Conversation segments

Creates segmentation for long conversations. It is especially useful for channels such as chat or SMS, where conversation threads technically never end, as well as long email threads, so that new topics are counted as new conversations.

Example use case: I have set my support chat channel to have an inactivity time of 2 days. I get an inbound support chat on Monday, starting a new segment, and I resolve it on first reply. The customer does not chat again until Friday about a new issue, at which point this chat is part of a new segment because 2 days have lapsed without any activity. Front assumes this new chat is about a different issue and counts metrics for it separately in Analytics.

Any new conversation or conversation that has been revived from a closed state (marked inactive). A conversation segment can close if any of these conditions are met:

1. The inbox’s inactivity period has elapsed.

2. The conversation segment time period reaches 6 months.

3. The conversation segment reaches 1000 activities.

This logic applies to all conversations (e.g. open, snoozed, archived). 

If an existing conversation receives a new activity after a segment is closed, this will create a new segment in analytics. If the inactivity period has passed, the following actions will create a new segment: 

1. New message (inbound or outbound), assign, reopen.

2. Non-message activities such as comments, tags, mentions, etc.

Conversation segments is not a specific term that appears in analytics reports, but is used to measure many of the metrics. Wherever Conversations are referenced, we are actually analyzing conversation segments.

Fields in the analytics full events export that provide additional details on how conversations are segmented:

• Segment

• Segment start

• Segment end

• Last segment activity

• Segment closed

• Segment contains messages

You can specify an inactivity time for each inbox, which will determine how long it takes for segments in that inbox to become inactive. Set an inactivity time by clicking into your company or individual settings, then Inboxes, click the inbox, then go into the Settings sub-menu for the inbox, and adjust the Close conversation segment if inactive for  option.

• By default, the inactivity time in Front is set to 5 days for all inboxes.
• The same thread can have several segments and can be counted several times while counting conversations (e.g. New conversations, Archived conversations, etc.)
• Conversation segments can be created without new messages. Example: A teammate adds a comment to an inactive conversation. The comment will start a new segment that does not include a message.
• Replying to a closed segment is not considered a reply. It starts a new segment, and therefore is considered a first outbound message, with no reply time.
• When you archive a conversation with multiple segments, the archive is only attributed to the latest segment. 
• If you use the split conversation feature to create a new thread, it will be considered a new segment in a brand new conversation. See more here.
• If you have threading disabled for a channel, each new inbound message will start a new segment.
• Depending on your use case and channel type, you may want to have some channels with shorter inactivity periods. 
• The length you've set for your segment may lead to fluctuations in your Analytics reports depending on when you are viewing the reports. 
• All conversation segments currently trashed are ignored in analytics.
• Conversation segment creation is unaffected by company bump settings.