Close conversations without closing tickets in Help Desk

[OllieS]

There are a huge number of scenarios where we could want to close a conversation in the Help Desk but not close the ticket. The prime example would be where we speak with a customer on chat but can't solve the problem there so need to follow-up by email.

We'd like to be able to close the chat conversation but keep the ticket open, so we can start a new email conversation with the customer when we've got the answers

[OllieS]

Hi everyone! This is now in public beta. You can opt in via this link. Please continue to leave feedback for our product team here as you use the beta! 

[OllieS]

Hi everyone! Sophie from the help desk product team here. I wanted to share that adding the ability to close a live chat but keep the ticket open is on our roadmap. We really appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback with us- it helps us make sure the right work gets prioritized!

A couple follow up questions if anyone is open to sharing their thoughts: 

• In our ideal future state where a chat can be closed but the ticket stays open, would you expect to be automatically switched over to the email channel once that chat is closed? Why or why not?
• If you have a live chat ticket and you move to switch over to the email channel, would you want that live chat to be ended automatically? Would you expect some sort of confirmation message before that happens?
• Where in help desk would you expect to find an "end chat" button?

Thanks again for sharing your feedback. We're looking forward to sharing more updates as we make progress!

[martechaa]

in conversation inbox it was a function that was close the conversation without changing status on the ticket. that function is very much missed in the help desk

in the assigned to me view there will be tickets that should be in an open state but maybe not needs to be in this view because the ticket workflow last for for example 30-90 days and we do not expect to talk to the customer before we for example get a task from the workflow. we should then be able to remove that from the assigned to me view since it takes away attention from other tickets that need follow up now

[Yevheniia]

This feature is essential for accurately tracking live-chat queries that require more time and need to be converted into ticket-email updates. Without it, our chat closure metrics won’t be accurate and will fall outside our SLA for live-chats. Also, because of this, unfortunately, we cannot fully utilize HelpDesk.

HubSpot, for instance, has the ability to close a chat while indicating that it was transferred to email. A similar functionality is needed in HelpDesk. 

[YuliaD]

Same here. We want to use HelpDesk, but this issue makes it impossible. Closing chats without closing tickets breaks our metrics and chat reports, and prevents CSAT surveys from being sent at the right time.

[CRobinson6]

This will change our mind about using Help Desk if not implemented. 

[CRuddy]

Please please! We hate making workarounds for this.

[tarrady]

Please please introduce this. A chat ending doesn't always mean the ticket is solved or finalised. There are generally follow-ups or an email that needs to be done so only being able to close a chat by closing the ticket isn't great.

[scottfox]

+1 for this! the way our team works this is critical.

[YuliaD]

Does anyone know how Hubspot is moving their support chats to emails? As fas as I know they are using Hubspot Helpdesk as well?
We really need to find a solution because closing chats under opened tickets is the only thing that is blocking our support team for using Helpdesk and all new tools if we want to keep the team on Hubspot.

[JFlanagan19]

At Riverside Insights, we've built a Ticket Property that agents can set on their chat ticket to mark it for follow up or escalation - We've then built a workflow that will automatically close the chat ticket if that Ticket Property is flagged, and create a new follow-up ticket with the source of email (So the follow up ticket doesn't impact the capacity limit of our chat agents to receive new chats) for the agent to use for follow-up. We very much would like the ability to just close the conversation, keep the original ticket still open, and NOT have that ticket count towards capacity limit of receiving new chats.

[PatrickSJ]

This is a must have for us. Not having the ability to close a chat but continue in an email is causing daily headaches for both my team and our customers. Please build this functionality in to the Help Desk. 

[CMuth]

This would be HUGE! Really dissappointing that HubSpot Support can use this but it is not released as a feature for the rest of us. 

[Therese_S]

+1 
This is critical!
How come this feature wasn't added from start as it's available in inbox? 

[smerrow]

Hi everyone! Sophie from the help desk product team here. I wanted to share that adding the ability to close a live chat but keep the ticket open is on our roadmap. We really appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback with us- it helps us make sure the right work gets prioritized!

A couple follow up questions if anyone is open to sharing their thoughts: 

• In our ideal future state where a chat can be closed but the ticket stays open, would you expect to be automatically switched over to the email channel once that chat is closed? Why or why not?
• If you have a live chat ticket and you move to switch over to the email channel, would you want that live chat to be ended automatically? Would you expect some sort of confirmation message before that happens?
• Where in help desk would you expect to find an "end chat" button?

Thanks again for sharing your feedback. We're looking forward to sharing more updates as we make progress!

[OllieS]

Great news! Yes - we would ideally want the conversation to move to a SPECIFIC email channel once the chat is closed. Ideally we could set which email channel it defaults to from the chatflow logic (i.e. If they selected a certain branch, we that would define which email it sets to send from in Help Desk, based on some filter logic).

I think "Move to email" should be within the message drafting box, under the options in the arrow next to the "Send" button. It should also notify the customer with a customisable message, and give them the option to leave a follow-on message if they forgot something. I don't think it should re-open the chat, in case the agent has left, but it should show any follow-up message in the Help Desk conversation.

Something like this would be nice:
"Thanks for chatting with me today. I've closed the chat but will carry on working on your request in the background and reply by email to [CONTACT EMAIL ADDRESS] within 1-2 working days. If there's anything else you'd like to add, you can send another message below."

[PatrickSJ]

Hello,
Thanks for reaching out. That's great news to hear this functionality is on
the roadmap! It would make a huge difference for our support workflows.

There are really two parts to this issue for us:

1.

Closing a chat conversation that originates as a *live* chat when agents
are available.
2.

Closing a chat conversation that originates when agents are *not*
available.

1. When chats originate during business hours (live chat)

*Automatic switch to email:*
That would depend on how the tracking is handled. Ideally, once a chat is
closed, the ticket would still show that it originated as a chat, while
allowing us to seamlessly continue the conversation via email.

*Ending the chat when switching channels:*
If an agent manually switches to email, it would make sense for the live
chat to end automatically. This prevents confusion for customers who might
otherwise think the chat is still active and keep waiting for a reply in
the widget.

*Confirmation message:*
A quick confirmation before ending the chat would be helpful to avoid
accidental closures.


*Placement of the “End Chat” button:*The most intuitive location would be
within the ticket panel itself, both in the Preview view and the full
Ticket view in Help Desk.
Preview: https://share.cleanshot.com/6T2pPVG5
Full Ticket: https://share.cleanshot.com/K1yr7SM0
2. When chats originate outside of business hours

We keep our chat widget open after hours, but it displays an initial
message letting users know we’re currently offline and to leave their
question in the chat.

Ideally, we’d like to replace that experience with a simple form fill
within the chat widget. That way, we could still see that the chat tool was
used to submit the question, but it wouldn’t remain as an active, open
conversation.

Here’s an example for context:

-

Ticket example
<>
-

Screenshot <>

In this case, the customer started a chat outside of business hours, didn’t
see the initial “we’re closed” message, and kept trying to engage, because
the conversation appeared to remain open.
------------------------------

Overall, the key for us is maintaining a *single ticket* for the full
customer interaction, even when communication moves from chat to email.
That continuity is critical for accurate reporting, CRM cleanliness, and a
smoother customer experience.

Thanks again for following up and collecting this feedback. I'd be happy to
provide additional input, set up a call, or participate in early testing as
this feature develops!

Thanks,

Patrick San Jose
Director of Customer Advocacy
Palo Alto Software

[Therese_S]

This is great news - can't wait for this to be released. Any estimated time when this will be released? 🙂

• In our ideal future state where a chat can be closed but the ticket stays open, would you expect to be automatically switched over to the email channel once that chat is closed? Why or why not?
  - For us this would be a yes, we would want it to be switched over to the email channel but without affecting reports. Meaning, in reports we would like to be able to measure this as a live chat, as it was the original contact way but if the customer needs to be contacted after the live chat is closed, that will always happen via email.
  
  
• If you have a live chat ticket and you move to switch over to the email channel, would you want that live chat to be ended automatically? Would you expect some sort of confirmation message before that happens?
  - Yes, as we see it customers should only be able to contact us once per ticket via live chat . So when/if the live chat is switched to email channel, the live chat should be closed. This is where we struggle a lot today, as customers can contact us several times via live chat if the ticket is still in an open status that we use for email contact purposes.
  
  
• Where in help desk would you expect to find an "end chat" button?
  - For us it would make sense to have the "close button" somewhere here:
  

  
  It would be even better if the customer also could close the live chat on their end, so when they are satisfied with the help they received they can close the chat. Is this planned to be included as well?

[hhiggins]

Hi everyone! This is now in public beta. You can opt in via this link. Please continue to leave feedback for our product team here as you use the beta!