Team chat
Chat in the web client is where all messaging lives: internal conversations with colleagues — one-to-one, group, or open channel — and the SMS conversations with the outside world, side by side in one list.
The chat workspace
Three columns: your conversation list, the open thread, and a context panel for the selected conversation. When the list gets busy, filter it with the All / Unread / Direct / Rooms tabs across the top. SMS conversations are badged and show the external number and the DID they belong to; internal conversations show a presence dot for the people in them.
Direct messages
Message any colleague directly — messages deliver in real time to their web client. A presence dot shows whether they're online before you ping them (or just call them — every direct chat has a call button).
Pin a message to keep it at the top of the conversation's context panel — handy for an address, an order number, or anything you'll want again. Pins are shared, so either party can pin or unpin.
Group chats
Create a group for a named, multi-person conversation — a project, a team, a customer war room. Whoever creates it is the owner: they name it, add or remove members, and rename it later; anyone can leave on their own. Received messages are labeled with their sender, and the member list lives in the context panel. Membership is the access boundary — remove someone and they lose the thread.
Channels
A channel is an open room anyone in your organization can join — no invite needed. Use the Channels button to start one or to browse the directory and join. Channels work exactly like groups once you're in; they just fill up by people opting in rather than being added.
Presence
A green dot means that person has the web client (or mobile app) open; a gray dot means they're offline. Presence shows next to direct conversations, in a thread's header, and beside each name in a group or channel member list — so you can tell at a glance who's around.
Muting a conversation
Busy channel you don't need to watch? Mute it from the conversation header. Muted conversations stop raising the bell badge and never pop a toast — they still collect messages, so you can catch up whenever. For everything else, whether a new message raises a toast or plays a sound is up to you under Settings › Notifications.
Sharing files
Drop files into any conversation — attachments up to 10 MB, with executable and other risky file types blocked. Downloads are restricted to the conversation's members.
SMS in the same place
External texting shares the workspace but follows its own rules for numbers, routing and team ownership — see SMS routing and MMS. The visible differences: delivery ticks on outbound messages, the "Sending as" number in the composer, and the claim banner on unassigned team conversations.