# Pick up chats from the queue

> Take the next chat the bot or the AI handed to your team.

Source: https://docs.soosh.io/guides/inbox/pick-up-chats-from-the-queue/

When the bot or the AI hands a chat to a person, or a customer asks for one,
the chat waits in the queue until someone picks it up. The bot stays quiet in
that chat meanwhile.

## Take the next chat

1. Go to [**Inbox > Chats**](https://app.soosh.io/chat). When chats are waiting, the top of the list says,
   for example, **2 waiting for an agent**.
2. Click **Take next**.

   *Picture: The chat list with a yellow bar saying 2 waiting for an agent and a Take next button*

## Result

The chat that has waited longest, in your teams' queues or the general queue,
opens, and it's yours.

If someone else took the last one first, Soosh says **No chats are waiting
right now**.

## See everything waiting

Go to [**Inbox > Queue**](https://app.soosh.io/queue) and click the **Queue** tab. It lists each waiting chat
with its team, how it got there (**Keyword**, **Flow**, **AI** or **Manual**)
and whether it's on time (**On track**, **At risk**, **SLA breached**).

*Picture: The Queue page's Queue tab: Arjun Mehta and Sneha Reddy waiting in the General queue, both On track, from a keyword reply*

When the customer no longer needs a person, open the chat and click **Resume
chatbot** to hand it back to the bot.

## Related

- Guide: [Assign a chat](https://docs.soosh.io/guides/inbox/assign-a-chat/)