## Overview

**Conversation routing** defines what happens when a customer sends a message after their
conversation has been **resolved**. Each inbox has two modes:

- **Reopen the same conversation** — the platform reuses the contact's existing conversation and
  **reopens it automatically** when they reply. The whole history stays in one place.
- **Create new conversations** — after resolution, the contact's next message opens a **new
  conversation**, already open for the team. Each request becomes a separate ticket.

The setting lives under **Settings → Inboxes → (your inbox) → Configuration**, in the
"Conversation routing" section.

## Prerequisites

- **Administrator** role to change inbox settings.
- Supported channels: **WhatsApp (Cloud and WhatsApp Web)**, **Website (platform live chat)**,
  **SMS**, **Telegram**, **Line**, **TikTok**, **Facebook**, **Instagram** and **API**.
- The **email** channel does not use this control: emails are grouped by thread
  (subject/headers), and a new message after resolution always opens a new conversation, by design.

## Step by step

1. Go to **Settings → Inboxes** and open the inbox.
2. On the **Configuration** tab, find **Conversation routing**.
3. Pick **Reopen the same conversation** or **Create new conversations**.
4. Save. The change applies immediately to the next incoming messages.

## Settings & options

- **Reopen the same conversation**
  - When the customer replies, the resolved conversation **reopens instantly**: it returns to the
    open tab, notifies the team and enters auto-assignment.
  - If a **bot** (Maestro/virtual agent) is active and inside its configured hours, the
    conversation goes back **to the bot** first; otherwise it opens straight to the team.
  - **WhatsApp groups and channels** follow the same behavior: the shared group conversation is
    reopened instead of duplicated.
  - If the contact has **more than one conversation** in the inbox (legacy data), the platform
    prioritizes the conversation that is **still open** — a conversation being worked is never
    abandoned in favor of a newer resolved one.
- **Create new conversations**
  - The resolved conversation stays closed as a historical record; the customer's reply opens a
    new conversation, **open and visible** to the team.
- **Website chat**: website inboxes ship with **Reopen the same conversation** enabled by default
  (the classic widget behavior). You can switch to "Create new conversations" at any time.
- **Blocked contact**: messages from a blocked contact are dropped and do **not** reopen the
  muted conversation.

## Use cases

- **Ongoing relationship (recommended for WhatsApp)**: with "Reopen the same conversation", the
  agent sees the customer's full history in a single thread — ideal for sales, recurring support
  and post-sales.
- **Ticket-based operation**: with "Create new conversations", every request becomes a ticket
  with its own start and end — ideal for per-request SLAs and per-conversation reporting.

## Tips, limits & best practices

- Reopening happens when **the customer** sends a message. Messages the operator sends from the
  native app (echoes) do not reopen the conversation.
- **Campaign** sends do not reopen resolved conversations — the customer's reply does.
- Combine with **Auto resolve** (account settings) to close inactive conversations without losing
  new messages: when the customer replies, the same conversation reopens.
- On WhatsApp inboxes with a legacy backlog of duplicated conversations, "Reopen the same
  conversation" concentrates new messages into a single thread from now on.

## Troubleshooting

- **"The customer replied and the conversation did not reopen"** — confirm the inbox is set to
  "Reopen the same conversation" and the contact is not blocked. If a bot is active, the
  conversation may have returned to the bot queue (pending status) instead of the open tab.
- **"Every message creates a new conversation"** — the inbox is set to "Create new
  conversations". Switch to "Reopen the same conversation" for a single thread per contact.
- **"The new conversation was born pending and nobody saw it"** — that only happens when a bot
  will actually act; if the bot is outside its hours or disabled for the conversation, it is born
  open.

## See also

- [Inbox settings](/hc/ajuda/articles/inboxes-channels-configuracoes-de-inbox-en)
- [Automatic conversation resolution](/hc/ajuda/articles/administration-resolucao-automatica-en)
- [Website channel with live chat widget](/hc/ajuda/articles/inboxes-channels-canal-site-widget-en)