The Inbox: reading and replying to conversations

The Inbox is every conversation your assistant is having — on your website widget and on every channel you've connected (WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram) — in one list. Open any one to read the thread, watch your assistant answer in real time, or step in and reply yourself.

Who does what

The conversation list

Each row shows who you're talking to, a preview of the last message, how long ago it arrived, and two tags:

• AI or Human — which one is currently answering this customer.
• AI off (grey) — you've turned the AI off in this conversation; it won't answer this customer until you turn it back on. See turning the AI off for one conversation.
• AI paused (grey) — replies are paused for this conversation's whole channel on the Channels page, so the AI isn't answering here either. See "Paused for all WhatsApp chats".
• Needs you — the assistant handed this conversation to a person and nobody has replied or taken it over yet.
• Window closed — see reply windows by channel below.

A website visitor has no name on file, so they're labelled Website visitor #[number] — the number is their browser session, stable if they come back.

Conversations where the customer has written since anyone in your workspace last opened them are marked unread. Opening one clears it for the whole workspace — one teammate reading a conversation counts as it being read.

New messages appear on their own — the conversation list and the open conversation update the moment a customer writes or the AI replies, with no need to refresh the page.

While you're on another page of the dashboard, the Inbox item in the side menu shows how many conversations have unread customer messages. On a phone, a dot on the menu button tells you there is something unread.

Filtering the list

Above the list, a row of filters narrows it down. Each shows how many conversations are in it.

• All — every conversation (the default).
• Needs you — the conversations tagged Needs you: the assistant handed them to a person, or you turned the AI off and the customer has been waiting.
• Unread — the customer has written since anyone in your workspace last opened the conversation.
• Handled by you — you've taken the conversation over, or turned the AI off in it.
• Reply window closing — WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram conversations whose 24-hour reply window closes within 3 hours. Reply before it closes; see reply windows by channel.

Next to the filters (on a phone, on the line below them) there's a button with each channel's logo: WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram and your website. Tap one to see only that channel; tap it again to see all channels. It works together with any filter, so you can see, for example, only the WhatsApp conversations that need you.

The filter you pick stays when you reload the page. A link from one of our emails (or View conversation on the Leads page) always opens on All, so the conversation it points to is always in the list.

A conversation disappeared from Unread after I opened it

Opening a conversation marks it read for the whole workspace, so it no longer belongs in Unread. It stays in the list while it's open, and leaves once you close it.

Fix: pick All to find it again.

How a customer is named

Each row shows the customer's name as they wrote it on their own account. It isn't translated, so an Arabic name stays in Arabic in the English dashboard and the other way round. Under the name, in small grey text, is how the platform identifies them:

The small platform icon on the corner of the photo tells you which channel the conversation is on. Without a photo, you see a grey person shape instead.

Why does a customer show a number instead of a name?

WhatsApp sends the name the customer set in WhatsApp with their messages, but some customers never set one. Until we have a name, the number (or ID) is shown in its place. On Messenger and Instagram we ask Meta for the name when the customer first writes; if Meta doesn't answer, we ask again on their next message.

Fix: nothing to do. The name appears by itself once the platform sends it. Older conversations fill in the next time that customer writes.

Why don't I see this WhatsApp customer's phone number?

WhatsApp lets people use a username instead of showing their number. When a customer with a username writes to you for the first time, WhatsApp doesn't give us their number, so you see their @username (or their WhatsApp ID) instead. Customers who have written to you before keep showing their number.

Fix: nothing to do. The assistant answers them, and you can read and reply from here the same as any other conversation. If you need their number, ask them in the chat.

Why is a customer's photo missing?

WhatsApp and Telegram customers never have a photo here. On Messenger and Instagram, the photo is the one Meta gave us when the customer first wrote. Meta's photo links stop working after a while, so on a computer that hasn't shown that photo before, an older conversation can show the grey person shape instead.

Fix: nothing is wrong, and nothing else in the conversation is affected.

Reading and replying to a thread

1. Click a conversation to open it. On a phone this replaces the list; use All conversations to go back.
2. The thread shows every message, oldest to newest, with the assistant's answers labelled AI and any manual reply labelled by who sent it (You (dashboard), or a reply sent from Meta Business Suite or the WhatsApp Business App, when we can tell). Scroll to the top to load earlier messages. Anything the customer attached — a photo or file — appears under their message.
3. If your assistant cited your knowledge base in an answer, a small ⓘ icon appears next to the AI label. Hover over it, or tap it on a phone, to see which documents the answer came from. Only your team sees these here — what visitors see is set by Show sources under each answer (see Assistant setup).
4. To reply, type in the box at the bottom and click Send (or press Enter, on a real keyboard). Saved replies you've set up appear as buttons above the box — tap one to drop it in, still editable before you send.

Seeing which message a customer replied to

On WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram and Telegram a customer can reply to one particular message ("how much is this one?"). The Inbox shows that message in a small box above their reply, with who wrote it: AI, You, or Customer. Tap the box to jump to the original message. Your assistant sees the quoted message too, so it knows what "this one" means.

Replies to messages from before October 2026 show "Replying to an earlier message" instead (see below).

Replying to a specific message

To answer one particular message, the way you would in WhatsApp:

• On a phone: swipe the message to the right (to the left in Arabic), or press and hold it.
• On a computer: hover over the message and click the Reply arrow.

The message appears above the reply box. Type your answer and send. The customer sees your reply quoting their message in their own app, and the Inbox shows the quote too. Tap ✕ to cancel. You can only do this while the conversation's reply window is open (see Reply windows by channel).

"Replying to an earlier message"

The customer replied to a message we don't have — usually one sent before the channel was connected to Agentech, or before this feature existed. Their reply is complete; we just can't show what they quoted. Fix: nothing to fix. If it's unclear what they mean, ask them.

My quoted reply arrived on WhatsApp without the quote

WhatsApp leaves the quote off when the message you replied to is more than 30 days old or was deleted. Your reply still arrives in full. Instagram replies to a customer's story also show without a quote.

Taking over from the assistant

Sending a manual reply automatically puts the conversation into Human mode (unless you've turned the AI off in that conversation — then nothing changes, see below) — your assistant stops answering this customer so it doesn't talk over you. You can also switch modes without typing anything, using the button in the thread header:

• Take over — switch to Human mode right away, before you've written a reply.
• Hand back to AI — end Human mode immediately and let the assistant answer again.

While a conversation is in Human mode, the tag reads Human mode until [time] — an absolute clock time, not a countdown. That time is 5 minutes after your last reply or the last time you took over: long enough that stepping away after one reply doesn't strand the customer, short enough that a conversation you forgot about doesn't sit assistant-less for long.

When the 5 minutes pass with no further reply from you, the assistant takes the conversation back automatically. If the customer's last message was never actually answered, the assistant answers it at that point, exactly as it would have if the conversation had never been taken over — Human mode is a grace period for you to step in, not a way to permanently silence the assistant on a conversation you've moved on from. The one exception is a message more than 6 hours old: the assistant doesn't answer that one late, and replies to the customer's next message instead.

Turning the AI off for one conversation

Take over is a pause that ends by itself after 5 minutes; AI off is a switch that stays off until you turn it back on.

Use it when you want to handle one customer yourself — a big order you're negotiating, a complaint that needs your own words, a regular who should never get an automatic answer. Every other conversation keeps being answered as usual.

1. Open the conversation. At the top right of the thread, opposite the customer's name, is a switch reading AI on.
2. Tap it. You're asked once: "Turn the AI off for this chat? You answer this conversation yourself from now on. The AI stops replying here and stays off until you turn it back on — it keeps answering all your other chats."
3. Press Turn AI off. The switch now reads AI off, the row in the list shows a grey AI off tag, and under the switch it says "The AI won't answer this customer until you turn it back on."

The switch works the same on a phone and on a computer, and on every channel — WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram and your website widget.

What the customer experiences while it's off

Nothing is sent to them automatically — no AI reply, and no "someone will be with you shortly" message either. Their messages still arrive in your Inbox as usual, and you answer them yourself from the thread (or, on WhatsApp, from your WhatsApp Business App). Your replies are delivered normally. Replying does not start Human mode or a countdown: the conversation simply stays AI off.

The Take over / Hand back to AI button is hidden while the AI is off — there's nothing to take over from.

Turning the AI off also ends a takeover that was running in that conversation, so the AI doesn't come back when those 5 minutes would have run out.

A campaign you send still reaches a customer whose conversation has the AI off — you chose that audience. Only automatic replies stop.

"Needs you" on a conversation with the AI off

A conversation with the AI off can go quiet without anyone noticing. So if the customer's message is the last one in the thread and they've been waiting more than 4 hours, the conversation shows Needs you in the list — the same tag the assistant uses when it asks for a person.

Fix: reply to the customer; that clears it.

Turning it back on

Tap the switch again — no question asked. It reads AI on and the AI answers this customer's next message as usual. Messages that arrived while it was off are not answered after the fact.

"Why is my customer not getting replies?"

Check the conversation's row in the Inbox. If it shows a grey AI off tag, the AI was turned off in that conversation — by you or a teammate — and is doing exactly what it was asked.

Fix: open the conversation and tap the switch to AI on, or reply to the customer yourself.

If the row says AI on hold, that customer sent a lot in a short time and the AI is resting for up to 24 hours (see When a customer sends too much). If it says AI paused, replies are paused for the whole channel (below). Otherwise check your usage on the Usage page.

"Paused for all WhatsApp chats"

When replies are paused for a whole channel on the Channels page, the switch in each of that channel's conversations is greyed out and reads AI off, with the tag Paused for all [channel] chats and the line "The AI is paused for every [channel] chat, so this switch does nothing yet." No conversation on that channel is answered while it's paused, whatever its own switch says.

Fix: follow the link Turn the AI back on for [channel] to the Channels page and switch AI replies to messages back on there. Each conversation then goes back to its own switch — one you'd turned off stays off.

"The AI is off for this conversation. Turn it back on before taking over or handing back."

You pressed Take over or Hand back to AI in a tab that was opened before someone turned the AI off in that conversation.

Fix: reload the page. The conversation shows AI off; turn the AI back on first if you want to use Take over again.

When Meta's inbox is handling a conversation

On Messenger and Instagram, Meta lets only one inbox handle a conversation at a time. If Meta's own inbox (Meta Business Suite) has a conversation — because an automation there answers it (instant replies, automated responses, away messages and the like), or because someone on your team replies to that customer from Business Suite — Meta still passes the customer's messages to us, but the AI can't reply in that conversation. The messages appear in your Inbox as usual, and the AI stays quiet so the customer doesn't get two answers.

"This customer is being handled by Meta's inbox (Business Suite), so the AI stayed quiet."

This note appears under a customer message that arrived while Meta's inbox had the conversation. The AI didn't answer it, and won't answer it later. You can still read it and reply from the thread.

Fix: in Meta Business Suite, go to Inbox → Automations and turn off the automations that answer Messenger or Instagram messages, and stop replying to that customer from Business Suite. Once Meta's inbox lets go of the conversation, the customer's new messages reach the AI again.

"Meta's inbox is answering some of your Messenger customers"

The same headline appears with Instagram when it's about your Instagram account. This banner shows on every dashboard page when, today, the latest message on that channel came through Meta's inbox: "While Meta's inbox has a conversation, the AI can't reply in it. Turn off automations in Meta Business Suite → Inbox → Automations." How to turn them off opens this section. No customer is refused; the banner is a warning.

Fix: the same as above — turn off the automations in Inbox → Automations in Meta Business Suite. The banner clears by itself with the channel's next normal message, or at midnight (Cairo time).

A message from "Meta Business Suite" appears in my Inbox

That's a reply sent from Meta's inbox: either an automated reply from one of your Business Suite automations, or a teammate answering the customer in Business Suite. It shows in the thread like any other manual reply, labelled Meta Business Suite.

Fix: nothing, if you meant to send it. If you didn't, turn off the automation in Meta Business Suite → Inbox → Automations.

Why does the AI wait a few seconds before replying?

Customers often send one question as several quick messages — "hi", "do you have", "the red one in M?". On WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Telegram the AI waits until the customer has stopped typing for about 8 seconds, then answers everything they sent in one reply. Each message still shows separately in the thread, and it shows there the moment it arrives — only the AI's reply waits.

If you switch AI replies to messages off on Channels, switch the AI off for the customer or take over during those seconds, the AI doesn't send that reply.

If the customer sends another message while the AI is writing, that message gets its own reply a few seconds later, and the AI can see what it already said.

Messages answered together count as one message from your allowance. Your website chat isn't affected: there the AI answers each message as it arrives.

When the assistant asks for you ("Needs you")

Your assistant hands a conversation to you when the customer explicitly asks for a person, when it's a complaint or refund or anything needing human judgment, or when nothing in your knowledge base answers the question and there's nothing similar to offer instead. The conversation gets the Needs you tag, and you're notified the ways you ticked under Alerts in Settings (your devices, Telegram, email).

Replying or clicking Take over clears Needs you: either one is you taking responsibility for the conversation, which is what the tag was asking for.

When a customer sends a photo or voice note

On WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram and Telegram, your assistant reads a customer's photo or listens to their voice note and answers it like a text, on every package. Each one it reads counts 5 of your social media messages (see Usage). Whatever they sent always appears under their message in the thread, whether it was read or not.

Each channel on Channels has two switches, AI reads photos and AI listens to voice notes, both on to start with. Switch one off and that kind of attachment isn't opened or charged on that channel; text is still answered as usual.

A customer can send up to 3 attachments in one message. A voice note longer than 3 minutes isn't listened to (see below), and a customer who sends a lot in a short time is put on hold — see When a customer sends too much.

When your assistant can't open what a customer sent, it never leaves them in silence: it replies once, and if they send another it can't open, it hands the conversation to you (Needs you) with a line telling the customer a person will be with them. A text written with the photo is still answered. Nothing is charged for an attachment it didn't read.

"Sorry, I can't open attachments yet. Could you describe it, or tell me the name of what you're asking about?"

This is what the customer hears — one reply for every reason it couldn't read what they sent:

• AI reads photos or AI listens to voice notes is switched off on that channel (the Inbox says so under the photo or voice note — see below);
• the file is too large, or it's a video.

The second time it happens in a row, the customer hears "I still can't see what you've sent — let me get a member of our team to take a look. They'll be with you shortly." and the conversation comes to you as Needs you.

Both replies go out in the customer's language — the language the assistant last answered them in — so a customer who writes in Arabic gets them in Arabic. A customer whose first message is a photo, before they've written anything, gets them in English.

Fix: if the Inbox shows a note under the attachment, switch that channel's switch back on in Channels. Otherwise, reply to the customer yourself from the thread.

"The AI didn't open this photo: photo reading is paused on this channel."

Shown under a customer's photo when AI reads photos is off on that channel; for a voice note it reads "The AI didn't listen to this voice note: voice note reading is paused on this channel." (when AI listens to voice notes is off). The customer got the reply above, and nothing was charged for the attachment. Text they wrote with it was answered as usual. Fix: nothing is wrong. To have the assistant read them again, go to Channels and switch AI reads photos or AI listens to voice notes back on for that channel. It applies to what customers send from then on, not to attachments already received.

When a customer sends too much ("AI on hold")

One customer can't run through your messages on their own. The same limits apply to every package and every channel, and they never stop the AI for anyone else:

While a customer is on hold:

• they get one message, in their language: "Thanks for your messages. A member of our team will continue with you here.";
• you're told the ways you ticked under Alerts in Settings (your devices, Telegram, email), and the conversation shows Needs you;
• their messages keep arriving in your Inbox, and you can reply to them as usual; photos and voice notes they send during the hold aren't kept, so ask them to send again if you need one;
• the AI doesn't answer them, and nothing is charged;
• you aren't sent a separate notice for each message they send while it lasts.

The hold ends by itself 24 hours after it started. The AI then answers their next message; messages sent during the hold aren't answered after the fact. Every other customer is answered as usual throughout.

"AI on hold for this customer."

Shown at the top of the conversation, with the reason — "They sent more than 20 messages in an hour.", "They sent more than 10 voice notes in 24 hours." or "They sent more than 20 photos in 24 hours." — and when the AI answers them again. The row in the list shows an amber AI on hold tag, and the AI switch reads off. Fix: nothing is wrong. If the customer is genuine, press Turn AI back on (or tap the switch) and the AI answers their next message. Otherwise reply yourself, or leave it: it ends by itself after 24 hours. Needs you stays until you reply, like any conversation handed to you.

"Thanks for your messages. A member of our team will continue with you here."

This is what the customer hears when they're put on hold. It's sent once per hold, never charged. Fix: reply to them from the thread when you can.

"Your voice note is longer than 3 minutes, so I couldn't listen to it. Could you send a shorter one, or type your question?"

What the customer hears when they send only a voice note over 3 minutes. If they typed something with it, the AI answers that and asks for a shorter voice note in the same reply. Under the voice note, the Inbox says "Not listened to: longer than 3 minutes." You can still play it yourself. Nothing is charged for it. Two of these in a row hand the conversation to you (Needs you), like any attachment the AI can't open. Fix: nothing to do; listen to it yourself if you'd like to answer it.

Leads captured from a conversation

When your assistant collects a customer's contact details partway through a conversation, that doesn't show inside the thread as a special panel — it's saved to the Leads page, with a View conversation link back to this exact thread. See Leads for how capture works and how to change what's asked.

Reply windows by channel

WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram only let a business send a free-form reply within 24 hours of the customer's last message — that's a platform rule from Meta, not ours, and taking a conversation over does not reopen it; only a new message from the customer does. Telegram and the website widget have no such window — you can always reply there.

While the window is open and closing soon, the thread shows Closes in [time]. Once it closes, the row shows Window closed and the composer is replaced with: "This customer's 24h reply window is closed. They need to message again before you can reply." On Messenger and Instagram there's nothing to do but wait for the customer to write again. On WhatsApp you can still send an approved template — see below.

Messaging a customer after 24 hours

On a WhatsApp conversation whose window has closed, press Send a template under the note.

1. Pick one of your approved templates. Only templates Meta approved for this conversation's number are listed; if there are none, create one on Templates first. Next to each one is what it uses: "Uses 1 Campaign message" (utility or authentication) or "Uses 5 Campaign messages" (marketing).
2. Fill in its blanks (the customer's name, an order number, …). If the template has a picture, video or file at the top, choose one.
3. Check the preview and press Send.

The template appears in the conversation, and the conversation switches to Human mode like any reply you send, so the AI doesn't answer the customer's response to your message. The window stays closed until the customer writes back — sending a template doesn't open it. Once they reply, you can type freely again.

"WhatsApp is limiting marketing messages to this customer right now. Try again tomorrow or use a utility template."

Meta caps how many marketing messages one person receives from businesses in a day. Fix: wait until tomorrow, or send a utility template (an order update, a reminder) if one fits.

"This template isn't approved for this WhatsApp number. Pick an approved template."

The template was paused, rejected or removed by Meta after the list loaded, or it belongs to another number's WhatsApp account. Fix: close the dialog, open it again and pick another template. See WhatsApp templates.

"This template needs a picture in its header. Choose one to send it."

The same appears for a video or a file. Fix: choose the file under the template's blanks, then press Send.

"Your Campaign messages are used up for this month. Top up to send this template."

A template sent from here uses your Campaign messages, and they're used up (a marketing template needs 5 left, a utility or authentication template 1). Fix: press Top up, or pick a utility template if one fits and you have at least 1 left.

"Templates sent from the Inbox use Campaign messages, and your plan doesn't have them. Contact us to add them."

Fix: email us, or press Request access on Usage next to Campaign messages, to add them to your plan. Replying from the WhatsApp Business App on your phone doesn't need them.

"WhatsApp didn't send this template: …"

Meta refused the message; its own reason follows the colon. Nothing was counted from your messages. Fix: follow Meta's reason if it names one, or try again in a few minutes. If it keeps happening, email us with the reason.

"If this number is on your WhatsApp Business App, replying from the app is free."

This line sits above the reply box on an open WhatsApp conversation. From 1 October 2026 Meta gives each WhatsApp number 1,000 free replies a month, then charges your WhatsApp Business account for each reply after that, at its utility rate. The 1,000 are shared by the replies you send from this dashboard and the AI's replies. Replies you type in the WhatsApp Business App on your phone never count and are never charged by Meta.

Fix: nothing is wrong. If you want to answer a customer yourself and your number is on the WhatsApp Business App, reply from the app to save your free replies for the AI. If your number isn't on the app, replying here is the only way, and this doesn't apply.

"Reply to this customer from your WhatsApp Business App."

This appears in place of the composer on a WhatsApp conversation when your workspace has no package that covers WhatsApp at all: no social media messages and no Campaign messages. Your number still lives in your own WhatsApp Business App, so that's where you reply from — the assistant keeps answering there as usual, this dashboard just can't send on your behalf yet.

Which allowance a reply from here uses

A reply you type here on WhatsApp uses one of your social media messages, the same as a reply on any other channel, and nothing else: never your Campaign messages or API messages. Only a template you send to reopen a closed chat uses Campaign messages (above). Replies you type in the WhatsApp Business App on your phone use nothing.

Before you even try to send, a banner up top warns you when your social media messages or Campaign messages are running low, used up, or ending soon — see Usage and plans.

"No social media messages left. Top up to keep replying here. Heads-up: replying from the WhatsApp Business App on your phone doesn't use any."

Your social media messages are used up this month. Fix: a top-up (it doesn't expire), or reply from the WhatsApp Business App until your messages refill on your plan's monthly date.

"Replies from here use social media messages, and your plan doesn't include them. Contact us to add them. Heads-up: replying from the WhatsApp Business App on your phone doesn't use any."

Your workspace has no package with social media messages (for example it only has Campaign messages), so replies can't be sent from here. Fix: contact us to add a package, or reply from the WhatsApp Business App.

When to email us

For anything not covered here, see When to email us. Email us too if customers' photos stopped being read while AI reads photos was on and you had messages left — include the customer's channel and roughly when they sent it — or if the AI answered a customer in a conversation that showed AI off, with the conversation's channel and the time of the reply.