Work your Inbox

WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram and your website chat all feed one list, newest activity at the top. There are no tickets to open or close. What matters about a conversation is who is in charge of replying right now, and there are only three answers.

The list shows the same thing before you open anything: a blue robot means the AI is on it, an amber robot means it is waiting on you, and no robot means the chat is yours.

• The list shows first names, or the phone number if you have no name yet. Unread chats show a violet time and a violet count.
• The chat header shows the full name and number, a red DND pill if the contact is on Do Not Disturb, and a few small buttons on the right. The last one, ⋮, holds Mark as unread.
• The Lead Info panel opens on Choose a lead. Click a lead to see and edit its details. Admins can rearrange this panel, see Customise the Lead Info panel.

A few things in the reply box are worth knowing:

• Type / at the start of the box to drop in a saved answer. See Quick replies & templates.
• The + button attaches a Document, Image or Video, or opens your Quick Reply list.
• The Internal note tab writes a note only your team can see. See Internal notes & team @mentions.
• On WhatsApp Business, a green strip counts down the conversation window: “Conversation window is open for another 23 hours. You may send free-form messages.”

Who sent each message

Every message from your side carries a small label with the sender, and its colour tells you whether a person or the system sent it. It is the quickest way to see what the AI has already said.

When the WhatsApp window has closed

On a WhatsApp Business number you can only type freely for 24 hours after the customer’s last message. After that the box locks, and the only way to reach them is an approved template.

The moment the customer replies, the window reopens for another 24 hours and the normal box comes back.

Each row tells you whether it needs you before you click it. The top of the list has three controls, and the markers on the right of each row do the rest.

A line that starts with You: means your side sent the last message. Hover a row and a small arrow appears beside the time: it opens the same Mark as unread action as the ⋮ menu.

When the AI is waiting on anyone’s answer, an amber strip appears at the top of the list. That strip is the fastest way to find the customers who are stuck mid-conversation.

If your workspace uses an AI agent in a workflow, it answers some chats for you. You can always see what it is doing, answer when it asks, and take a chat back whenever you like. Which chats get the agent is set in Automate with workflows.

You can skip this section. These help once the Inbox gets busy.

• Mark as unread puts the violet dot back so the chat stands out in your list. Use it as your “come back to this” flag.
• Filter the thread when a long chat mixes customer messages with team notes. A strip at the top of the thread reminds you what is hidden, with a Show all link.
• Search chats and messages finds a name or number under Chats, and words inside messages under Messages. Clicking a message result opens the chat and highlights the match.
• Scheduled messages (the clock at the top of the list) shows everything waiting to send. See Scheduled messages.

Four everyday situations and the exact buttons for each.

• Read the robot’s colour. Amber means waiting on you, blue means the agent is working, no robot means the chat is yours.
• Instruct Agent keeps the AI going. If you only need to unblock one question, instruct. Take Over is for when you want to write the replies yourself.
• Your instruction is not the customer’s message. The agent rewrites it. Use Send word-for-word to contact when your exact words must go out.
• Temporary take-over lasts until you hand back. The agent stays paused, even if the customer writes again, until someone clicks Hand back to AI or Stop the agent.
• Stopping can’t be undone. Take over and stop the workflow, and Stop the agent, both end the workflow for this contact and cancel its scheduled messages.
• Internal notes never reach the customer. They stay inside your team, and @mentioning a teammate in one notifies them.
• There is no close button. Chats go read and unread, never resolved. Mark as unread is your follow-up flag.
• Watch the WhatsApp window. After 24 hours of customer silence, only approved templates can be sent until they write back.