Internal notes: collaborating on a conversation

Sometimes you need to say something about a conversation without saying it to the customer — a bit of context, a heads-up for a teammate, or a note-to-self before you hand a thread off. That's what internal notes are for.

Notes vs. replies

Inside a conversation there are two ways to write:

A reply is sent to the customer.
An internal note is added to the thread but never sent — only your team can see it.

They live in the same conversation, so the note sits right alongside the messages it's about, keeping the full context in one place.

Two internal notes on a conversation — one from Andrew Nolan, one from Priya Rao — shown as amber, team-only bubbles labeled 'Internal note', distinct from the customer's message above them.

Two teammates comparing notes on a thread — amber "Internal note" bubbles sit alongside the customer's message but are only visible to your team.

What notes are good for

Leaving context before you reassign a thread — "waiting on refund approval from finance."
Flagging something for whoever picks it up next — "VIP customer, handle with care."
Recording a decision so the reasoning isn't lost if the conversation comes back later.
Thinking out loud before you draft a tricky reply.

Adding a note

Open the conversation and use the note composer (distinct from the reply box) to write your note. It's clearly styled differently from customer-facing messages, so there's no risk of confusing the two — a note looks like a note, a reply looks like a reply.

A safe habit

Because notes and replies are visually distinct and behave differently, it's easy to build the habit: anything meant for the customer goes in the reply box and gets sent; anything meant for your team goes in a note and stays private. When in doubt, glance at where you're typing before you hit send.

Internal notes are part of what makes a shared inbox work — see Who's on it? Assignment in a shared inbox for the rest of how teams stay coordinated.