The 3CX CHAT User Guide
Manage Customer Queries from Live Chat, WhatsApp, Facebook and SMS/MMS
The 3CX chat feature doesn’t only allow employees to chat and share files with each other, it also enables customer service agents to easily respond to queries sent via live chat, WhatsApp, Facebook and SMS/MMS. All from the same user-friendly interface.
Receiving customer chat messages
Incoming chat messages will be routed to specific queues or extensions. The type of chat conversation is highlighted by a specific icon; Website live 
Chats are visible to all agents who are in the assigned queue. The administrator can configure the polling strategy of the queue (e.g. the first agent to answer a chat, the top 3 agents, etc).
Any agent can respond and see the ongoing conversation until one agent takes ownership. To do this:
- Click on the chat conversation, then click on the “Take”
icon in the top right corner.
- You will now be the sole owner of this conversation; other agents no longer have access to it.
Use quick response message templates
Respond to any chat message including live chat, WhatsApp, Facebook & SMS even quicker with message templates.
- Click on the templates icon
in the conversation reply panel to expand the templates.
- Use the categories tabs or language drop-down option to filter the templates as desired.
- Click on a template. The text will automatically populate your reply panel so that you can amend it before sending it if needed.
Transferring a chat
At any point during the conversation, you may decide that the issue should be handed off to another agent to resolve.
- On the conversation preview, click the “Transfer”
button in the top right of the conversation window.
- Search by name or extension number for the agent you want to transfer to.
- Click on the extension and the chat will be transferred. You will no longer be able to view the conversation.
Additional chat actions
There are various chat actions available to help you efficiently manage your conversations and gather additional details about customers.
View user information
Depending on the type of chat, you can view additional information such as conversation history.
- Click on the menu
button in the top right corner.
- Select “Information”.
Email or add live chat user as a contact
You can send an email to or add a live chat user as a contact during or after your conversation.
- In the chat window, click on the menu
- Select “Information”.
- Click the “Email” or “Add” button to perform the desired action.
Send images and files
You can send files to the user by either drag and drop or by clicking the “Attach document” 
- Documents: Acrobat (PDF), MS Office (DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX), plain and rich text (TXT, RTF).
- Images: JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, WEBP, TIFF, and HEIF.
Note: in the 3CX Apps the images will be automatically compressed.
Elevate the chat to a call (internal chat and website live chat only)
There may be instances where a voice or video call is needed in order to assist a website visitor or colleague.
- Internal Chat: click the call or video icon at the top of the chat
- Live Chat: take ownership of the chat by clicking the “Take”
Mark a chat as ‘Dealt with’
Once a chat conversation (excluding internal) has come to an end, click on the “Dealt with” 
If the chat is not marked as ‘Dealt with’, the next time the customer sends a message, if the previous conversation had been “Taken”, the new message will be delivered to the previous agent rather than following the configured routing to a group or queue.
End chat session
Only available for website live chat, this function closes the chat session and notifies the customer that the chat has ended but keeps the conversation in the main or “Recents” tab.
- Click on the menu
- Select “End chat session”.
Block anonymous user
This option is only available for website live chat. This feature is useful for weeding out troublesome, abusive or time-wasting chat messages.
- Click on the menu
- Select “Block anonymous user”.
- The user’s IP will be blocked and they will no longer be able to access website live chat.
Resolve/Archive a chat
Archiving a chat removes the conversation from the main or “Recents” view. You may wish to do this if a customer becomes unresponsive or you wish to refer back to the chat at a later date.
On the chat preview or in the chat window, click the menu
Once a conversation is archived
You can access archived chats from the drop-down menu in the top right corner.
Once a conversation is archived you can use the chat window options to:
- Call the contact
- “Take” the conversation
- Transfer the chat
- Use the menu
- Select ‘Information’ to view the chat participants and interaction history.
- Unarchive the chat.
- Permanently delete the chat conversation.
Chat settings
Go to “Settings > Chat” to configure:
- “Notifications” – select to show chat toaster and/or web notifications
- “Play chat notification” – enable and select a personalized notification sound.
Note: Custom chat notifications are available only for the 3CX Web Client/ Desktop app and the 3CX iOS app.
Managing phone numbers in iOS & Android mobile apps
Phone numbers sent via the chat feature will appear as hyperlinks. Tap on the number to choose between:
- Call
- Send an SMS
- Add to Contacts
- Copy the message