# Chat overview

> Understand Chat, conversation types, and how internal messages differ from tickets and the client portal.

URL: https://www.agencytitan.com/help/chat/overview/

**Chat** is internal messaging for your agency team. Use it to talk with teammates in a channel or a direct message. It does not replace a ticket, and client portal contacts cannot see it.

## Who this is for

Agency team members granted **View Chat**. Sending a message or starting a direct message also requires **Send Chat Messages**. Creating a named channel requires **Manage Chat Channels**. Owners and Admins have full access.

## Open Chat

1. Sign in to the agency app.
2. Open **Chat** ([/chat](https://app.agencytitan.com/chat)), or select the header **Chat** control and then **Open full chat**.
3. On a wide screen, the **Conversations** list stays on the left. On a narrower screen, open that list from the menu control.

The left list header reads **AgencyTitan Chat**. When nothing is unread, it shows **Everything is caught up**.

![Chat workspace with the conversation list on the left and an open channel timeline](/docs/screenshots/chat-v1/workspace-open.png)

## How conversations are organized

| Area | What it is for |
| --- | --- |
| **Search conversations, departments, and clients** | Find a conversation, department, or client by name. |
| **Pinned** | Conversations you pinned for yourself. |
| **Channels** | Named channels your team created. |
| **Department channels** | One conversation per department you can see. |
| **Client channels** | One conversation per client you can see. |
| **Direct messages** | One-to-one conversations with a teammate. |

The plus control opens **New Conversation**. Choose **Direct message** or **Channel**.

An open conversation shows a type badge: **Channel**, **DM**, **Department**, or **Client**.

Department and client rows can appear before anyone has sent a message. Selecting one opens that conversation.

## Chat versus a ticket versus the portal

| Surface | What it is |
| --- | --- |
| **Chat** | Internal team messages. Work them in **Chat**. |
| **Ticket** | An incoming request or customer conversation. Work it in **Tickets**. |
| **Client portal** | What an external contact can see for a linked client. |

A **Client** conversation in Chat is still internal. It is the same surface as the **Channel** tab on a client record. Portal users do not see those messages.

Chat does not create a ticket. A ticket reply does not appear in Chat.

## What you can do in a conversation

When a conversation is open you can:

- Send a message from the composer. An empty channel shows **Start the channel**.
- Attach files from the composer or by dropping them on the timeline.
- Watch a named channel, or unwatch it, from **Watch channel** / **Unwatch channel**.
- Pin or unpin the conversation for yourself.
- Open **Conversation details** to see **Members**.
- Reply in a **Thread** to keep a side discussion off the main timeline.
- Use **Minimize to popup** to keep the conversation in a smaller window.

The header launcher also has **Recent**, **DMs**, **Channels**, and **Online**, plus **New DM**.

## Guides in this category

## Related articles

- [Welcome to AgencyTitan](https://www.agencytitan.com/help/getting-started/welcome/): Sign in, find the main areas of the agency app, and choose a first-week path.
- [Start a conversation](https://www.agencytitan.com/help/chat/start-a-conversation/): Open Chat, start a direct message or named channel, send a message, and pin or watch a conversation.
- [Tickets overview](https://www.agencytitan.com/help/tickets/overview/): How the Tickets inbox, ticket conversations, assignment, statuses, inboxes, routing rules, and reply templates fit together.
- [Clients overview](https://www.agencytitan.com/help/clients/overview/): Understand the Clients list, client record anatomy, Client Profile templates, Info Sheets, notes, programs, tasks, and tickets.