The conversation detail panels
Open a conversation in Atender and you see two regions: the message timeline on the left, and a set of panels on the right. The timeline is the customer-facing exchange; the panels are the context that lets you handle it well.
The right side gathers six surfaces. Some live in a switchable rail driven by icons; others open as their own slide-out panels when you need them. You don’t have to memorize the layout — every surface is one click away from the conversation header.
The surfaces
- Conversation Info — Contact details, conversation metadata, event timeline — Default — the always-on context
- Sidekick — AI suggestions, related KB articles, related Handbook procedures, drafted replies — When you’re not sure what to say next
- Custom Fields — The custom fields configured for your workspace, populated for this conversation and contact — When you need structured context (order ID, account tier, etc.)
- Tool Docks — Tenant-configured integrations — CRM lookups, order systems, logistics trackers — When your workspace has wired up external tools
- Previous Conversations — Every prior conversation with this customer — When the question references “last time” or “before”
- Comments — Internal comments on this conversation, threaded — When coordinating with teammates
- Side Conversations — Private threads with non-customers — vendors, internal teams — When you’ve escalated or looped someone in
Conversation Info — the default
Conversation Info shows the customer’s name and contact methods, the conversation’s metadata, and an event timeline of everything that’s happened on the thread: status changes, assignments, tag additions, AI handoffs, SLA events, calls. Each event has an icon and a timestamp.
Most of the time, this is what you want open. It’s read-mostly — you can edit contact details inline, but mostly you’re scanning for context.
Sidekick — the AI assistant
Sidekick is your AI co-pilot. It reads the conversation and proactively surfaces:
- Drafted replies based on past responses to similar questions
- Knowledge Base articles that match the customer’s question
- Relevant Handbook procedures
- Quick links to internal tools
You don’t ask Sidekick — Sidekick volunteers. Open the panel mid-conversation and the suggestions are already there. See What is Sidekick?.
Custom Fields — the structured context
Custom Fields hold the structured data your workspace configures — order numbers, account tiers, contract IDs, anything you want surfaced consistently. The panel shows the values for this conversation (and the linked contact, when fields are scoped to a contact).
If a field is empty and you have permission to edit, you can fill it in here without leaving the thread.
Tool Docks — extensible integrations
Tool Docks are tenant-configured panels that bring external systems into the conversation view — an order system, a custom CRM, a logistics tracker. They show context for the current conversation pulled from those systems.
What appears here depends on what your workspace has wired up. If nothing is configured, the panel is empty.
Previous Conversations — institutional memory
Every prior conversation with this customer, in chronological order. Click any of them to read the full exchange.
This is where institutional memory lives. The agent on today’s call may not have spoken with this customer before — but the full history is right here. “Last month they said…” becomes a lookup, not a guess.
Comments — threaded internal notes
Internal comments on this conversation, threaded by parent and reply. Comments are notes between agents, never visible to the customer. Use them to:
- Tag a teammate (
@Mary) and pull them in - Insert a snippet (
!!triggers the snippet picker) - Leave a note for whoever picks up next (“waiting on engineering ticket #1234”)
Side Conversations — private external threads
External threads with people who aren’t on the customer-facing conversation — typically email side threads with vendors, internal teams, or partners. Different from comments because they actually leave Atender as real outbound messages; different from the main reply because they’re private to the people you bring in.
See Side conversations.
Switching surfaces
Each surface is one click away from the conversation header — icons for the always-visible rail (Conversation Info, Sidekick, Custom Fields, Tool Docks) and dedicated buttons for the additional panels (Previous Conversations, Comments, Side Conversations). Switching doesn’t lose your place — each surface remembers its scroll and selection until the conversation closes.
A few surfaces (Comments, Side Conversations) badge their entry point when there’s unread or recent activity, so you can see something is there without opening it.
What’s NOT on the right side
Some things people expect on the right are elsewhere:
- Tag picker opens as a modal with
T, not a panel. - Assign picker opens as a modal with
A. - Snooze dialog opens with
Z.