# PlexiiChat: channels and messages

> Message people one to one, talk in your organisation's channels, and keep conversations next to the desks, rooms and documents they are about.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-overview
Section: Communicate > Chat and calls
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-15

Chat is where you talk to the people you work with in PlexiDesk. Send a direct message to one person, talk with your team in your organisation's channels, and give a desk, a room or a document a conversation of its own, so what is said about the work stays with the work.

Use Chat for quick questions and decisions that do not need an email: agree a change, share a file or a screenshot, call someone, or pull a message into Attention so you remember to answer it.

## Before you start

- **Sign in.** Chat connects you with other PlexiDesk accounts, so it needs you to be signed in. Signed out, Chat shows **Sign in to message other people on PlexiDesk and share folders and tasks to work together.** with a **Sign in** button. See [Create an account and sign in](https://plexiidesk.com/help/account-sign-in).
- **Plans.** Chat is part of every plan.
- **Channels need an organisation.** Direct messages work with anyone who has a PlexiDesk account. Channels belong to an organisation, so to use them you need to be in one. See [Set up and manage your organisation](https://plexiidesk.com/help/org-manage).

## Open Chat

- In the side menu, under **Apps**, click **Chat** in the **Tools** group.
- Or press `⌘` `K` on a Mac or `Ctrl` `K` on Windows, type **messages** and choose **Messages**. See [The command palette](https://plexiidesk.com/help/command-palette).

You can also chat without leaving the page you are on: the Plexii panel's **Message** tab shows the same conversations, one pane at a time. See [Open, move and resize the Plexii panel](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-panel).

## What you will see

Chat has two columns, and a third when you open a thread.

| Column | What it holds |
| --- | --- |
| **Messages**, on the left | Your conversations, newest activity first. Channels start with a hash sign, such as **#general**, and direct messages show the other person's name. A number on a conversation is how many messages you have not read. Under each name is the latest message, or **Photo**, **Voice note**, **GIF** or the file name when it was an attachment. |
| **The conversation**, on the right | The messages, with yours on the right and everyone else's on the left. When someone is typing, a line under the messages says so, for example **Sam is typing…**. The message box is at the bottom. |
| **Thread**, when open | One message and the replies to it. See [Write, react and manage messages](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-writing-messages). |

Until you open a conversation, the right-hand side says **Pick a conversation, or start a new one.**

### The buttons above your conversations

Rest the pointer on a button to see its name.

| Button | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Needs you** (the flag) | Gathers what is waiting on you across all your conversations. See [Search and catch up in chat](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-search-and-catch-up). |
| **Activity** (the bell) | Lists messages that mention you or reply to yours. |
| **Search messages** (the magnifying glass) | Finds messages by the words in them. |
| **Browse and create channels** (the hash sign) | Opens **Channels**, where you join or create a channel. See [Direct messages and channels](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-conversations-and-channels). |
| **New message** (the pencil) | Starts a direct message with someone's @handle, or invites them by email. |

### The buttons above a conversation

| Button | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Call** | Starts a video call with the other person. Shown in direct messages. See [Video calls and knocking](https://plexiidesk.com/help/calls-and-knock). |
| **Meet** | Opens PlexiiMeet to start a meeting. |
| The language list | Chooses the language **Translate** turns messages into. See [Write, react and manage messages](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-writing-messages). |
| **Recall** | Catch up on the conversation or ask it a question. |
| **Pulse** | The decisions, open questions and desks to create from a channel. Not shown in direct messages. |
| **Schedules** | Tasks the AI member runs in the channel every day, week or month. Not shown in direct messages. |
| **Members** (a number) | Who is in the conversation, with ways to add people or leave. |
| The bell | How much this conversation notifies you: every message, only mentions of you, or nothing. |
| **Pin this conversation to your current desk** (the pin) | Puts the conversation on the desk you have open as a Chat widget. See [Chat about a desk, room or document](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-about-desks-and-documents). |

**Recall**, **Pulse**, **Schedules** and **Translate** use your organisation's AI member. See [Set up the AI member in chat](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-ai-member) and [Search and catch up in chat](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-search-and-catch-up).

## What you can do in Chat

- **Talk one to one or as a team.** Start a direct message by @handle, or join and create channels in your organisation. See [Direct messages and channels](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-conversations-and-channels).
- **Write more than words.** Attach a file or image, record a voice note, add an emoji or a GIF, mention people with @, react, reply in a thread, pin a message, and edit or delete what you sent. See [Write, react and manage messages](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-writing-messages).
- **Catch up quickly.** Search every conversation, see your mentions and replies in one list, and let the AI member answer questions about a channel's history. See [Search and catch up in chat](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-search-and-catch-up).
- **Add an AI member.** An admin gives the organisation's AI member a key, and anyone can mention **@plexi** in a channel to get an answer. See [Set up the AI member in chat](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-ai-member).
- **Chat about the work itself.** Desks, rooms and documents can each have their own conversation. See [Chat about a desk, room or document](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-about-desks-and-documents).
- **Call and knock.** Call someone from a direct message, or knock to see if they are free. See [Video calls and knocking](https://plexiidesk.com/help/calls-and-knock).

## Your conversations follow your workspace

Chat shows the conversations of the workspace you are working in. In an organisation you see its channels and the direct messages you have there. In **Personal** you see the conversations that do not belong to an organisation. To see another set, switch workspace with the switcher at the top of the side menu. See [Organisation settings and switching workspaces](https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-organisation).

## When a new message arrives

- **The conversation moves up** your list and shows how many messages you have not read. **Office Home** also counts unread **Chat messages** in its **Unread** card. See [The Office Home page](https://plexiidesk.com/help/office-home).
- **A notification appears** when PlexiDesk is in the background. It shows the conversation and the start of the message. When someone mentions you, the notification reads, for example, **Sam Lee mentioned you**, and it appears even while you are working in PlexiDesk.
- **Your Inbox** lists new messages and contact requests too. See [Inbox: your notifications](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-inbox).

Clicking a notification, a message in Inbox, **Message** on the People Map or **Open** on a Chat widget takes you to Chat's stream view, described next.

## The stream view

The stream view shows all your conversations as one column of cards, so you can read and answer them without changing screen.

- **The filters** down the left show **All**, **Unread**, **Mentions** or **Direct messages**. The **+** at the bottom opens **Channels**.
- **The search box** at the top, **Search your conversations…**, narrows the cards as you type. Type two letters or more and it also lists the messages that match.
- **The briefing** under the search box counts the things that need you. Click it to see them all. Below it, **Needs you** lists mentions of you (**Reply**), suggestions from the AI member waiting for your decision (**Review**) and open questions (**Answer**).
- **Each card** shows the conversation, its latest message and how many messages you have not read. Click a card to open the conversation right there, with its message box. Click it again to close it.
- **In an open card**, **Focus** shows that conversation alone at full height, with **Recall**, **Pulse**, **Schedules**, notifications and members along the top. Click **Back to Flow** (the arrow) to return. The pin, **Pin to top**, keeps the conversation at the top of the stream on this computer.

The order stays put while you read, so cards do not jump as messages arrive. Click **Re-sort by most recent** beside the search box to bring the busiest conversations to the top.

## Tips

- **Mute what you only skim.** Click a busy channel's bell until it shows the @ sign, and it notifies you only when someone mentions you. See [Direct messages and channels](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-conversations-and-channels).
- **Keep the message you must answer.** Rest the pointer on a message and click its bell to add it to Attention. See [Capture something into Attention](https://plexiidesk.com/help/attention-capture).
- **Put the conversation on the desk.** Pin a channel to the desk it is about, so you can reply from the desk. See [Chat widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-chat).

## Common questions

**Chat asks me to sign in.** Chat connects you with other people's accounts, so it only works while you are signed in. Click **Sign in**. See [Create an account and sign in](https://plexiidesk.com/help/account-sign-in).

**A conversation I had yesterday is missing.** You are probably in a different workspace. Conversations in an organisation appear only while you work in that organisation, and personal ones only in **Personal**. Switch workspace at the top of the side menu.

**Is Chat the same as Inbox?** No. Chat is where conversations happen. Inbox lists your notifications, including new messages, shares and contact requests. See [Inbox: your notifications](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-inbox).

**Is Chat the same as talking to Plexii?** No. Plexii, the assistant, answers you privately in the Plexii panel. Chat is for talking to people. Your organisation can also add an AI member that people mention in channels. See [Set up the AI member in chat](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-ai-member).

## Related tasks

- [Direct messages and channels](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-conversations-and-channels)
- [Write, react and manage messages](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-writing-messages)
- [Search and catch up in chat](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-search-and-catch-up)
- [Set up the AI member in chat](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-ai-member)
- [Chat about a desk, room or document](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-about-desks-and-documents)
- [Video calls and knocking](https://plexiidesk.com/help/calls-and-knock)