Agent and Siebel Chat Interaction States

The following table lists the different chat interaction states that exist for Siebel Chat, which have a visible effect for the agent. Some of these states are automatically forced by Siebel Chat and others are manually triggered by the agent.

Interaction State	Description and Siebel Call Center Behavior	Automatic or Manual?
Active	The chat session is currently active, whereby the agent is actively chatting with the customer. The corresponding chat tab in the chat pane is in the foreground. The communications toolbar shows this chat as the active chat interaction in the drop-down list of currently open chats. The Chat Activity has a status of In Progress.	Automatic.
On Hold	The chat is on hold. The corresponding chat tab in the chat pane is in the background. The Chat Activity still has a status of In Progress.	Manual. Agents can place the currently active chat session on hold by clicking another chat tab, or they can use the communications toolbar to switch between chats. For more information, see Handling Multiple Simultaneous Chat Sessions.
Transferred	The chat has been transferred. When the chat is accepted by another agent, the interaction state changes to In Progress. The transferring agent's chat tab is removed once the agent moves onto another chat, or closes the chat pane. The Chat Activity has a status of Transferred. When the transferred chat is accepted by the receiving agent, a new activity is created with a status of In Progress.	Manual. Agents must click the Get Transfer List button on the communications toolbar to transfer a chat interaction that they are currently working on to another workgroup. For more information, see Transferring Chat Interactions to Others.
Terminated	The chat session is terminated. The chat tab in the chat pane is removed manually, if the agent moves on to another chat tab or closes the chat pane. The Chat Activity has a status of Done.	Manual. Agents can manually release a chat session by clicking the Release Work Item button on the communications toolbar. Customers can also manually release a chat session by clicking the Terminate button in their browser window. For more information about releasing a chat, see Releasing Chat Sessions.
Idle	There has been no activity within a chat session from either the agent or the customer for over two minutes. Note: Currently, you cannot configure this two-minute time limit.	Automatic.
Aborted	Either the agent or customer ends the chat session by means other than clicking the Release Work Item or Terminate buttons (for example, a browser is killed or a network mains is unplugged).	Automatic.

The following table lists the different agent states that exist for Siebel Chat agents. Some of these states are automatically forced by Siebel Chat and others are manually triggered by the agent.

Agent State	Description	Automatic or Manual?
Chatting	The agent is engaged, or actively chatting, in at least one chat session.	Automatic.
Working	The agent is available to handle chat requests.	Manual. Agents must click the Status button on the communications toolbar to set their status to available (State: Ready). For more information about agent status, see Changing Agent Status.
On Break	The agent is currently unavailable to handle chat requests.	Manual. Agents must click the Status button on the communications toolbar to set their status to unavailable (State: Not Ready). For more information about agent status, see Changing Agent Status.