Chat Inboxes

📍 To access Chat Inboxes: go to Chats > Inboxes

Overview

Chat Inboxes act as centralized communication hubs for managing inbound and outbound messages across your organization. Each Chat Inbox represents a phone number and/or email address that can send and receive messages.

By default, each RedFlag location is assigned a dedicated chat phone number.

Chat Inboxes enable teams to manage department-specific communication, automate responses, and forward incoming messages to the right users or groups. This ensures inquiries are routed efficiently and handled promptly, even across different locations or time zones.

🛡️ Note: Each Chat Inbox can be configured with a phone number, optional email address, automated responses, and message forwarding rules to support your organization’s communication needs.

Chat Inbox Tile

Each Chat Inbox represents a phone number and/or email address that can receive inbound messages. By default, a dedicated chat phone number is assigned to your location.

You can update an existing Chat Inbox by:

• Adding an email address for inbound messages
• Renaming the Chat Inbox (double-click the inbox name, edit, and click away to save)

The Chat Inbox tile displays:

• Chat Inbox name and description
• Phone number assigned to the inbox
• Email address assigned to the inbox
• Indicators showing if:
  • Initial Response Message is enabled
  • Out-of-Office Reply is enabled
  • Notification Forwarding is enabled

Adding or Editing Chat Inboxes

Click on the Chat Inbox tile to edit an existing inbox, or click Add Inbox to create a new one.

General Settings

• Set the Inbox Name and Description.

Inbox Mobile Number

• Request a new phone number assignment or view the existing assigned number.

Inbox Email Address

You can add or edit an email address associated with the inbox.

Create an Email Subdomain

• Set up a subdomain under redflaghub.com for your organization’s chat emails.
  Example: If your subdomain is @yourcompany.redflaghub.com, all chat emails will route through this subdomain.
• This subdomain serves as the base for all chat inboxes linked to your location.

Create an Email Address

• Choose a Display Name for chat emails (this is the “From” name recipients will see).
  Example: If the display name is Support Team, emails will appear as From: Support Team.
• Create a Username (Email Prefix) to complete the chat email address.
  Example: If the username is support, your chat email address will be support@yourcompany.redflaghub.com.

Link to an External Email Address (Optional)

To have chat emails appear as coming from your own domain instead of redflaghub.com, link a custom external email domain.

• The linked email must be able to receive messages for verification.
• A verification email will be sent to the external address. Click the verification link to complete the process.

Set Up Forwarding (Required for External Emails)

If using an external email address (e.g., support@customdomain.com):

1. Set up email forwarding to ensure RedFlag receives inbound chats.
2. Forward all emails sent to your external domain to your RedFlag chat inbox email (e.g., support@yourcompany.redflaghub.com).
3. Once forwarding is configured, click Verify Forwarding in RedFlag. A test email will be sent, and if received, the status will update to Verified.

Adding an Email Signature (Optional)

An email signature can be appended to outbound chat emails. You can choose to:

• Add the signature to all outbound chat emails, or
• Add it only to the first outbound email in a chat thread.

🛡️ Note: The signature will appear in the email but will not display in the chat window.

Automated Responses

Initial Response Message

Automatically sends a message when a recipient sends their first inbound message in a chat thread. Can be customized and toggled on or off.

Out-of-Office Reply Message

Automatically sends a message during designated times when responses are unavailable. Configure the days and times when this message should be sent. Can be toggled on or off as needed.

Notification Forwarding Settings

Notification forwarding allows automatic message forwarding to selected recipients via text message or email, and includes options to block automatic replies.

Enabling Message Forwarding

1. Toggle Enable Forwarding on.
2. Choose to forward all messages or only the first message in a thread.
3. Select recipients or groups:
   • Search and select groups or individuals
   • Recipients must already exist in RedFlag
   • The total number of recipients will be displayed when groups are selected
   • For individuals, their contact information (text/email) will be shown
4. (Optional) Define days and times when forwarding notifications should be disabled.

Blocking Automatic Reply

• Ignore Forwarding of Automatic Reply Emails – Logs the reply in chat but does not forward it.
• Block Automatic Reply Emails Entirely – Prevents automatic replies from appearing in chat.

Use Cases for Multiple Chat Inboxes

Organizations often create multiple chat inboxes to support different departments and route messages appropriately.

• HR Chat Inbox: For HR-related inquiries managed by HR representatives.
• Security Chat Inbox: For security-related messages handled by security personnel.

When a new Chat Inbox is created:

• It will appear as a separate tab on the Chat List page.
• Ensure chat-enabled users who need access are added in User Permissions.