--- title: "Unified inbox: what it is and what it should solve | attendo" description: "What a unified inbox for customer service is, how it differs from a shared mailbox, what it has to solve, an example and the mistake of not assigning owners." url: "https://attendo.me/en/glossary/unified-inbox" lang: "en" --- # Unified inbox: every channel in a single queue Also known as: Omnichannel inbox · shared team inbox A unified inbox is the screen where a team receives and answers conversations from all its channels, such as WhatsApp, website chat or Teams, without switching programs. ## How it differs from a shared mailbox A shared mailbox is one email account that several people read. A unified inbox also brings in WhatsApp, website chat and the other channels, and adds what a mailbox does not have: **who has taken each conversation**, what status it is in and which customer it belongs to. ## What it has to solve - **Nobody answers twice**, and no conversation is left without an owner. - **You see the customer**, not just a phone number or an email address. - **You reply on the same channel** the customer used. - **Work gets routed**: each channel or number to its team. ## An example A customer writes on WhatsApp at 9:05 and, since nobody answers, in the website chat at 9:07. In a unified inbox, both conversations show up under the same customer. One person takes the first, sees the second and replies without a coworker doing the same. ## Unified inbox and omnichannel The inbox is the tool. [Omnichannel](https://attendo.me/en/glossary/omnichannel) is the result: everything the customer says, on whatever channel, ends up on their record. ## The usual mistake Unifying channels without assigning owners. If everyone sees everything and nobody takes anything, easy conversations get answered twice and hard ones by nobody. ## In attendo The [communications](https://attendo.me/en/modules/channels) inbox brings together WhatsApp, Teams, Slack and website chat. Whoever accepts a conversation owns it, and what was said stays on the customer’s and the document’s [timeline](https://attendo.me/en/modules/timeline). - [attendo Customer Service](https://attendo.me/en/customer-service) ## Where it is used in attendo ### Modules - [Communications](https://attendo.me/en/modules/channels): Email, WhatsApp, Teams, Meet, web chat and phone, channel by channel - [Web chatbot](https://attendo.me/en/modules/web-chatbot): Answers with your documentation and hands off to a person as needed - [Timeline](https://attendo.me/en/modules/timeline): All activity on the document, in order, with its author and channel ### Industries that use these modules - [Repair and after-sales service](https://attendo.me/en/industries/after-sales-repair) - [IT services and MSPs](https://attendo.me/en/industries/it-services) - [Elevators and escalators](https://attendo.me/en/industries/elevators) - [Facility maintenance and services](https://attendo.me/en/industries/facility-maintenance) - [And any other business](https://attendo.me/en/industries) ## Related terms Support and service ### Omnichannel Omnichannel support Omnichannel means that every channel a customer uses to contact you feeds the same record and the same conversation. Support and service ### First response time FRT First response time is how long your team takes to send a meaningful reply after a ticket comes in. Customer service ### CSAT Customer satisfaction score CSAT (customer satisfaction score) measures how a customer rates a specific interaction, such as a visit or a closed case, using the score they give right afterward. ### On the blog #### WhatsApp for customer service: how to get it right In Europe, Latin America and many other markets, customers already message companies on WhatsApp, whether the company decided to or not. The question is not whether to use it, but whether it is set up to work or still lives on someone’s phone. 4 min read [See all 53 glossary terms](https://attendo.me/en/glossary) ## Shall we look at it with your data? We will show you how what you just read works in attendo, with your own assets, tickets and customers. If it is not a fit, we will tell you. - With your operation, not a generic demo - A real person from our team replies - No cold calls afterwards Would you rather talk first? - Phone [+34 910 053 530](tel:+34910053530) - Email [sales@attendo.me](mailto:sales@attendo.me) - Monday to Thursday 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM and Friday 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM (Spain time)