Communicate with customers
The communication panel brings customer messages and supporting tools into the active session in Copilot Service workspace. For example, a service representative uses the panel to answer a delivery question, find an approved policy, and preserve useful context. In this unit, you learn how the panel supports clear messages, relevant resources, conversation records, and awareness of customer sentiment.
| Aspect | How it supports communication |
|---|---|
| Message exchange | Provides the compose area and conversation history for the active customer interaction. |
| Reusable information | Offers quick replies and access to knowledge articles when those resources are available. |
| Conversation context | Provides notes, record linking where supported, and message translation when enabled. |
| Customer response | Shows real-time sentiment based on recent customer messages. |
Work in the communication panel
The communication panel appears after you accept an incoming conversation. Before acceptance, the panel remains hidden because no active customer interaction requires it. The panel keeps the message exchange beside the other information in the session, so you retain context while reviewing customer or case details.
You compose a response in the message area, review it for accuracy and tone, and send it to the customer. The conversation history helps you connect each response to what the customer already shared. Channel capabilities and organizational settings determine which additional controls appear, so your panel might not match another representative's panel exactly.
The panel also adapts to the space you need. You can minimize it to a window in the corner of the Active Conversation form and restore it when you need to respond. If an administrator enables the resizable communication panel, you can drag its right edge while the panel is expanded. The application remembers the width by channel, which lets a wider chat panel coexist with a different width for another messaging channel.
| Panel state | When it helps |
|---|---|
| Expanded | Compose messages, review history, and use communication tools. |
| Minimized | Create more space for customer, case, or knowledge information. |
| Resized | Balance message history with the other content in the active session. |
Select tools that support the response
The best tool depends on what the customer needs at that moment. A quick reply helps with a common, repeatable message, while a knowledge article supports an answer that requires approved guidance. Notes and linked records preserve context for the conversation without replacing the customer-facing response.
- Use quick replies for predefined text that you review before sending. Administrators can provide organization-wide replies. If personal quick replies are enabled, the panel also shows replies that you create in a separate source.
- Search and share knowledge when the customer needs documented guidance. Verify that an article addresses the question, then share its link from the workspace.
- Take conversation notes to preserve factual details for follow-up, such as a customer constraint or a completed action. Follow your organization's policies for sensitive information.
- Link a supported record to connect the conversation with a case, contact, or account. This option isn't available in every channel or experience.
- Use translation when enabled to communicate across languages. Review translated names, identifiers, and terms that might have more than one meaning.
- Monitor real-time sentiment as a signal about the customer's current experience. The indicator reflects the six most recent customer messages, but the customer's words and issue history remain the basis for your response.
Apply communication tools in a customer scenario
Consider a service representative who accepts a chat from a customer asking why a replacement order hasn't arrived. The representative first reads the recent messages and sends a brief acknowledgment from the compose area. Because the wording matters, the representative reviews an available quick reply and adjusts the response to match the customer's concern.
Next, the representative searches knowledge for the current replacement-shipping policy. The matching article explains the expected timeline, so the representative shares the article link and states the relevant point in the message. This choice gives the customer both a direct answer and a source to reference later.
The customer then provides an order detail that affects follow-up. The representative records a factual conversation note and, where supported, links the conversation to the existing contact and case. If translation is enabled for the chat, the representative reviews the translated wording before sending the next response.
Finally, the sentiment indicator becomes less positive after several recent customer messages. The representative doesn't assume what the customer feels. Instead, they acknowledge the delay, confirm the requested outcome, and use the conversation history to keep the response specific. Each tool supports a communication decision rather than distracting from the customer's question.
Use shortcuts as optional alternatives
Visible controls provide the primary way to use communication features. Keyboard shortcuts offer alternatives when they suit your workflow or accessibility needs, but you don't need to memorize them. For example, /q opens quick replies, /c opens consult options, and /t or /tq opens transfer choices. The available commands can vary with the features enabled for your organization.
Consult and transfer begin a separate collaboration decision. A later unit explains when to involve another representative and when to transfer ownership, so this unit doesn't treat those actions as message-composition tasks. Likewise, closing or ending a conversation changes its state and can have channel-specific effects. A later unit covers those completion choices after the customer communication is ready to conclude.
For a complete reference, see View the communication panel for conversations.
With the communication tools selected and the customer exchange underway, the next unit turns to the customer and case context available in Active Conversation.