Work a conversation in the inbox

This page covers what you do inside the Inbox every day. For who sees what and how the inbox fits your team, start with Shared Team Inbox. The inbox is on Pro, Agency and the free plan.

The conversation listCopy Anchor Link

• Search: the box at the top, Search name, number or message, searches every conversation on the server, not only the ones loaded on screen. It matches the contact's name, username and number, and the preview of the last message. It does not search the whole message history. More conversations load as you scroll.
• All, Unread and Open: Open shows conversations whose 24-hour window is still open, so you can reply freely.
• Labels: pick one or more labels to show conversations whose contact carries any of them. Each label shows how many conversations it holds. Switch Label count between Unread and Total. Labels made from ads are listed apart, under Ads. See Labels.
• Number filter: with more than one number, choose All numbers or one number.
• Mark as unread or Mark as read: in the menu on each row.

Export conversationsCopy Anchor Link

Owners and admins can download conversations as a CSV file from the download button above the list:

• Export current view (CSV): the conversations that match your number, labels, filter and search.
• Export all conversations (CSV): every conversation in your organization.

The threadCopy Anchor Link

The bar above the thread shows the 24-hour window, for example "Session open · 3h 20m left". WhatsApp lets you send free-form messages only within 24 hours of the customer's last message. When the window has closed, or the customer has never written, the composer offers approved templates only. A warning appears a few minutes before the window closes.

Each message you send shows who sent it: your teammate's name, Agent, Follow-up, Broadcast, API, or WhatsApp App for a reply typed on the phone. A message that failed shows Could not send this message with the WhatsApp error code.

What else the thread shows:

• Chats from ads. A conversation that started from a Facebook or Instagram ad or post carries an Ad badge in the list and the thread header. Its first message shows a card with the ad's image and headline, and View ad opens the ad.
• Button taps. When a customer taps a button on your message, the thread shows the option they chose.
• Template header files. Before you send a template with an image, video or document header, the composer says the file the template was approved with will be sent. Choose Use a different file to send a file from a public https link instead. After the send, the message says which file went out.
• Voice messages play in the thread, with playback speed. Voice messages from customers show a transcript.
• Attachments open in a viewer. Use the arrow keys to move between them.
• AI decisions. When an AI agent acts on a conversation, a row in the thread says what it did, such as Handed to a person or Chose not to reply, and why. Rate a decision with a thumbs up or down. A thumbs down can become a suggested change to the agent: see Bot configuration.

ReplyCopy Anchor Link

• Enter sends. Shift+Enter starts a new line.
• Reply to a specific message: right-click a message and choose Reply, or double-click it. The composer shows "Replying to …" and the customer sees your reply quoting their message. Remove quote cancels it. When a customer quotes one of your messages, you see the quote too.
• Files: attach up to 10 files at once with the paperclip, or paste a file or screenshot from the clipboard. Images show a thumbnail before you send. Text you type goes out as the caption of the first image, video or document. Text over 1,024 characters, or text sent with audio files only, goes out as its own message after the files.
• Voice messages: click the microphone to record in the browser, then send. The recording is converted so it plays on the customer's phone, iPhone included.
• Saved replies: type / at the start of the box or after a space, or click Saved replies. The list shows the most used replies first, and filters as you type. Inserting a reply does not send it, so you can edit it first. Owners and admins create saved replies in Automatic replies.
• Template: send an approved template, the only message type allowed outside the 24-hour window.

Schedule a messageCopy Anchor Link

Click the clock in the composer to send the message later. Pick In an hour, This evening, Tomorrow morning, Monday morning or Another time. You can schedule a text or a template. A scheduled message cannot include files.

A text needs the 24-hour window to be open when you schedule it. If the window has closed by the send time, the text is not sent. To send later than the window allows, schedule a template.

Two optional conditions decide at send time whether it still goes out:

• Send only if: for example No reply within 24 hours or Never replied to any message. If the customer replied in time, the message is not sent.
• Only if labels match: Has any of or Has none of the labels you pick. Labels are matched by name, so renaming a label later does not update the condition.

Scheduled messages are listed in the contact panel, under Scheduled messages, where you can cancel one. A message that was not sent says why, for example "Not sent — they replied in time".

NotesCopy Anchor Link

Switch the composer from Reply to Internal note to write to your team. A note is never sent to the customer. Notes show in the contact panel under Internal notes, with the author and the time.

Each contact also has two single notes, in the contact panel:

• Contact note: one note your team writes and edits, for what everyone should know about this person.
• Automation note: written by your automations in Make, Zapier or n8n. It is read-only here and shows only when an automation has written one.

The AI agent reads both notes. It treats the automation note as context only, never as an instruction, and never quotes a price or a date that appears only in a note.

The contact panelCopy Anchor Link

Open it with the button at the top right of the thread. From top to bottom:

• Name and number. Click the name to rename the contact. A name you set stays, even when the customer changes their WhatsApp name. Copy the number with one click.
• Labels: add a label with + Add, remove one with its ×. A label can be limited to some numbers, and then it is offered only on those.
• Follow-ups: the Follow up switch. Off, the AI agent stops checking back with this contact when a conversation goes quiet, on every number. It still answers anything they send.
• AI agent: Let the agent reply turns the agent on or off for this conversation. Which agent answers picks an agent for this conversation, or Use the number's default. Edit opens that agent. Members see only Let the agent reply; the agent picker and Edit are for the owner and Admins. See Shared Team Inbox.
• Automations: shown when you have an outgoing webhook for incoming messages. Send this chat to your automations is Automatic, Always send or Never send. On Automatic, an endpoint with Pause when your team replies pauses for this chat after a teammate replies, and the panel shows until when.
• Scheduled messages, Internal notes, and the Contact note and Automation note, described above.

Keyboard shortcutsCopy Anchor Link

Press ? to open Keyboard shortcuts:

RelatedCopy Anchor Link

• Shared Team Inbox: roles, access, handoff and Coexistence.
• Labels: create labels and apply them automatically.
• Automatic replies: away message, keep window open, saved replies.
• Route chats to the right teammate.