# How It Works

This article explains the architecture of the Karmaflow.ai helpdesk for a technical audience: the ticket model, how every channel feeds one system, the ticket lifecycle, and why being CRM-native matters. It stops short of configuration steps — those are in the signed-in documentation.

## The Ticket Model

A **ticket** is a durable operational object, not a message thread. Each ticket carries:

- A **human-readable number** (e.g. `#1042`) both sides reference
- **State** — its status, owner, priority, type, and tags
- **SLA timers** — first-response and resolution clocks
- **Visibility** — who, on the customer side, may see it
- **A complete history** — every reply, internal note, status change, and assignment
- **Origin links** — the chat, call, email, form, or automation that created it

The distinction from a conversation is deliberate. A conversation ends; a ticket persists, can span several conversations and channels, and remains the accountable record of one customer issue from open to close.

## One Model, Every Channel

Tickets enter from every channel Karmaflow.ai supports, and all of them resolve to the same ticket object:

| Channel | How it becomes a ticket |
|---|---|
| **Email** | Mail to your support address opens a ticket; replies thread back automatically by message headers (with a `[#number]` subject fallback) |
| **Customer portal** | Customers open and track tickets directly in a branded, signed-in portal |
| **Website chat** | A chat agent can open a ticket mid-conversation, or an escalation creates one |
| **SMS & voice** | SMS and voice agents open and update tickets during a text thread or call |
| **Web forms** | Any form can be configured to open a ticket on submission |
| **API & MCP** | Create and manage tickets programmatically, or let any connected AI agent do so over the Model Context Protocol |

Whatever the channel, the ticket records where it came from and links back to that originating interaction — so context is never lost between the conversation and the ticket.

## The Lifecycle

Tickets move through a clear set of states. Some transitions are manual; others happen automatically — a staff reply moves a ticket to *pending customer*; a customer reply on a solved ticket *reopens* it; a solved ticket *closes* automatically after a configurable window.

```mermaid
stateDiagram-v2
  state "Pending customer" as PC
  state "Pending internal" as PI
  [*] --> New
  New --> Open: picked up
  Open --> PC: staff reply
  PC --> Open: customer replies
  Open --> PI: waiting on team or vendor
  PI --> Open
  Open --> Escalated: specialist or human requested
  Escalated --> Open
  Open --> Solved: resolution provided
  Solved --> Open: customer reply reopens
  Solved --> Closed: auto-close after window
  Closed --> [*]
```

| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **New** | Created, not yet picked up |
| **Open** | Someone is actively working it |
| **Pending customer** | Waiting on the customer — the SLA clock pauses |
| **Pending internal** | Waiting on another team, vendor, or approval |
| **Escalated** | Handed to a specialist, or the customer asked for a human |
| **Solved** | Resolution provided; the customer is invited to rate it |
| **Closed** | Finalized automatically after the reopen window |

## CRM-Native by Design

The helpdesk isn't a separate silo. Every ticket requester is a CRM **contact**, and their company is a CRM **account** — so a ticket is grounded in the customer's full history across voice, chat, SMS, email, and deals, and support activity enriches the same account intelligence your revenue team uses. There is no integration to build and no data to sync: it's one platform.

This is also what makes the AI effective. The same agents, the same knowledge, and the same customer memory power both your outbound work and your support — so an AI answering a ticket already knows who it's talking to.

> **Want to set one up?** Configuration and day-to-day operating guides are in the signed-in documentation. [Sign in to Karmaflow.ai](https://omni.karmaflow.ai/auth/login) to read them.