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A Conversation is the data structure Custral uses to group every message between your team and one or more outside participants (across email, SMS, voice, and chat) into a single thread. The same row holds the messages, the participants, the assignment, the disposition, and any internal notes.

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Why one model for every channel

Channels differ in transport but agree on shape. Every conversation has:
  • Participants: the outside people on the thread (identified by email or phone) plus the Custral users assigned.
  • Messages: the ordered exchange. Each message belongs to a channel (email, SMS, voice, chat, or internal note) and carries content appropriate to that channel (an email body, SMS text, a call recording, and so on).
  • Linked records: the records (contacts, deals, accounts) inferred from participants or set manually.
  • Assignment: the user, queue, or pool currently responsible.
  • Disposition and outcome. Set when the conversation closes; drives reporting and downstream workflows.
Treating these as one model means an email reply, a follow-up SMS, and a recorded call all land in the same place, and the agent doesn’t have to context-switch.

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Threading rules

  • Email uses standard email threading headers. Replies preserve the thread; new emails to the same recipient start a new Conversation unless explicitly linked.
  • SMS is keyed by the participant phone number plus the Custral channel. Two messages between the same numbers within the open-conversation window thread; if all conversations are closed, a new one is opened.
  • Voice calls always start a new Conversation (a phone call is a discrete event), but the matched participant’s Conversation history is shown alongside.
  • Chat is keyed by the visitor session; the same visitor reconnecting within the open-conversation window resumes the existing Conversation.

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Lifecycle

When a message arrives on any channel, Custral runs it through the same flow:
1

A message comes in

A visitor or sender emails, texts, calls, or starts a chat on one of your channels.
2

Custral finds or starts a Conversation

The message is matched to an existing thread by participant and channel, or a new Conversation is opened if there’s no match.
3

Records are linked

Custral links the matching contacts, deals, or accounts by comparing the participant’s email or phone to your records.
4

The thread is assigned

Your routing rules pick who’s responsible. A specific user or a queue.
5

The assignee is notified

The responsible user gets a notification (push, email, or Slack) and can reply or set a disposition.
6

The reply is delivered

Custral sends the outbound reply back out on the original channel.

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Disposition vs outcome

  • Disposition is the result of a single message exchange (e.g., Connected, Voicemail, Wrong Number). Set at the message level, mostly for voice.
  • Outcome is the final result of the whole Conversation (e.g., Closed-Won, No-Reply, Resolved). Set when the Conversation is closed; feeds Reports.
Both lists are configured per-workspace under Settings → Dispositions / Outcomes.

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Internal notes & mentions

Internal notes appear inline in the thread but are never delivered externally. They’re for your team only. @-mentioning a teammate in a note sends them a notification.

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See also