Articles on: Inbox

How to create and use sub-inboxes

Use sub-inboxes to separate teams, brands, channels, or workflows inside one Crisp workspace.


Sub-inboxes help you keep conversations organized without splitting your whole support operation across multiple tools. They are useful when different teams need their own queue, visibility rules, or routing logic while still working from the same Crisp workspace.


Sub-inboxes are especially useful when one main inbox is no longer enough for your daily workflow.



What sub-inboxes are for


A sub-inbox is an additional inbox inside your workspace. It behaves much like the main inbox, but it can have its own members, privacy rules, and routing logic.


Common use cases include:

  • Department separation → keep sales, billing, and support conversations in different queues
  • Escalation flows → move sensitive or advanced cases to a dedicated team
  • Channel organization → isolate conversations coming from a specific channel or source
  • Operational clarity → reduce noise for each team and make ownership clearer


If you only need different chatboxes on different parts of a website, that is a different setup. For that case, see How can I separate my chatbox in sub-sections?.



Create a sub-inbox


To create a sub-inbox, go to Settings → Message Settings → Sub-inboxes and click Add a sub-inbox.


Create a new sub-inbox from the sub-inboxes settings


The main settings to review are:

  • Name and emoji → so the inbox is easy to recognize in the sidebar
  • Privacy settings → to control who can see and access its conversations
  • Routing filter → to decide which conversations should enter that sub-inbox automatically


Choose the name and icon for a sub-inbox


Configure privacy settings for the sub-inbox


Set the routing filter used by the sub-inbox


Once the sub-inbox is saved, new matching conversations can start landing there automatically.


Conversations that existed before the sub-inbox was created do not move there automatically. You need to forward them manually if you want them to appear in that inbox.



Forward a conversation to another inbox


At any point in a conversation, you can move it to another sub-inbox when the case needs a different team or workflow.


Move an existing conversation to another sub-inbox


If the conversation is still assigned to you, it can continue to appear in your Assigned to me view even after being moved.



Decide when to use sub-inboxes


Sub-inboxes are powerful, but they work best when each one has a clear responsibility.


Separate teams or departments


Use sub-inboxes when different teams should not work from the same daily queue. Typical examples are sales, support, billing, or technical support.


Handle escalations cleanly


A dedicated escalation inbox can help supervisors or specialists focus only on the cases that need them, without cluttering the main inbox.


Organize conversations by source or workflow


You can also create sub-inboxes around a specific operational logic, such as premium customers, partner requests, or conversations coming from a specific channel.


Useful companion guides:



Frequently Asked Questions


Still have questions which were not covered in this article? Here is a collection of the most frequently asked questions on this topic.


If I am a member of a sub-inbox, can I access all conversations in that sub-inbox?


Yes. Members of a sub-inbox can access the conversations that belong to it.


If you are not a member of a given sub-inbox, you cannot open its conversations and you will not receive notifications for them.


Who can create, manage, or delete sub-inboxes?


Only workspace owners can create, configure, and remove sub-inboxes.


Owners can also invite members to those inboxes and define the rules that decide which conversations should be routed there.


What happens if a sub-inbox is deleted?


Deleting a sub-inbox does not delete its conversations. They are merged back into the main inbox.


Can I see every conversation from every inbox in one global view?


There is no global view that merges all inboxes together.


However, conversations assigned to you can still be found from your Assigned to me view, even if they currently live in different inboxes.


Updated on: 19/04/2026

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