How to Mark a Conversation as Read

Modified on: Fri, 5 Jun, 2026 at 5:03 AM

Unread conversations help your team identify messages that still need attention. In HighLevel, opening a conversation does not automatically mark it as read. This prevents leads or customer messages from being missed before a reply or intentional action is completed. Use this guide to manually mark conversations as read or automate the process with workflows.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is Conversation Read Status?
Key Benefits of Conversation Read Status
How Read and Unread Conversations Work
How To Manually Mark Conversations as Read
Automating Mark as Read with Workflows
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Articles

What is Conversation Read Status?

Conversation read status helps teams track which messages still need attention in the Conversations area. A conversation remains unread until a user replies to it or manually marks it as read. This gives your team more control over when a message is considered handled.

Key Benefits of Conversation Read Status

Prevents missed leads: Opening a conversation does not automatically mark it as read, helping teams avoid accidentally overlooking messages.
Keeps inboxes organized: Unread conversations stay visible until a user replies or marks them as read.
Supports team accountability: Team members can quickly identify which conversations still need action.
Allows automation: Workflows can be used to automatically update conversation read status when needed.

How Read and Unread Conversations Work

Unread conversations stay marked as unread until a clear action is taken. Simply clicking into a message or viewing the conversation does not change the read status.

When you open an unread conversation, it will remain unread. This is intentional so your team does not accidentally mark a lead or customer message as handled before responding.

A conversation is marked as read when:

You reply to the conversation manually.
You click the Mark as Read icon in the conversation view.
A workflow updates the conversation status using the Edit Conversation workflow action.

How To Manually Mark Conversations as Read

Properly marking conversations as read keeps your unread list accurate and helps your team focus on messages that still need attention.

Click Conversations from your HighLevel account.
Open Team Inbox.
Select an unread conversation.
Choose one of the following options:
- Reply to the conversation.
- Click the Mark as Read icon in the top-right area of the conversation view.
Confirm the conversation is removed from the unread list.

Automating Mark as Read with Workflows

Workflow automation is useful when conversations should be marked as read based on specific scenarios or workflow activity. Instead of manually updating each conversation, you can use workflow actions or workflow settings to control how conversations appear in the inbox.

To automate this behavior, check out the article on Workflow Action - Edit Conversation. This action can mark conversations as read or unread and can also archive or unarchive conversations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does opening a conversation mark it as read?

No. Opening or clicking into a conversation does not automatically mark it as read.

Q: Why does a conversation stay unread after I open it?
This helps prevent messages from being marked as handled before your team replies or intentionally marks them as read.

Q: Does replying to a conversation mark it as read?

Yes. When you reply to an unread conversation, it is automatically marked as read.

Q: Can I mark a conversation as read without replying?
Yes. Open the conversation and click the Mark as Read icon in the top-right area.

Q: Can I automate marking conversations as read?
Yes. Use the Edit Conversation workflow action to automate conversation read status.