# Introducing Chat Source: https://keenpartner.com/blog/introducing-chat Published: 2026-09-16T09:00:00.000Z Category: Product Chat brings partner conversations into Keen with Slack-style topics, direct messages, and Keen Support, so partner work no longer lives in scattered email threads. Partner work already has a home in Keen: channels, leads, rewards, and reports. The conversation around that work has not. It still lives in email threads, Slack DMs, and hallway follow-ups that neither company can find a month later. Chat is the missing layer. It puts the conversation next to the partnership, so both companies see the same thread. ## What Chat Is Chat is in-app messaging for the people on both sides of a partnership. Open **Chat** in the sidebar and you get a shared inbox of topics and direct messages, with unread counts and last-message previews. It is not [Ask Keen](/features/keen-ai). Ask Keen remains your AI copilot for questions and actions inside Keen. Chat is where humans talk: you, your partners, and Keen Support. ## Shared Topics With Your Partners Every active partnership gets a default **#support** topic, which is already connected to Keen Support. Both companies can read and write. Create more topics when the work needs its own room: a campaign, a quarterly plan, an escalation. Every active user at either company can see the thread. Owners and Admins can archive or delete topics when they are no longer needed. If a partnership ends, the history stays, read-only. ## Message the Person You Need Topics are for the group. Direct messages are for the person. Search teammates or people at your current partner companies and start a 1:1 conversation without leaving Keen. ## Keen Support Is a Message Away Your company also gets a private **#support** channel with Keen Support, visible only to your team. Partnership **#support** topics can include Keen as well. Use **@Keen Support** when you want the team in the thread. ## Built for the Way Teams Already Chat Chat should feel familiar if you have used Slack. - @mentions notify a person, a company, or everyone in the topic - #partner-channel references link to the channel page - Emoji reactions on any message - Attach images or PDFs, including paste from the clipboard - Messages update in real time, with unread badges and recent chats in the sidebar - Edit or delete your own messages @mentions, @here, and channel links work in topics. Direct messages stay 1:1. ## Notifications Without the Noise You should hear about the messages that matter, not every message in every topic. Mentions and direct messages email you by default. Company mentions, @here, and general topic messages stay quieter unless you turn them on. Mute a topic or a conversation when you need silence. Frequency can be instant, daily, weekly, or monthly. ## How Chat Fits With the Rest of Keen Lead and reward comments stay on the record. Use them when the note belongs to one lead or one payout. Use Chat when the conversation belongs to the partnership. [Ask Keen](/features/keen-ai) is still the place to ask questions of your data and take structured actions. Chat is the place to talk to people. ## Get Started Chat is in the sidebar, after Partner management. 1. Open **Chat**. A **#support** topic is already there for your company, and again with each active partnership. 1. Use **+** to **Create topic** or start a **New direct message**. 1. Open **Chat notifications** from the gear icon if you want to change what emails you receive. The conversation that used to live in various inboxes now lives next to the partnership it is about.