# Triage Channel
## What is a Triage Channel?
Triage Channels are dedicated Slack channels powered by ClearFeed. They serve as your\
team's central command center,enabling agents to efficiently manage, respond to, and track\
requests and tickets originating from various channels, including Slack, MS Teams, Email, Portal, Web Chat, and API. Learn more about Triage Channel [here](https://docs.clearfeed.ai/clearfeed-help-center/clearfeed-helpdesk/triage-channel-setup)
## Accessing Triage Channels
Triage Channels appear as regular Slack channels in your workspace. Once configured, ClearFeed automatically posts new requests to the triage channel as threaded messages, allowing your support team to collaborate and respond efficiently.
To find your triage channels, navigate to ClearFeed WebApp and Check **Settings > Triage**\
**Settings** in the ClearFeed WebApp to see all configured triage channels.
## Responding to Requests from Triage
### Public Replies (Visible to Customers)
The visibility of your replies depends on your **Triage Comment Visibility** setting:
**If set to "Public" (default):**
* All messages you post in the triage thread are synced to the customer's channel
* To keep a message internal, prefix it with the 🔒 emoji
* Example: `🔒 This customer has been difficult in the past, handle with care`
**If set to "Private":**
* By default, messages stay internal to your team
* To send a message to the customer, prefix it with the 📢 emoji
* Example: `📢 Hi! We've resolved your issue. Please verify it's working.`
{% hint style="warning" %}
Emoji visibility modifiers only work when added **before** sending the message - Editing a message to add 🔒 or 📢 after sending will **not** change its visibility
{% endhint %}
## Handling Emails from Triage Channels
#### Deleting Emails
* You will find a dedicated button for email tickets on the triage channel called `Delete Email`.
* If a new Email ticket comes into triage - and you recognize that as spam, click on the `Delete Email` button to remove it from the triage channel.
* If you delete an email ticket from triage, any replies on that email thread will no longer sync to Slack and the ticket will not reopen.
* If there are existing responses from your team on the email ticket, the Delete Email button collapses the thread on triage and doesn't sync any future replies.
{% hint style="info" %}
You can hide the Delete Email option for email-based tickets in the triage channel. If you'd like this disabled for your account, please contact ClearFeed support.
{% endhint %}
## Internal Notes and Collaboration
For internal team discussions—such as asking clarifying questions, sharing background context, coordinating handoffs, or tagging teammates for their expertise—ClearFeed supports two ways to collaborate:
* **From the Triage Channel**
* **From the Request Channel**
Regardless of which option you choose, **all comments sync to the connected ticketing system**, ensuring consistent context across Slack and your ticketing tool.
### Adding Private Notes From Triage Channel
Depending on your [**Triage Comment Visibility**](https://docs.clearfeed.ai/clearfeed-help-center/triage-channel-setup#triage-comment-visibility) settings, you can collaborate internally by:
* Prefixing your message with the :lock: emoji, **or**
* Simply typing and sending your message (if configured to treat all triage messages as private)
These notes stay within the triage workflow and **do not sync back to the Request Channel**.
{% hint style="info" %}
If "Disable tagging Slack users on Triage Channel" is enabled, @mentions in triage won't trigger notifications to avoid duplicates when users are also mentioned in the original request channel.
{% endhint %}
### Adding Private Comments from the Request Channel
This option is available **only when a Triage Channel exists**.
When a Triage Channel is configured for a Collection, users can add **Private Comments** directly to the external ticketing system from the Request Channel.
To add a private comment:
1. Open the thread in the Request Channel.
2. Click the `...` menu on the ticket message block.
3. Select **Add Private Comment**.
Private comments appear **only** in the connected ticketing system and are **not visible** on the public Slack thread.
{% hint style="warning" %}
* Messages posted directly in the **Request Channel** are always visible to everyone in that Slack channel, including customers even if the message includes :lock:emoji.
* Internal note behavior applies **only** to messages posted in the **Triage Channel**, and follows your configured **Triage Comment Visibility** settings.
* If you post a message starting with an internal-note emoji in the Request Channel, ClearFeed shows a warning to clarify that the message will **not** be treated as private.
{% endhint %}
## Managing Request Properties
You can update request properties directly from the triage channel using emoji reactions or by interacting with the ClearFeed bot message:
* **Status**: Update using reactions or the status dropdown
* **Priority**: Change priority level (Low, Medium, High, Urgent)
* **Assignee**: Assign or reassign requests to team members
* **Custom Fields**: Update any custom fields configured for your collection
Changes made in the triage channel are immediately reflected in the ClearFeed WebApp and synchronized with any linked external tickets.
{% hint style="success" %}
**Pro-tip:**\
ClearFeed displays a vertical color bar on ticket messages in triage channels to visually indicate ticket status:
* **Red:** Open
* **Yellow/Orange:** In-Progress or Pending
* **Green:** Closed/Solved
In rare cases, there may be a short delay in updating the color bar in Slack after a ticket's status changes.
{% endhint %}
## Using AI Agents
If AI Agents is enabled for your collection, ClearFeed will automatically fetch the relevant answers from the attached Knowlede Sources and post it publicly or privately based on whether it has been set up as Virtual Agent or Agent Assistant. Learn more about this [here](https://docs.clearfeed.ai/clearfeed-help-center/clearfeed-ai/ai-agents/use-ai-agents).
## Creating or Linking Tickets and Tasks
From a triage channel thread, you can:
* **Create tickets** in external systems (Jira, Zendesk, Freshdesk, etc.) using configured emoji reactions
* **Link existing tickets** to track work in your ticketing system
* **Create tasks** in project management tools (Linear, GitHub, ClickUp, Asana) for follow-up work
Refer to [Creating or Linking Tickets](https://docs.clearfeed.ai/clearfeed-help-center/how-it-works/creating-or-linking-tickets) and [Creating or Linking Tasks](https://docs.clearfeed.ai/clearfeed-help-center/how-it-works/creating-or-linking-tasks) for details.
## Proactively Starting Conversations
You can initiate conversations with customers directly from your Triage Channel using the `/cf-start-thread` command. This allows you to:
* Reach out proactively with updates or check-ins
* Follow up on previous conversations
* Share important announcements
* Initiate support before customers ask
Learn more about [Creating Requests from Triage Channel](https://docs.clearfeed.ai/clearfeed-help-center/how-it-works/creating-requests/from-triage-channel)
## Syncing Private Comments with Ticketing Systems
If you're using an external ticketing system (Zendesk, Freshdesk, etc.), your triage channel can sync private comments bidirectionally:
**From Triage to Ticketing System:**
* Private comments (🔒) can be synced to your ticketing system as internal notes
* Configure whether all private comments sync, or only those reacted with :pencil: emoji
**From Ticketing System to Triage:**
* Internal notes from your ticketing system can be synced back to the triage channel as private comments
* Currently supported for Freshdesk (as private notes) and Zendesk (as internal comments)
## Triage Notifications and Digests
ClearFeed sends automatic reminders to keep your team on top of open requests:
* **Daily Digest**: Notifies daily for requests that are 'Open' and require attention, highlighting those with High priority
* **Weekly Digest**: Every Monday, reminds you of unsolved requests from the last month up\
to the most recent week
These digests are posted directly in your triage channel to keep the team informed. Learn more [here](https://docs.clearfeed.ai/clearfeed-help-center/clearfeed-helpdesk/digests)
## Setting Up or Configuring Triage Channels
For information about setting up, configuring, or managing triage channel settings, see [Triage Channel Setup](https://docs.clearfeed.ai/clearfeed-help-center/clearfeed-helpdesk/triage-channel-setup)
## FAQs
1. **Could we make the default setting of the triage channel to have all messages treated as internal comments and only selected messages to go into customer channels?**\
**Answer:** Yes, you can use the Comment Visibility option in Triage Settings to configure this. Setting Comment Visibility to **Private** will make messages internal by default, requiring users to prefix messages with the 📢 emoji to have them flow into the customer channels.
2. **Can we edit any message and put the 🔒emoji to make it visible internally?**\
**Answer:** No, once a message is sent in a thread, it will be public. Editing the message by placing emoji post sending will not make it internal/private.
3. **Will customers see the triage channel or know we're using it?**\
**Answer:** No, customers never see the triage channel. They only see replies sent to their original request channel (or via email/other channels). The triage channel is entirely internal to your support team.
4. **Can I respond to requestsfrom both the triage channel and the original request channel?**\
**Answer:** Yes, you can respond from either location. Responses are bidirectionally synced, so your team sees all replies in the triage channel regardless of where they were posted.
5. **How do I find the triage thread for a request from the requester channel?**\
**Answer:** To quickly locate the corresponding triage thread for a request in Slack:
* In the requester channel, hover over the original thread message
* Click on the three dots (**More Actions**) menu
* Select **Connect to Apps > ClearFeed Actions**
* Click the **View in Triage** button to jump to the triage thread
