> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.telemetron.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# How Cases Work
> Understand the case lifecycle, creation sources, statuses, and assignment
Open Cases in Dashboard →
Every customer interaction in Telemetron is tracked as a **case**. Each case has a **channel** it came from, a **status** tracking where it is in the lifecycle, an **assignment** to a team member, and a **category** for organization and filtering.
## Statuses
Where a case is in its lifecycle.
| Status | Description |
| ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------- |
| **Open** | New, not yet being worked on |
| **In Progress** | Actively being handled by an agent or AI |
| **Waiting for Customer** | Response sent, awaiting reply |
| **Resolved** | Issue addressed, case closed |
By default, the inbox shows Open, In Progress, and Waiting cases. Status can be manually changed from the case details panel.
Resolved cases can be **archived** to keep your active list clean.
## Channels
Where cases come from. Each channel automatically creates and routes cases.
| Source | How It Works |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Email** | Incoming emails create new cases or reopen existing ones |
| **Instagram** | DMs and post comments create cases with the full thread |
| **Facebook** | Messenger and page comments create and update cases |
| **Phone** | Inbound and outbound calls create cases with recordings |
| **Chatbot Widget** | Widget interactions create cases on escalation |
| **Partner** | Cases created by partner users (enterprise only) |
| **Manual** | Created by team members from the dashboard |
You can filter cases by channel in the inbox sidebar.
## Assignment
Which team member owns a case. Cases can be assigned manually from the dashboard or routed automatically based on [routing rules](/data/categories-and-routing#routing-rules).
## Categories
Labels for organizing and filtering cases. Categories are configured per-organization and can be assigned manually or by the AI agent. See [Categories & Routing Rules](/data/categories-and-routing) for details.
## Notifications
How your team stays informed.
New cases and updates notify your team via [Slack](/integrations/communication/slack) — no need to watch the dashboard. Notifications fire on new cases, customer replies, and status changes.
## Inbox Quick Filters
The inbox sidebar provides quick filters to surface the cases that need your attention.
| Filter | What it shows |
| ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **All Cases** | All cases matching your current status, category, and channel filters |
| **Time Sensitive** | Cases with an enforced short response window (e.g., 24-hour messaging limits). Only appears when you have channels with time-sensitive windows connected (like Instagram or Messenger). |
| **Unread** | Cases you haven't read yet |
| **Important** | Cases marked as important |
| **Needs Attention** | Unresolved cases that have been open for 3+ days based on your current filters |
| **Assigned to Me** | Cases assigned directly to you |
| **Unassigned** | Cases that haven't been assigned to any agent yet |
## Auto-Resolve & Spam
Categories can be marked as **auto-resolve**. When a case is created with an auto-resolve category, it's immediately closed and won't trigger a Slack notification. This is useful for handling spam or irrelevant cases — the AI agent categorizes incoming cases automatically, so noise gets filtered without manual effort. See [Categories & Routing Rules](/data/categories-and-routing) for how to configure this.
## Linked Data
The context attached to each case.
Each case links to:
* **Customer** — the end user who initiated contact
* **Device** — the hardware device related to the issue
* **Thread** — the underlying conversation (email thread, DM, etc.)