> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.artific.nl/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.artific.nl/en/for-administrators/conversations.md).

# Conversation module

The shared inbox: incoming e-mail answered with a prepared draft that a person checks before it goes out.

## What it does

A team mailbox (`info@`, `support@`, `service@`) receives more messages than the team can comfortably answer, and most of them need the same context and the same tone.

The conversation module connects that mailbox to an assistant. Every incoming message is grouped into a conversation and gets a draft reply written for it, using your knowledge and your house style. Someone on the team reads the draft, edits it if needed, and sends it.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Nothing is ever sent automatically.** The draft is written for you; a person always presses send. This is deliberate and is not configurable.
{% endhint %}

## How a message flows

1. An e-mail arrives at a connected channel.
2. It is grouped into a conversation: a new one, or an existing thread with the same sender.
3. The assistant bound to that channel writes a draft reply.
4. The conversation appears under **Open** in the Inbox with a marker that a suggested reply is ready.
5. A team member opens it, reviews the draft, edits it, and sends.
6. The conversation moves to **Answered**.

If the sender writes again after that, the conversation reopens and appears under **Open** again.

## What you need to set up

| Step                                           | Page                                                                                     |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| An assistant to write the drafts               | [AI assistants](/en/for-administrators/assistants.md)                                    |
| A connected mailbox, bound to that assistant   | [Communication channels](/en/for-administrators/conversations/communication-channels.md) |
| A mail template so replies carry your branding | [Mail templates](/en/for-administrators/conversations/mail-templates.md)                 |
| The right people with access to the Inbox      | [Users and access](/en/for-administrators/access.md)                                     |

The assistant matters more than anything else here. Its instructions, its knowledge and its tone of voice are what the drafts are made of. Build and test it as a normal assistant first (chat with it, check its answers) before you point a mailbox at it.

## What the team does day to day

See [Working in the Inbox](/en/for-everyone/inbox.md) in the user section. That page is written for people without admin rights and is safe to share with the whole team.

## Direct Chat is a different thing

**Direct chat**, under **AI assistants**, is the live web-chat queue: a visitor talking to an assistant asks to speak to a person, and a colleague takes the conversation over. It is unrelated to the e-mail Inbox. See [Review and handover](/en/for-administrators/conversations/review-and-handover.md).