## Overview

Every conversation has a lifecycle: it's **open** while in progress, can be **snoozed** to leave the queue
and come back later, and is **resolved** when the case ends. If the customer replies, the conversation
**reopens** automatically. Mastering these transitions keeps your queues clean.

## Prerequisites

- An open conversation in an inbox you have access to.

## Step by step

1. **Resolve**: when the case is done, use the **resolve** action at the top of the conversation. It
   leaves the open queue and counts as resolved in reports.
2. **Snooze**: to pick it up later, choose **snooze** and set when it should return (for example, next
   reply, in a few hours, tomorrow, or a specific date).
3. **Reopen**: to resume a resolved conversation, use the **reopen** action — it becomes open again. If the
   contact sends a new message, the conversation reopens on its own.
4. Confirm the new status at the top of the conversation and in the queues.

## Settings & options

- **Resolve**: marks the conversation as done; feeds the resolution metrics.
- **Snooze**: common options include "until next reply", predefined periods and a custom date/time. At the
  set time, the conversation returns to the open queue.
- **Reopen**: manual (by the agent) or automatic (when the contact replies).
- **Pending**: use this status when you're waiting on something, without closing the conversation.

## Use cases

- Resolve a simple, already-answered case to clear the queue.
- Snooze a case that depends on the customer's reply and reschedule the reminder.
- Reopen a conversation when new information appears or the customer reaches out again.

## Tips, limits & best practices

- Resolve whenever you finish — clean queues make reports trustworthy.
- Prefer **snooze** over leaving conversations idle as open; snooze brings them back at the right moment.
- Use **pending** for "waiting on customer" and **snooze** for "come back at this time" — they serve
  different purposes.

## Troubleshooting

- **The conversation reopened by itself**: the contact sent a new message — that's the expected behavior.
- **The snoozed conversation didn't return**: check the snooze date/condition and the filter/queue you're in.

If resolving, reopening or snoozing fails, the interface shows the error. Check the current status and retry when the connection is available. The resolve shortcut only advances to another conversation after the change is confirmed; wait for the pending operation before repeating it.

When the server response is uncertain, the interface checks the current state before asking you to retry. If the change is already saved, it appears without a second write; if it cannot be confirmed, the error remains.

## See also

- [Assignment, status, priority and labels](/hc/ajuda/articles/conversations-atribuicao-status-prioridade-labels-en)
- [SLA policies and deadline tracking](/hc/ajuda/articles/conversations-sla-en)
- [Support overview](/hc/ajuda/articles/conversations-overview-en)