Roles and permissions
Who can do what across your workspace
Chatlane teams have three roles: Owner, Admin, and Member. Each role can do different things—from managing the team and inboxes to replying to customers. This article explains what each role can do so founders and managers can set up their team and avoid confusion about who can change settings or delete data.
The three roles
Owner — There is one owner per team. The owner has all permissions, including the ability to delete the team (except in special cases, e.g. a personal team that cannot be deleted). The owner owns the team record and is the top-level decision maker. Use this role for the person who created the team or the founder who should have full control.
Admin — Admins have elevated permissions. They can manage team settings, invite and remove members (except the owner), change member roles (except the owner), create and manage inboxes, create and manage AI agents, manage custom entities and integrations, and delete core data such as conversations, contacts, and entity records. They cannot delete the team or change the owner. Use this role for managers or senior support staff who need to configure the team and inboxes.
Member — Members have standard access focused on day-to-day work. They can view and update contacts, create and manage conversations (send, edit, and delete messages, change status, move conversations between inboxes), and view AI agents. They cannot manage team settings, create or edit inboxes, create or edit agents, manage integrations or custom entities, or delete conversations or contacts. Use this role for support reps who need to reply to customers and use the inbox without changing configuration.
What each role can do (summary)
| Action | Owner | Admin | Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manage team settings | Yes | Yes | No |
| Invite / remove members, change roles | Yes | Yes (except owner) | No |
| Create / edit / delete inboxes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Create / edit agents | Yes | Yes | No |
| Manage integrations, custom entities | Yes | Yes | No |
| Delete conversations, contacts, records | Yes | Yes | No |
| Delete the team | Yes | No | No |
| View inbox, reply, change status, assign | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| View agents, use agent drafts/notes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Details can vary slightly by deployment; if in doubt, check your team settings or ask your admin.
Why this matters for founders and managers
- Founders — Put yourself (or a trusted person) as Owner so someone always has full control. Use Admins for managers who need to configure inboxes and agents but shouldn’t delete the team.
- Managers — As an Admin, you can set up inboxes, channels, and agents and manage who’s in the team. Members can do their job without seeing or changing sensitive settings.
- Support teams — As a Member, you can focus on conversations and contacts; you won’t accidentally change team or inbox configuration.
For setting up your first inbox and channels (as an Admin or Owner), see Get started with Chatlane. For connecting external data to contact profiles (team-level, usually Admin), see Contact Integrations. For technical access (e.g. API tokens for integrations), see the API Documentation.