Sydnee Live Chat gives you fine-grained control over how and when you're notified - from a workspace-wide default down to a per-conversation override.
This article explains every layer.
Notification Levels
Across the app, three notification levels exist:
Level | What it means |
All new messages | You get an alert for every new message |
When someone @mentions me | You only get an alert when you're mentioned directly (not available for DMs) |
Nothing. Mute the channel | No alerts — you can still read the conversation at any time |
Your Personal Default (Team Members)
Your default notification setting controls how new conversations are seeded for you when you're added to one.
To find it: Go to your profile or personal settings and look for the Live Chat Notifications page.
Options:
Every new message — new account conversations and channels will notify you for every message
@mentions only — only notify when someone mentions you
Mute by default — new conversations start silently until you enable them
DMs are not affected by this default. Direct messages always start with notifications on for both sides, regardless of your default setting.
This default only determines how you start out in new conversations. After joining a conversation, you can adjust your setting per-conversation at any time.
Per-Conversation Notification Overrides
You can change your notification setting for any specific chat without affecting your default or other conversations.
To change it: Open the chat → click Settings → go to the Notifications tab.
Options:
All new messages
When someone @mentions me (channels only, not DMs)
Nothing. Mute the channel
Changes take effect immediately. Your setting is stored per-conversation, so muting one channel doesn't affect anything else.
Visual indicators in the sidebar
The sidebar shows small icons on conversations where your setting is not the default:
Bell icon — notifications set to @mentions only
Muted icon — conversation is muted / notifications off
No icon — notifications are on for all messages
Pausing All Notifications
If you need to step away, you can pause all Live Chat notifications temporarily.
This pauses everything — sounds, browser popups, push, and email — across all your conversations and all workspaces you belong to.
Pause presets:
Option | Duration |
30 minutes | Step away for a bit |
1 hour | Quiet for the next hour |
4 hours | Useful for deep work or meetings |
Until tomorrow | Resumes at 8:00 AM your time the next day |
Until Monday | Resumes at 8:00 AM your time on Monday |
To pause: go to your Live Chat notification settings and choose a preset.
To resume early: click Resume notifications.
You can also access these settings by clicking the bell next to "Live Chat" on the live chat page.
While paused, a badge in your settings shows "Notifications are paused" with the time they'll resume. While active, it shows "Notifications are active".
Pausing notifications does not clear unreads. Your unread dots and badges stay accurate — you just won't receive alerts while paused.
Email and Reminder Notifications
When you have an unread Live Chat message, Sydnee can also send an email notification. These follow the same notification settings - if a conversation is muted, you won't receive emails for it either.
Reminder emails:
If a conversation stays unread, Sydnee sends a single follow-up reminder at 24 hours reminding you of all unread conversations
Reading the conversation at any point cancels the reminder cycle.
If your notifications are paused, email delivery is also paused during that window.
To disable only email notifications, head to your email preferences to turn off the instant email or the 24 hour follow up summary email without changing any other notifications.
Workspace-Wide Portal Default (Admins Only)
Workspace owners and admins can set a default notification level for new clients (portal users). This seeds the notification setting for clients when they're added to a conversation.
We often see people set this to @mentions so account group chats can get noisy without bugging people.
To find it: Go to company settings → look for "Default Client Live Chat Notifications"
Options:
Every new message in account conversations and channels
Only when someone @mentions them
Nothing. Start them muted by default
This setting seeds new clients only — it does not retroactively change notification settings for existing clients.
Changing a Client's Notification Settings
At any point, channel managers and workspace admins can change the notification setting for any client in a channel or account group chat — not just their own. This is available in Conversation Settings → Members on a channel conversation.
Options when editing another participant's setting:
All new messages
Only @mentions
No notifications
Notification Behavior by Conversation Type
| Account Group Chats | Channels | DMs |
Supports "mentions only" | Yes | Yes | No |
Follows personal default | Yes | Yes | No — always starts on |
Can be muted | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Email reminders | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Affected by pause | Yes | Yes | Yes |