# Live inbox and takeover

> Answer shoppers in real time from the ShopAssist inbox, take over from the AI and hand the conversation back.

Source: https://shopassist.coec.dk/docs/handoff/live-inbox-and-takeover · Updated 2026-10-01

*(Starter and up)*

The live inbox lists conversations as they happen. Agents can take over any conversation, reply as themselves and hand it back to the AI.

## Presence [#presence]

Set your status in the inbox header: **Online**, **Away** or **Offline**. Live chat is offered to shoppers only while office hours are open and at least one agent is **Online**. The header says why live chat is closed when it is (outside office hours, nobody online, live chat disabled).

Your status stays online while the inbox is open. When the tab is hidden for more than 5 minutes it switches to **Away**, and closing the tab lets it expire after about 90 seconds.

## Views [#views]

* **Needs a person:** conversations waiting for an agent or in a live chat, oldest waiting first.
* **Mine**, **Unassigned**, **All open** and **Closed** (last 7 days).

New handoffs appear within seconds and update the page title. You can turn on a sound or desktop notifications in the inbox; neither is enabled by default.

## Take over and hand back [#takeover]

* **Take over** assigns the conversation to you and pauses the AI. The shopper sees "You’re now chatting with *your name* from *your store* (a person)". If a colleague took over first, you see who.
* **Hand back to AI** resumes the assistant. You can leave an internal note for the next person.
* **Assign** gives the conversation to yourself or, with the right role, to a colleague.
* **Internal notes** are visible only to your team.

Agent messages are plain text with links, up to 4,000 characters.

## Keyboard shortcuts [#shortcuts]

| Key       | Action                       |
| --------- | ---------------------------- |
| `j` / `k` | next / previous conversation |
| `Enter`   | open                         |
| `r`       | reply                        |
| `n`       | internal note                |
| `t`       | take over                    |
| `h`       | hand back to AI              |
| `e`       | close                        |
| `a`       | assign to me                 |

## Who can use the inbox [#permissions]

Agents, admins and owners can act in the inbox. Viewers can read conversations but not reply. Email addresses are masked for roles without access to personal data. See [roles and permissions](/docs/team/roles-and-permissions).