Home Channels and inboxes Email Conversation Continuity: How to Enable and How It Works (Automatic and Manual)

Email Conversation Continuity: How to Enable and How It Works (Automatic and Manual)

Last updated on Sep 02, 2026

When to Use

  • The customer is in a website chat (Web Widget) and leaves (closes the tab, switches device) — and you want the conversation to continue via email.

  • You need a WhatsApp conversation to proceed via email (long discussions, attachments, third-party records).

  • You want to maintain the context of the conversation as it transitions between channels.

Prerequisites

  • An email inbox configured — see Connecting Email Inbox to Cloud Chat

  • The agent who will operate is assigned to this email inbox.

  • The contact must have a registered email.

  • To enable the option in the inbox: be logged in as an administrator.

About This Article

Email continuity prevents the service from being lost when the customer leaves the original channel. There are two modes:

  • Automatic (by inactivity) — only on Web Widget: Cloud Chat sends the response by email if the customer is not viewing the chat.

  • Manual (button) — on Web Widget and WhatsApp: the agent forces the conversation to continue via email.

How to Enable in the Inbox

Step 1 — Have an Email Inbox

Have (or create) an inbox of type email in Settings → Inbox.

Step 2 — Enable Continuity in the Site Inbox

In the Site type inbox, activate Enable email conversation continuity.

Step 3 — Select the Continuity Email Inbox

In Select the email inbox for continuity, choose the inbox from Step 1.

Done — email conversation continuity is enabled for this inbox.

Automatic Continuity (by Inactivity) — Web Widget

When an agent responds to a Web Widget conversation (with continuity enabled and contact with email), Cloud Chat waits about 2 minutes. After this time:

  • If the customer has not opened the chat during this interval (inactive) → the reply is sent via email, with the chat history.

  • If the customer was in the chat and saw the message → the conversation continues in the widget, normally.

When the customer responds to the email, the reply appears in the conversation for the agent, marked as coming from email.

Automatic continuity is reversible: if the customer returns to the site chat, the conversation resumes via the widget. A new reply will only go by email if they become inactive again. Messages sent in sequence within these ~2 minutes are grouped into a single email.

Manual Continuity (button) — Web Widget and WhatsApp

The agent can force the conversation to continue via email, without waiting for inactivity.

How to Activate

  1. Open the conversation on the panel.

  2. At the top of the conversation, click Activate email continuity.

  • Web Widget — activates directly upon clicking.

  • WhatsApp — a confirmation modal appears before applying.

Manual activation is permanent for that conversation — cannot be undone. From that point on, all responses follow via email, and the conversation behaves like an email thread in the panel.

When the button does not appear (or is blocked)

  • Email continuation is not enabled in the inbox → enable by following the "How to enable in the inbox" section above.

  • The contact has no email registered → edit the contact and add an email before trying.

Points to Watch

When the conversation is transitioning via email, there are two current limitations to be aware of:

  • Copy (CC/BCC): the reply field does not change to the full email format, so it’s not possible to add recipients in copy through this conversation.

  • Channel indicator: there is no clear mark in the conversation timeline showing when it switched to email (or returned to the widget). Use message identification — responses received via email are marked — to navigate.

Notes