# Use the Contact Control Panel (CCP) in Amazon Connect to chat with contacts
When you set your status in the CCP to **Available**, Amazon Connect delivers calls or chats to you, based on the settings in your [routing profile](routing-profiles.md). An administrator can specify that up to 10 chat conversations can be routed to you at the same time.
You can't initiate chat conversations from the CCP.
**Note**
IT Administrators: To enable customers and agents to send attachments, such as files, through the chat interface, see [Enable attachments in your CCP so customers and agents can share and upload files](enable-attachments.md).
When a chat contact arrives, here's how you are notified:
1. If you enabled notifications in your browser, you'll get a pop-up notification at the bottom of your screen, like this:
![\[A browser notification of incoming chat.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/chat-notify.png)
1. If you're on the chat tab, the page displays the name of the contact and a button for you to connect to the chat.
![\[The CCP, the incoming chat notification, the accept chat button.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/incoming-chat-ccp.png)
1. If you're on the phone tab, a banner displays the name of the contact and a button for you to connect to the chat.
![\[The CCP, a banner displays incoming chat.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/chat-incoming-banner.png)
1. You have 20 seconds to accept or reject a contact. If you're on a chat, and another comes in but you don't accept it, a tab appears indicating the chat was missed.
![\[The CCP, the missed chat tab.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/missed-chat-tab.png)
1. Choose **Accept chat** to connect to the contact.
**Note**
Chat conversations must be accepted manually. There's no auto-accept for these conversations.
1. You'll see the full transcript of what the contact has already typed. If applicable, you'll also see what a bot or another agent has entered. In the following image, **John** is the name of the customer, **BOT** is the Amazon Lex bot, and **Jane** is the name of the agent.
![\[The CCP, a connect chat, the transcript between customer and bot.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/ccp-chat-agent.png)
## What do the timers at the top of the chat tabs mean?
When you're in a chat conversation with a contact, you'll see two timers at the top of the chat tab. These timers tell you:
+ How long the contact has been connected to your contact center. This includes the time spent with the bot, if you're using one.
+ How long since the last text was sent. This can be either from the customer to the agent, or from the agent to the customer. The timer is reset with texts message between the two. It is not reset with each consecutive text message sent from a participant.
![\[The CCP, the timers at top of chat tabs.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/chat-timers.png)
If you have multiple chat tabs open, an hour glass appears letting you know which ones are in an After Contact Work (ACW) state. The timer indicates how long the contact has been in ACW.
![\[The CCP, the hour glass icon.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/chat-acw.png)
## What happens to missed chats?
Let's say you take a break but forget to change your status in the CCP from **Available** to **Break**. Amazon Connect tries to route a chat to you for 20 seconds. Keep in mind that your admin can't configure this amount of time.
After 20 seconds, the contact is counted as [Agent non-response](metrics-definitions.md#agent-non-response) in the real-time metrics report and the historical metrics report.
When you return from break and choose the chat tab, you'll see the missed contacts and how long they've been there. Each contact occupies a slot. With all of your slots are occupied, Amazon Connect won't route any more contacts to you. You must clear the missed contact so more contacts can be routed to you.
**Important**
If you're set up to handle contacts while already on another channel (for example, voice, chat, and task), you still must clear the missed contact before any other contacts on any other channel can be routed to you.
![\[The CCP, a missed chat, the name of the agent who is logged in.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/missed-chat-name.png)
You can clear the slots so that chats are routed to you again. For each missed contact, choose the banner, and then choose **Close contact**.
## How to format messages
When composing a chat message, you have the ability to format your message. This enables you to add structure and clarity to your support messages. You can add the following formatting:
+ Bold
+ Italic
+ Bulleted list
+ Numbered list
+ Hyperlinks
+ Emoji
+ Attachments
To get started, highlight the text you want to format, and then select a the formatting options from the toolbar at the bottom of the chat window. You can see exactly what the message looks like before sending it.
![\[The CCP, the formatting toolbar at the bottom of the chat window.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/chat-rich-messaging-toolbar.png)
**Tip**
Developers: Enable this feature from the chat user interface. For instructions, see [Enable text formatting in Amazon Connect for your customer's chat experience](enable-text-formatting-chat.md).
# Host multiple participants on an ongoing customer service chat in the agent workspace or CCP
You can add up to four additional participants to an ongoing customer service chat, for a total of six participants: you, the customer, and four other people. You can use quick connects to add participants.
## Prerequisites
+ This feature is only available in CCPv2, agent workspace, and custom CCP using Amazon Connect Streams.js.
+ **IT administrators**:
+ By default, chats can have two participants, such as an agent and a customer. To enable agents to connect up to six parties on a chat, you need to select **Enable Multi-party Chats and Enhanced Monitoring for Chat** in the Amazon Connect console. For instructions, see [Update telephony and chat options](update-instance-settings.md#update-telephony-options).
+ **Developers**: In custom CCPs, use the updated Amazon Connect Streams API to enable multi-party chats, up to six parties. See the [Amazon Connect Streams](https://github.com/amazon-connect/amazon-connect-streams/blob/master/Documentation.md#connectcoreinitccp) documentation on GitHub.
+ **AWS GovCloud (US-West)**: This feature is not available in the AWS GovCloud (US-West) Region.
## Important things to know
+ This feature works for all supported forms of chat: chat/SMS, WhatsApp, and Apple Messages for Business.
+ When you have multiple agents on the chat, such as three agents and a customer, all agents on the chat can view all parties and have the option to disconnect participants from the chat.
+ If a customer leaves a chat with multiple agents, the chat ends for all participants.
+ If an agent in a multi-party chat transfers the chat to another agent, all existing agents are disconnected.
+ Read/Delivered receipts do not work with multi-party chat. They do start working again when the chat returns to two participants.
+ If enhanced monitoring for chat is already enabled, to also enable multiparty chats you need to use the UpdateInstanceAttribute API with the `MULTI_PARTY_CHAT_CONFERENCE` attribute for the first time. Or, you can turn the feature OFF and then back ON to update your settings. For more information, see [ UpdateInstanceAttribute](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/APIReference/API_UpdateInstanceAttribute.html) in the *Amazon Connect API Reference Guide*.
## How to add participants to a multi-party chat
The following image shows the contact and you (the agent) connected on a chat. The customer always appears at the top of the CCP.
![\[The CCP, the agent and the customer connected on a chat.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/ccp-multiparty-chat-two-people.png)
**To add participants**
+ While you're connected to the customer, choose **Quick connects** to add another agent.
**Tip**
Your admin can add a message in the flow to be played before the third party is added to the session.
The following image shows the CCP after you invite a third participant to join the chat.
![\[The CCP, messages displayed to the agent and customer.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/multi-party-chat3.png)
1. **Inviting new agent ...** - This is an example of a custom message that an Admin or Contact Center Manager can configure in the [Play prompt](play.md) block.
1. **Another participant has been invited** - This is a message from Amazon Connect to let the agent know that they (the agent) made a request to add a participant to this chat.
1. **Chat started with Agent2** - This message is displayed when the second agent joins/accepts the chat on their end.
## How to manage participants
The following image shows Agent2's CCP. From the perspective of Agent2, the customer and Agent1 are the other active participants.
Every agent on a chat can disconnect other individual participants.
![\[The CCP, multiple participants on a chat.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/multi-party-chat2.png)
1. The customer and Agent1 are the other participants on the chat.
1. Agent2 can choose the **x** to disconnect any participant from the chat.
You can transfer a multi-party chat to another agent, or disconnect yourself from the ongoing chat.
**To transfer**
+ Choose the **More** button, and then choose **Quick connect**.
![\[A chat contact on the CCP, the More button.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/chat-more-button.png)
**To disconnect**
+ Choose **Leave chat**.
## When do multi-party chats end?
A multi-party chat continues as long as the customer is on the chat.
# Search for quick responses to customers in the Contact Control Panel (CCP)
Use any of the following methods to search for quick responses:
+ Use **/\$1\$1search term\$1** to search for the quick response. For example, enter **/\$1** in the box used to compose messages to bring up the quick response you want.
+ Choose the star (![\[Image of a four-point star.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/ccp-star-icon.png)) icon in the rich text toolbar.
**Note**
The star icon only appears when contact is initiated.
To see the star icon in CCP, you must have at least 1 activated quick response associated with the current agent routing profile.
The following image shows a quick response found by entering a shortcut (**/\$1G1**) in the agent application.
![\[Image of a chat window with a welcome message and /#G1.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/response-example.png)
For information about creating, importing, and managing quick responses, including required permissions, see [Create quick responses for use with chat and email contacts in Amazon Connect](create-quick-responses.md).
# Transfer a chat to an agent's queue, with all context preserved
You can transfer a contact from a bot to an agent, or to another agent's queue, with all context preserved.
**To transfer a customer to another queue**
1. Choose the **Quick Connect** button at the bottom of the CCP page.
![\[The ccp, quick connect button.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/transfer-customer.png)
1. Choose or search for the queue you want to transfer to, and then choose the transfer button.
1. You'll see a confirmation message: Chat transferred. You're now doing After Contact Work (ACW) for the customer. Choose **Close** to end the contact.
![\[The ccp, the confirmation message.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/transfer-confirmation.png)
# Use the CCP in Amazon Connect to make a call while on a chat
Let's say you're chatting with a contact and you want to consult with someone else. While you're on a chat, you can use the updated CCP to make outbound calls using the number pad and [phone number quick connects](quick-connects.md#external-quick-connect-type).
Note the following limitation:
+ You can't access agent quick connects while you're on a chat.
+ Agents can receive calls while on a chat only if they are assigned to a routing profile that allows [cross-channel concurrency](routing-profiles.md).
**To make an external call while you're on a chat**
1. In the CCP, choose the phone tab.
![\[The phone tab at top of ccp.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/training-guide-choose-phone-while-on-chat.png)
1. Choose **Number pad**.
![\[The number pad button at bottom of quick connects page.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/training-guide-choose-numberpad-while-on-chat.png)
1. Enter the external number you want to call, and then choose **Call**.
![\[The number pad page, the call button on bottom right of page.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/training-guide-dial-call-while-on-chat.png)
1. You'll be connected to the call at the same time the chat is still ongoing, as shown in the following image.
![\[The CCP, a connected call, chat icon with red dot.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/connect/latest/adminguide/images/training-guide-connected-call-while-on-chat.png)
1. To go to the chat conversation while you're on the phone, choose the chat tab.
1. To end the phone conversation, choose the phone tab, choose **End call**, and then choose **Close contact**. You're still connected to the chat conversation.
## Can't make outbound call to another agent
If you're on a chat and having trouble making an outbound call to another agent, it could be because that agent's routing profile is not set up to allow them to take calls while on a chat or task contact. They need to be assigned to a routing profile that allows [cross-channel concurrency](routing-profiles.md).
## Can't see phone number quick connects in the CCP
[Agent quick connects](quick-connects.md#agent-quick-connect-type) are not visible in the CCP while you're on a chat.
If you can't see [phone number quick connects](quick-connects.md#external-quick-connect-type) in your CCP, however, check that the phone number quick connect has been added to your queue as described in [Step 2: Enable agents to see quick connects](quick-connects.md#step2-enable-agents-to-see-quick-connects).
## Enable agent quick connects for calls during a chat
To enable agents to consult over the phone with each other while they are on chats, your Amazon Connect administrator needs to set up a direct dial number (DID) that routes to the agent. This configuration incurs additional costs.