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Collision detection shows a live banner at the top of a conversation naming any other teammate who has it open right now, so two agents notice each other before both end up replying to the same customer message. This article covers exactly when it appears and what it does and does not prevent.
Collision detection
- 1Open any conversation
- 2A colleague opens the same conversation
- 3Use the banner to coordinate
- 4The banner clears
Before you start
- Collision detection is automatic and needs no setting to turn on; it runs on every conversation, for every role that can view it, on every plan.
- It requires the conversation to actually be visible to both teammates under their role's normal visibility rule; an Agent cannot trigger or see a collision warning on a conversation assigned to someone else that their role would not let them open in the first place.
- It works identically across web and the Android app, since both read from the same realtime event stream.
- Presence is per-conversation and per-session; simply having the inbox open in general does not trigger it, only having that specific conversation open.
Steps
- Open any conversation. VGraple CRM immediately signals that you are viewing it, and repeats that signal roughly every 25 seconds for as long as you keep it open.
- A colleague opens the same conversation. The moment they do, your screen (and theirs) shows a banner just below the header: their name, followed by "is also viewing this conversation," or a list of names with "are" if more than one other teammate is present.
- Use the banner to coordinate. Nothing is locked or blocked; the banner is a signal for a human decision. Typically, whoever notices it first steps back, sends a quick internal note ("I've got this one"), or simply checks with the other person before replying.
- The banner clears once every other teammate has navigated away from that conversation for long enough that their presence signal stops renewing, or you close it yourself.
Why a warning instead of a hard lock
Locking a conversation the instant one agent opens it sounds like a cleaner solution, but it creates its own failure mode: an agent who opened a conversation and then got pulled away, stepped into a call, or simply forgot to close the tab would leave that conversation permanently unreachable to anyone else until they came back, even during a genuine emergency where a customer needs an urgent reply. VGraple CRM chooses a warning over a lock for the same reason Intercom and most mature shared-inbox tools do: a human making a judgment call in the moment beats a rigid rule that can strand a customer's message behind someone's open browser tab.
Example
A clinic's two front-desk staff both open the same patient's conversation moments apart, one because it is their turn in the rotation, the other because they saw the notification and reacted first. Both see the collision banner immediately. Rather than either being blocked, one of them types "you've got this one" as a quick internal note, and the other backs out, no customer-facing confusion and no conversation stuck waiting on a single person's availability.
In practice, most collisions resolve themselves within seconds once the banner appears, since seeing a colleague's name is usually enough for one person to step back without any further coordination needed. Where it genuinely matters, an internal note or a quick message on another channel (a team chat app, a shout across the room) settles it, which collision detection is designed to prompt rather than replace.
What you will see
Opening a conversation with no one else currently viewing it shows no banner at all, the normal conversation view. The moment a second teammate opens the same conversation, both screens show the banner within a few seconds, pulsing gently to draw attention without being intrusive. Closing the conversation or navigating away removes your own presence signal, and the other teammate's banner clears once their client detects you are gone, typically within the next presence cycle rather than instantly.
Settings and options
| Behaviour | What it does | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Presence ping | Signals you are viewing a conversation | Repeats roughly every 25 seconds while open |
| Collision banner | Names every other teammate currently viewing the same conversation | "is" for one, "are" for more than one |
| Blocking | None; both agents can still type and send | Warning only, not a lock |
| Cross-platform | Works identically on web and the Android app | Same realtime event stream |
| Visibility | Only triggers between teammates who can both already see the conversation | Follows the normal role-based visibility rule |
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The banner did not appear even though a colleague had the conversation open | Their presence ping may not have fired yet if they only just opened it, since it runs on a roughly 25-second cycle rather than instantly | Wait a few seconds; the banner should appear shortly after both of you have the conversation open |
| The banner is still showing after my colleague closed the conversation | Their presence signal has not expired yet | This clears within the next presence cycle; it is not a stuck state |
| Two agents still both replied to the same message | The banner warns but does not block; this can still happen if both agents type and send before either notices | Use an internal note to claim a conversation explicitly, or rely on assignment to avoid this in busy periods |
| The banner shows a name I do not recognise | Someone in your organisation you may not interact with often, such as a Supervisor or Admin checking on inbox activity, also opened the conversation | This is expected; any role that can view the conversation can trigger the signal |
| I never see collision banners at all, even when I know a colleague is viewing the same conversation | Confirm you are both looking at the exact same conversation, not two separate conversations with the same contact | Check the conversation URL or contact details match exactly |
Related reading
Collision detection works best alongside assigning conversations, which reduces how often two people end up on the same conversation in the first place, and tags, notes and stages for leaving a quick note claiming a conversation you are actively working on.