> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.useclearline.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Inbox overview

> Understand what inboxes are for, how personal and shared inboxes differ, and what each one controls.

An inbox is where conversations arrive and where your team or the AI agent responds. A conversation can come from SMS, email, voice, or web chat.

## What an inbox is for

Think of an inbox as a way to separate customer conversations by department and channel, so each team only sees the conversations meant for them.

For example:

* A **Sales** inbox can own a phone number that fields all incoming sales inquiries and leads.
* A **Parts** inbox can hold only the conversations directed to the parts team.

This keeps each team focused. The parts team should not have to sift through every sales call to find their conversations, and routing each department to its own inbox prevents that noise.

## Inbox types

| Type               | Use it for                                                                                                                                                   |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Shared inbox**   | A team queue such as Sales, Service, Support, or Reception. Shared inboxes can have members, routing rules, channels, agent settings, and a web chat widget. |
| **Personal inbox** | A member-specific inbox tied to that user's connected email and calendar account and their assigned personal phone number.                                   |

## What an inbox controls

* Name and icon
* Connected phone numbers and email addresses
* Web chat widget
* Members who can receive assignments
* Lead routing strategy
* Agent mode
* Agent behavior prompt
* Agent jobs
* Agent availability

<Info>
  Screenshot placeholder: add an inbox settings page showing General, Channels, Members, and Agent tabs.
</Info>

## Common setup paths

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Create a sales inbox" icon="inbox" href="/inbox/create-inbox">
    Add channels, members, round-robin routing, and an appointment-booking agent job.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Configure autopilot" icon="bot" href="/inbox/agent-modes">
    Let the AI agent answer conversations within the inbox rules you define.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Connect a phone number" icon="phone" href="/inbox/channels-and-routing">
    Route SMS and calls into an inbox.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Work conversations" icon="messages-square" href="/inbox/manage-conversations">
    Assign, reply, take over, reopen, and archive conversations.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>