Handle Chats in Salesforce Agent Lightning

When a contact starts a chat session, Salesforce Agent (SFA) prompts you to accept the incoming chat. All chats are inbound only. You must set your Availability status to Available and wait for a contact to initiate a chat. You can connect to a maximum of eight chat sessions, concurrently. Each chat opens in its own tab. You can copy text within a chat and paste the text into an email, case notes, or other media for future use.

Handle an Inbound Chat

  1. Click Accept when a chat confirmation window appears. If you take longer than 45 seconds to respond, the chat request is automatically rejected and your Availability stateClosed The availability status of an agent is changed to Refused. When you click Accept, the chat window opens, and a chat control panel appears in the Salesforce Agent interface.

  2. Pay attention to the information in the chat control panel.

    • The icon in the upper right corner of the chat control panel indicates who sent the last message.

      • A headset icon means you sent the last message.

      • A person icon means the contact sent the last message.

    • The timer in the large font indicates how much time has passed since you last sent or received a message. The timer in the small font indicates the total amount of time the chat has been in progress.

      • If you actively respond to a chat in under 90 seconds, the indicator remains green.

      • If you take more than 90 seconds to respond to a message from the contact, the indicator turns yellow.

      • If you take more than 180 seconds to respond to a message from the contact, the indicator turns red to let you know you must respond as soon as possible.

  3. During the chat, you can copy text within a chat, transfer the chat, take notes, or take on additional chats. You can format your text and insert hyperlinks using the Format Controls.

  4. When you are finished chatting with the contact, click End Chat.

    Ending the chat in the Salesforce tab does not end the interaction. You must close the tab.

The chat control panel turns gray and says Disconnected for a few seconds before disappearing from your console. You now receive the after-chat task screen pop, which includes a transcript of the entire chat.

Manage Multiple Chats

  1. When handling a chat, click New > Request Contact to accept another incoming chat.

    The Chat Queue icon number decreases by one and a new chat control panel appears below the others. Notice that the new chat has a small cloud next to it in the agent console. The previous chat is Paused.

    The individual chat control panels shrink to one line when you manage four or more chats.

  2. To activate one of your paused chats, click on the tab associated with the chat in either Salesforce or the agent application. Doing so pauses other chats.

Pay attention to the last response timers and the icons on the chat control panels so you do not neglect any of your contacts.

Transfer A Chat

  1. Click the chat you want to transfer. This makes the chat Active and pauses the others.

  2. Click Transfer (indicated by a person with an arrow icon).
  3. Select whether you want to transfer the chat to a User or a Chat Button.
  4. Select the user or chat button you would like to transfer the chat to.
  5. If you want to add a message, enter your message in the Message field.
  6. Click Transfer to complete the transfer. The chat is removed from your console and the user or chat you chose receives a confirmation window for it in the omnichannel widget. When a new agent accepts the chat, all messages from your original chat with the contact appear in that agent's chat window.

Take Notes During a Chat

Because you can engage in multiple chats simultaneously, and each conversation with a contact has its own set of notes, you access the notes panel differently for a chat than you would for a call.

  1. While handling the chat, click Show Contact Details. Use the Name drop-down to select any associated individuals, such as a contact or a lead. Use the Relates To drop-down to select any associated accounts, cases, opportunities, or any other Salesforce object type. If you want to make a Salesforce object an option in the Relates To field, you must click on the corresponding tab to make it active.

  2. If you want to add a disposition, use the Disposition drop-down to select the disposition.
  3. If you want to adds tags, use the Tags drop-down to select the tag.

  4. Click within the Notes field and type your notes about the chat. Lightning Salesforce Agent saves the notes when the chat ends.

Use Quick Replies During a Chat

Use quick replies in Salesforce Agent to send fast, generic responses to customers during an email or chat exchange.

The Show Quick Replies option expanded, with a search bar and tabs for Skill Level and Favorites.

  1. Click Show Quick Replies.

  2. Use the Skill Level and Favorites tabs to select the appropriate quick reply from the drop-down lists.

  3. If prompted, replace variables with specific information.

  4. When the quick reply appears in your chat message, modify it if necessary.

  5. Click Send.