Using the unified inbox & connecting channels

Manage all your customer messages from a single, unified queue—SMS, email, web chat, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—all in one place.

How it works

All your incoming customer messages from different channels appear in your Unified Inbox. You can see them all in one list, reply to any message, assign conversations to team members, snooze them for later, and add internal notes. To start receiving messages, you first need to connect at least one channel in Settings → Channels.

Connect SMS (Twilio)

1. Go to Settings → Channels.
2. Scroll to Connect SMS (Twilio) and fill in:
   • Display name — e.g., "Main line"
   • From number — your Twilio number in E.164 format (e.g., +14155550123)
   • Twilio Account SID — from your Twilio console
   • Twilio Auth Token — from your Twilio console (encrypted at rest, never shown again)
3. Click Connect SMS.
4. Copy the webhook URL from the confirmation and paste it into your Twilio number's inbound webhook settings.

Connect Email (SES/SMTP)

1. Go to Settings → Channels.
2. Scroll to Connect Email (SES / SMTP) and fill in:
   • Display name — e.g., "Support inbox"
   • From address — the email your replies will come from
   • SMTP host, port, username — your SMTP provider's details (e.g., AWS SES, Gmail)
   • SMTP password — encrypted at rest
   • Inbound address (optional) — if different from the From address
3. Click Connect Email.
4. Subscribe an SNS HTTP endpoint to the webhook URL shown, then add an AWS SES receipt rule to publish inbound mail to that SNS topic.

Connect Web Chat

1. Go to Settings → Channels.
2. Scroll to Connect Web Chat and optionally customize:
   • Display name — e.g., "Web Chat"
   • Brand color — matches your site
   • Welcome message — e.g., "Hi! How can we help?"
3. Click Enable Web Chat — no API keys needed.
4. Copy the embed snippet and paste it into your website's HTML.

Visitors can now chat with you from your site, and their messages land in your inbox.

Connect Facebook Messenger

1. Go to Settings → Channels.
2. Scroll to Connect Facebook Messenger and click the Connect Facebook button.
3. You'll be redirected to Facebook to grant access. Select the Page you want to connect.
4. Done. Messenger conversations will appear in your inbox.

Note: Replies must be sent within Meta's 24-hour messaging window.

Connect Instagram DM

1. Go to Settings → Channels.
2. Scroll to Connect Instagram DM and click the Connect Instagram button.
3. Grant access via Facebook. Your Instagram Business account (linked to that Facebook Page) will be detected automatically.
4. Done. Instagram DMs will appear in your inbox.

Note: Requires a Business account linked to a Facebook Page and Meta's app-level webhook configuration.

Connect WhatsApp Business

1. Go to Settings → Channels.
2. Scroll to Connect WhatsApp Business and click the Connect WhatsApp button.
3. Grant access via Meta. Your WhatsApp Business Account and phone number will be detected automatically.
4. Done. WhatsApp chats will appear in your inbox.

Note: Replies are subject to WhatsApp's 24-hour customer-service window. Outside it, use pre-approved message templates.

Inbox actions

Once messages arrive, open your Unified Inbox to manage them:

• Reply — type a response in the text box. It's sent through the same channel the customer used.
• Assign — pick a team member from the dropdown to assign the conversation to them.
• Snooze — hide the conversation until a specific date/time, optionally with a reason.
• Internal note — add a note that only your team sees; it's never sent to the customer.
• Close — mark the conversation done; you can reopen it later.
• Mark as read — clear the unread badge.

Tips

• Filter by channel, status, or assignee — use the left rail to narrow down your inbox.
• Search — use the search box to find messages by customer name or keywords.
• Location managers — can only see conversations from their locations.
• Credentials are secure — API tokens (Twilio Auth Token, SMTP password) are encrypted at rest and never shown again after connect.
• OAuth is safe — Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp use secure OAuth; you grant permission in your Meta app's dashboard.