Handle Your First Conversation
A step-by-step walkthrough of a conversation from start to resolution.
1. A message arrives
A visitor opens Beacon on your site and sends a message. Rian responds automatically. If Rian can't resolve it, the conversation is escalated and appears in your inbox with an Escalated badge.
If Rian is off, the conversation lands directly in Your Inbox as an active conversation.
2. Open the conversation
Click the conversation in the list. The message thread opens in the centre panel. You can see:
- The full message history
- The platform badge (Beacon, WhatsApp, etc.)
- Whether Rian is enabled for this conversation (Agent Reply toggle)
3. Reply
Type your reply in the composer at the bottom. Press Enter to send or Shift+Enter for a new line.
Use Saved Replies (the bookmark icon) to insert a pre-written response. Use the Emoji picker or Attach to add files.
4. Add an internal note
Switch the composer to Note mode to leave a comment visible only to your team. Useful for flagging context before handing off to a colleague.
5. Assign if needed
Open the Conversation Details panel (the sidebar icon in the header). Click the Assignee field and select a team member from the searchable picker.
6. Resolve
When the conversation is done, click Resolve in the header. The conversation moves to the Resolved view.
If the conversation was escalated, click Resolve and choose whether to re-enable Rian for future messages from this contact.
7. Reopen if the customer replies
If the customer sends another message after resolution, the conversation automatically reopens and returns to Your Inbox.