## Overview

To use ConversaLabs well, it helps to know a few terms that recur throughout the platform. They form
the foundation the modules build on.

## Prerequisites

- None. This is a conceptual guide.

## Step by step

Get to know the core concepts:

1. **Account**: your company's space on the platform. Everything (inboxes, contacts, conversations)
   belongs to an account.
2. **Inbox**: represents a connected channel — for example, a WhatsApp number, a website widget or
   an email account.
3. **Channel**: the inbox type (WhatsApp, website, email, social, API, voice).
4. **Agent**: the user who handles conversations, with permissions defined by their role.
5. **Team**: a group of agents for organization and routing.
6. **Contact**: the person on the other side of the conversation, with their data and history.
7. **Conversation**: the message thread between a contact and your operation, with status, priority
   and an assignee.
8. **Label**: a marker to classify conversations and contacts.

## Settings & options

- **Custom attributes**: extra fields on contacts and conversations for your business.
- **Conversation status**: open, pending, snoozed or resolved.
- **Assignment**: manual or automatic (round-robin/balanced) per inbox/team.

## Use cases

- Route a channel's conversations to the right team.
- Use labels to separate questions, sales and support.
- Enrich contacts with custom attributes to segment campaigns.

## Tips, limits & best practices

- Standardize labels from the start to keep reports consistent.
- Use teams to mirror your real support structure.

## Troubleshooting

- **Conversation with no assignee**: review the inbox's assignment rules.
- **Duplicate contact**: check identifiers (phone/email) to avoid duplicates.

## See also

- [ConversaLabs platform overview](/hc/ajuda/articles/getting-started-overview-en)
- [Getting to know the interface](/hc/ajuda/articles/getting-started-tour-interface-en)
- [Onboarding with the Maestro Brain](/hc/ajuda/articles/getting-started-onboarding-cerebro-maestro-en)