Benefits and use cases

Pain points solved:

• Hard to see which leads are in progress or need follow-up.
• No unified view of funnel progress or drop-offs.
• Manual tracking leads to missed opportunities or duplicated effort.
• Lack of visibility across sales and support journeys.

Common use cases:

• Sales pipeline tracking: Track how each lead progresses from their first interaction to successful conversion. For example, you can move contacts through stages like New lead, Contacted, Payment, and Customer to maintain full visibility of your sales funnel.
• Customer support tracking: Monitor support requests as they move through resolution stages. For example, a ticket can start as Reported, move to In progress when assigned to an agent, and finally reach Resolved once closed.
• Team prioritization: Use lifecycle stages to organize your Inbox. Agents can quickly view which contacts are at critical follow-up points or require immediate attention based on their current stage.

Accessing “Customer lifecycle management” settings page

You can follow the steps here to go to the “Customer lifecycle management” settings page:

1. Click on the icon in the left navigation bar
2. Under the “Contacts and data” section, click “Customer lifecycle”
   
3. You will be redirected to the “Customer lifecycle management” page
   
4. You will find a list of default stages that you can start using right away

Creating new stages

You can create custom lifecycle stages to match your team’s sales or support process.

You can follow the steps below to create new stages:

1. In the “Customer lifecycle management” page, you will see two sections, “Progressing stage” and “Lost stage”
   1. Progressing stages: active or successfully journeys 
   2. Lost stages: unresponsive or disqualified contacts
2. Click “Create” in the section where you want the new stage to appear
   
3. A pop-up modal will appear
   
    

3. Enter the stage details:
   1. Stage name: Up to 30 characters, and must be unique across both pipelines.
   2. Color: Choose a color to visually group or prioritize stages.
4. Click “Create”

Setting a stage as default

You can set one lifecycle stage as the default so that every new contact created in your workspace automatically starts with that stage. 

You can follow the steps below to set a stage as default:

1. In the “Customer lifecycle management” page, you’ll see the list of stages under each pipeline. The current default stage is marked with a “Default” label.
   
2. Hover over the stage you want to set as default
3. Click on the icon next to the stage name
4. Click on “Set as default”
   
5. A confirmation modal will appear
   
6. Click “Set” to confirm the action
7. The “Default” label will move to the newly selected stage. All new contacts created after this change will automatically be assigned this default stage.

Arranging the sequence of stages

You can reorder lifecycle stages to reflect how your team’s process flows — for example, moving Contacted before Payment or grouping key milestones together.

You can follow the steps below to arrange the sequence of stages:

1. In the “Customer lifecycle management” page, you will find the “Progressing stage” and “Lost stage” lists
2. Drag and drop stages to reorder them by clicking and holding the drag handle beside a stage name
3. Move it to the desired position within the same list
   
4. Once you have made changes, a “Save changes” banner will appear
   
5. Click “Save” to confirm the new sequence
6. The new order applies immediately across your workspace, including the Inbox dropdown and Lifecycle sidebar views.

Editing a stage

You can update a lifecycle stage’s name or color anytime to keep your pipeline clear and consistent.

Editing stage name

You can follow the steps below to edit a stage name:

1. In the “Customer lifecycle management” page, locate the stage you want to update
2. Click directly on the stage name to make it editable.
3. Update the text (maximum 30 characters). Each stage name must be unique across both pipelines.
4. A “Save changes” banner will appear.
   
5. Click “Save” to confirm

Editing stage color

You can follow the steps below to edit a stage’s color and icon:

1. In the “Customer lifecycle management” page, locate the stage you want to update
2. Click on the color icon next to the stage name
   
3. A pop-up modal will appear
   
4. Select a new color for this stage
5. Once you have selected a new color, the “Save” button will be enabled
6. Click “Save” to make the change

Deleting a stage

If a lifecycle stage is no longer needed, you can delete it from your pipeline. This helps keep your lifecycle clean and relevant as your workflow evolves.

You can follow the steps to delete a stage:

1. In the “Customer lifecycle management” page, locate the stage you want to remove
2. Hover on the stage name
3. Click on the icon next to the stage name
4. Click “Delete”
   
5. A warning modal will appear
   
6. Click “Delete” to confirm the action

Configure AI-powered lifecycle movement

You can use AI to move contacts between lifecycle stages automatically based on the conditions set for each stage. This helps reduce manual updates and keeps lifecycle progression more consistent across your workspace.

To use this feature, first add an AI transition rule to the lifecycle stages you want AI to evaluate. Then test your rules with a sample message before turning on Use AI to move contacts between stages.

Follow the steps to use this feature:

Step 1: Add an AI transition rule to a stage

Each lifecycle stage includes an AI transition rule field. Use this field to describe when a contact should move into that stage.

For example, you can define a rule based on the customer’s request, intent, or reply content. If a stage does not have an AI transition rule, AI will ignore that stage during lifecycle evaluation. You can still use that stage manually

To add a transition rule:

1. Click on the  icon in the stage you would like to add a transition rule to
2. In the “AI transition rule” field, fill in the instruction for AI
   
    
3. Once you have made changes, a save changes bar will appear at the bottom of the page
   
    
4. Click “Save” to apply the changes

Step 2: Test AI transition logic

Once you have completed Use Test AI transition logic to simulate how a sample message would be classified.

Follow the steps to test the AI transition logic:

1. In the right side of the Lifecycle management settings page, toggle on the “Use AI to move contacts between stages” feature
   
    
2. Once it’s toggled on, a “Test AI transition logic” card will appear
   
    
3. Send a sample message to test how the logic works
4. After you enter a sample message, the result shows which lifecycle stage the contact would be moved to and the reason that rule was matched. This makes it easier to review and refine your stage rules before enabling AI-powered movement for live conversations.
5. When you run Test AI transition logic, the result shows whether the sample message matches any of your current AI transition rules.: 
   1. If the contact is not moved
      
      
      1. This means the sample message does not match any lifecycle stage strongly enough to trigger a transition. In the example above, the message “hello” is treated as a general greeting, so AI keeps the contact in their current stage.
   2. If the contact is moved to a stage
      
      
      1. This means the sample message matches one of your stage rules. In the example above, the message “how can i pay for the service” matches the Pending payment stage because it shows clear payment intent, so AI would move the contact to that stage.

Using “Customer lifecycle management” feature

Once lifecycle stages are configured, your team can view and manage a contact’s journey directly from Inbox and Contacts. This allows agents and managers to track progress, prioritize follow-ups, and keep lifecycle data up to date without leaving their daily workflow.

Managing lifecycle stages in Inbox

Inbox is where agents typically update lifecycle stages as conversations progress.

View lifecycle stage beside a contact

You can see a contact’s current lifecycle stage at a glance:

• The stage label appears beside the contact name in the conversation list
  
• You will also see the “Lifecycle stage” next to the contact’s name within a conversation in the conversation control bar
  
• Each stage displays its configured color and icon for easy recognition.
• The label automatically updates when the stage name or color changes in the “Customer lifecycle management” page

Updating a contact’s lifecycle stage in Inbox

When a contact moves forward in your sales or support journey, you can update their lifecycle stage directly in the Inbox.

You can follow the steps below to update a contact’s lifecycle stage:

1. Go to Inbox by clicking on the icon in the left navigation bar
2. Locate a conversation what you would like to update its lifecycle stage
3. In the conversation, click the ”Lifecycle stage” dropdown beside the contact name.
   
4. You’ll see two grouped lists — Progressing stages and Lost stages — ordered exactly as defined in your lifecycle settings.
   
5. Use the search bar or scroll to find the correct stage.
6. Click a stage to apply it immediately.
7. The contact’s stage updates in real time across the Inbox and their contact record.

Moving a contact to the next stage

You can quickly progress a contact to the next stage in sequence with one click.

You can follow the steps below to move a contact to the next stage:

1. Go to Inbox by clicking on the icon in the left navigation bar
2. Locate a conversation what you would like to move its lifecycle stage to the next stage
3. In the conversation, click the  next to the “Lifecycle stage” beside the contact name.
   
4. The system will follow the order set in the “Customer lifecycle management” settings and move the contact to the next stage
   1. If the contact is in the last stage among progressing or lost stages, the next stage button will be disabled with a tooltip message: “No next stage available”
      

Clearing a contact’s lifecycle stage

If a contact no longer fits any defined stage, you can clear their lifecycle tag.

You can follow the steps below to clear a contact’s lifecycle stage:

1. Go to Inbox by clicking on the icon in the left navigation bar
2. Locate a conversation what you would like to clear its lifecycle stage
3. In the conversation, click the ”Lifecycle stage” dropdown beside the contact name.
   
4. Click on “Clear selection”
   
5. The contact’s lifecycle field will reset to empty

Filtering conversations by lifecycle stage 

The Inbox sidebar includes a dedicated Lifecycle view, allowing you to filter and focus on specific contact groups.

You can follow the steps below to filter conversations by lifecycle stages

1. Go to Inbox by clicking on the icon in the left navigation bar
2. In the conversation list, click on the icon to open the “Conversation filters” menu
3. In the “Conversation filters”, click on “Lifecycle stages”
   
    
4. In the “Conversation filters” menu, you can:
   
   1. Select one or more stages to filter the conversations you’d like to see
   2. Use the “Search bar” to search for existing stages by name
   3. Click “Clear” to clear your selection

Monitor lifecycle pipelines in Kanban view

Kanban view in “Contacts” gives you a clearer way to monitor how contacts are distributed across lifecycle stages. Instead of scanning rows in a table, you can review your pipeline stage by stage and quickly see where contacts are currently grouped.

Follow the steps below to access Lifecycle dashboard in Kanban view:

1. Click on the icon in the left navigation bar to go to Contacts page
2. Under the page title, click “Kanban” to switch view
   
    
3. In this Kanban view, each column represents an active lifecycle stage and follows the same stage order configured in “Customer lifecycle settings” page. Contacts appear in the column that matches their current lifecycle stage. Any filters applied in “Contacts” also carry over to the Kanban board.

Review contact details from a Kanban card

Each Kanban card gives you a quick view of the contact’s current lifecycle status. Click a card to open the Contact Details drawer.

The drawer helps you review why the contact is currently in that lifecycle stage. On the left, you can see the contact’s current lifecycle stage, labels, and contact details. On the right, you can review the conversation context related to the lifecycle movement.

When a lifecycle change is triggered automatically, the conversation timeline highlights the movement event and shows the matched rule used to move the contact into the current stage. This makes it easier to understand what happened without opening the live conversation in Inbox.

From the drawer, you can also click “View full profile” to open the contact record or “View in Inbox” to open the conversation in Inbox.

Track values in Kanban view

You can turn on Track values in Kanban view to show the total value for each lifecycle stage on the Kanban board.

Follow the steps to configure tracking values:

1. Under customer lifecycle settings page
2. Enable “Track values in Kanban view”. 
   
    
3. Then select:
   1. a numeric contact property under “Property”
   2. a currency under “Display currency”

Once both fields are configured, Kanban view shows the mapped value for each contact and the total value for each lifecycle stage column.

If a contact does not have a value in the selected property, it is treated as 0.

Manage which properties appear in the detail drawer

You can control which custom properties appear in the Kanban detail drawer through “Manage Properties”. The drawer always shows core contact details, including the contact name, email, phone number, date added, and relevant labels.

Custom properties in the Kanban drawer are managed through their own visibility settings. These settings are separate from List view and Inbox visibility settings. By default, existing and newly created custom properties are hidden in the Kanban drawer until you enable them.

Managing a contact’s lifecycle stages in Contacts

Lifecycle stages can also be viewed and updated from Contacts, giving you a broader overview of customer progress.

View a contact’s lifecycle stage

• Each contact shows its current lifecycle stage in the contact list and contact details
  
• Stage colors follow the same configuration as Inbox

This makes it easy to understand a contact’s journey status even when you’re not actively chatting with them.

Update a lifecycle stage from Contacts

You can update a contact’s lifecycle stage directly from the contact profile by following the steps below:

1. Open a contact from the “Contacts” page
2. In a contact’s profile, locate the left-sided panel
   
3. To update a contact’s lifecycle, you can:
   1. Click on the icon under the contact’s name to move the contact to the next stage available
      
   2. Click on the stage field. A dropdown menu will appear, where you can choose from the list of lifecycle stages
      
4. To remove a lifecycle stage, click “Clear selection” 

Any changes made here are reflected immediately across the platform.