> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.plain.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What is a thread?

> Every customer conversation in Plain lives in a thread. An orientation to the tools that move them through your workflow.

In Plain, every customer conversation lives in a **thread**. The tools in this section determine what happens to a thread: how it moves through your workflow, who is responsible for it, how urgently it needs attention, and how your team tracks it from arrival to resolution.

## Structuring your queue

Plain gives you several tools to help bring order to chaos.

* **Priorities**: (Urgent, High, Medium, Low) flag which threads need attention first.

* **Tiers** let you segment your customers based on your internal (or external) criteria. Such as pricing plans like Enterprise, Pro or Free. You can then attach different SLA targets to each.

* **Labels** can categorize threads by type and enable team based assignment and routing.

* **Thread fields** go further still, letting you store structured custom data like renewal dates, deal values and account IDs with the thread. That your team can then use to filter, sort, and build workflows on.

[Priorities →](/docs/product/platform/threads/priorities) [Tiers →](/docs/product/platform/tiers) [Labels →](/docs/product/platform/labels) [Thread fields →](/docs/product/platform/threads/thread-fields)

## Keeping work moving

**Tasks** let you track internal follow-ups without leaving Plain. Press <kbd>T</kbd> to create one on any thread. **Auto-responses** keep customers informed the moment a thread arrives, configurable by channel, business hours, or label. When two threads cover the same issue, **merging** them into a single parent avoids duplicated effort. And when a conversation is genuinely closed, **locking** it prevents further replies while automatically creating a fresh thread if the customer writes back.

[Tasks →](/docs/product/platform/tasks) [Auto-responses →](/docs/product/platform/auto-responses) [Merging threads →](/docs/product/platform/threads/merging-threads) [Locking threads →](/docs/product/platform/threads/locking-threads)