Once a chat engine is configured, you decide which users get access and what they are allowed to do. Permissions are granular so you can run chat as an internal-only feature, a customer-facing feature, or both.
Permissions to Grant
- Open Chat Panel: See the chat icon in the navigation bar at all.
- Start Direct Chat: Initiate 1:1 conversations with other users.
- Create Group: Make new group conversations.
- Invite External User: Pull non-staff users into a thread (e.g. a customer into a project chat).
- Moderate Messages: Delete or hide messages posted by anyone in scope.
Enabling per Security Group
- Open Architect Panel → Security Groups.
- Select the group (e.g. “Internal Staff”).
- Under the Chat heading tick the permissions appropriate for that group.
- Save. Affected users see the new options on their next page load.
Example Setups
- Read-only customer portal: Customers are in a group that has “Open Chat Panel” only — they can read system messages but cannot start a thread.
- Internal collaboration: All staff have direct and group chat, only Team Leads can create groups.
- Support workflow: Customers can start a thread but only with the Support group. Support agents can invite developers into a thread as the case escalates.
Tip: Combine the “Available hours” setting with permissions to disable chat outside business hours, so a customer never sends a question into a void.