> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.msgcompanion.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# The Conversations screen

> Find your way around the inbox: views, filters, search, unread chats and starting a new conversation.

**Conversations** is where every chat lands: messages to your WhatsApp numbers and messages from your website chat, in one list.

## How the screen is laid out

* **Views** sit in the sidebar on the left, each with a count.
* **The list** is in the middle. Each row is one customer, with their latest message, when it came in, and a badge with the number of unread messages.
* **The conversation** you have open is on the right, with the box for your reply at the bottom.

A chat that began on your website carries a website chat mark in the list. WhatsApp chats are unmarked.

## Views

| View | What it shows |
| - | - |
| **Assigned to me** | Chats assigned to you. |
| **Unassigned** | Chats nobody has picked up yet. |
| **All** | Every chat you can see. This is the view you start in. |
| **Unread** | Chats with unread messages. |
| **Overdue** | Chats with a follow-up whose time has come, where nothing has been said for a day. Their time shows in amber in the list. |
| **Archived** | Chats you have put away. See [Assigning and organising](/conversations/assigning-and-organising). |

The address in your browser holds the view and filters you are in, so you can send the link to a colleague.

## Who sees which conversations

| Role | What they see |
| - | - |
| Rep | Chats assigned to them, and unassigned chats. Not a teammate's. |
| Manager, admin, owner | Every chat in the workspace. |

For a rep, **All** means their own chats plus the unassigned ones, and the counts match.

## Search

Type in **Search conversations** at the top of the list. It looks at the customer's name, their number and the latest message, within the view you are in. You can type a number any way you like: `07700 900101` finds `+44 7700 900101`.

To search everywhere, press Cmd+K on a Mac or Ctrl+K on Windows. See [Find your way around](/get-started/find-your-way-around).

## Filters

Choose **Filter conversations** at the top of the list to narrow the view you are in, then choose **Apply**.

* **Assigned to**: anyone, unassigned, or one team member. Managers, admins and owners only.
* **Channel**: WhatsApp, website chat, or both.
* **Number**: shown when your workspace has more than one WhatsApp number.
* **Tag**: shown once a conversation has a tag.
* **Awaiting payment**: chats where a payment link has gone out and has not been paid yet.

**Clear filters** puts the view back as it was.

## Unread and read

Opening a chat marks it as read. If the chat is assigned to somebody else, it stays unread for them when you look at it.

To come back to a chat later, open the three-dot menu at the top of the conversation and choose **Mark as unread**.

## Change several chats at once

<Steps>
  <Step title="Start selecting">
    Choose **Select conversations** at the top of the list. Each row becomes a tick box.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Tick the chats">
    Tick the rows you want, or choose **Select all**. You can change up to 100 at a time.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose what to do">
    Choose **Mark as read**, **Mark as unread** or **Archive**. Managers, admins and owners can also choose **Assign**. In the **Archived** view the choice is **Restore**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Start a new conversation

You need a connected WhatsApp number first.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the dialog">
    Choose **New conversation** at the top of the list.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Find the person">
    Search by name or number. Choosing someone you already have a chat with opens that chat. For somebody new, choose **New number**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill in the details">
    Enter the **Customer's WhatsApp number** and, if you like, a name. If you have more than one number, pick the **From number**. Then choose **Open thread**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Send the first message">
    If the customer has not written to that number in the last 24 hours, the first message must be an approved template. See [Replying to customers](/conversations/replying).
  </Step>
</Steps>

A chat a rep starts is assigned to them. A rep cannot open a chat with a customer a teammate is already looking after: the search marks that person **With a teammate**, and a manager can assign the conversation across.

<Note>
  A broadcast does not fill your inbox. A broadcast recipient's chat appears in Conversations once they reply, or once somebody on your team writes in it.
</Note>

## Related

* [Replying to customers](/conversations/replying)
* [Assigning and organising](/conversations/assigning-and-organising)
* [Notifications](/conversations/notifications)
* [Roles](/team/roles)
* [Website chat](/website-chat/overview)


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