What are Categories?
Categories are mutually exclusive labels for conversation types. Each conversation is assigned to exactly one category. Example categories:| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Billing | Payment issues, invoices, refunds, subscription questions |
| Technical Support | Bugs, errors, how-to questions, troubleshooting |
| Account Issues | Login problems, password resets, profile updates |
| Feature Requests | Product suggestions, enhancement requests |
| General Inquiry | Other questions that don’t fit above |
Creating Categories
Add Detection Hints (optional)
Help the AI identify this category:
- Keywords that suggest this category
- Example phrases or topics
How Auto-Classification Works
The AI assigns categories based on:- Conversation content — What the customer is asking about
- Detection hints — Keywords and phrases you’ve provided
- Historical patterns — How similar conversations were categorized
- Context — The overall topic and resolution
Designing Good Categories
Be Mutually Exclusive
Categories should not overlap. A conversation should clearly belong to one category. Good:Be Comprehensive
Cover all conversation types. Include a catch-all for edge cases.Keep It Simple
5-10 categories is usually ideal. Too many categories:- Makes classification less accurate
- Complicates analysis
- Harder to maintain
Using Categories in Analytics
Breakdown Charts
See what percentage of conversations fall into each category.Performance by Category
Compare metrics across categories:| Category | Volume | Resolution Rate | Avg Handle Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing | 35% | 82% | 4.2 min |
| Technical | 40% | 68% | 8.5 min |
| Account | 15% | 91% | 2.1 min |
Drill Down
Click a category to see all conversations in that category:Assigning Categories to Agents
Control which categories an agent can assign:Best Practices
- Start with common categories from your existing support data
- Review periodically — add or merge categories as needed
- Use the catch-all — “General Inquiry” prevents unclassified conversations
- Include descriptions — help the AI classify accurately
- Check analytics — if a category is rarely used, consider removing it