archive** | A completed or inactive thread you want out of the Active view | The thread moves to Archived. A new customer message automatically reopens it | Filter by **Archived** and select **Unarchive**, or wait for a new inbound message |
| **Block** | A contact or thread that must not receive any response | AI and manual replies are prevented. New inbound events are ignored by the response workflow | Filter by **Blocked** and select **Unblock** |
Archived and blocked conversations are hidden by the default **Active** status filter but remain available through the status filter.
Do not use **Block** as a way to tidy the inbox. Blocking prevents responses, so reserve it for conversations your team intentionally does not want to engage with. Use **Archive** for completed work.
### Recommended operator decision
| Situation | Action |
| - | - |
| The customer request is complete | Resolve any open attention state, then **Archive** if you want it out of the Active view |
| The thread needs no message, but should remain active | **Mark done** |
| A teammate needs to inspect the interaction | **Mark for review** |
| A person must take over the customer request | Use or resolve a **Handoff** |
| A teammate needs a short window after replying | Send with **Auto-Freeze** **On** |
| The AI should stop replying while a person manages the thread | Switch the response mode to **Manual** |
| The conversation must not receive replies at all | **Block** |
Lifecycle and response-mode actions are available in the conversation drawer and row actions. Available controls depend on the channel, role, and current state.
Export uses the current workspace and filter context.
Create handoff scenarios, collect useful customer details, and configure working hours.
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