Answer your chats

All your customer chats are in one place: Chats. It fills the whole screen. The list of chats is on the left. The open chat is on the right. On a phone, you see one at a time, and an arrow takes you back to the list.

Find a chat

• Use the tabs All, Open, Pending and Resolved to filter by status.
• Pick All channels, WhatsApp, SMS, Email or Website chat in the first drop-down. The list opens on WhatsApp.
• If you have more than one WhatsApp number (or SMS phone), use the second drop-down to see one number only, or all of them.
• Type in Search conversations... to look for a name or a word from the last message.
• On WhatsApp you also have a Groups tab next to Chats. Click a group to open its chat.

Each chat in the list shows the customer’s name, the last message, how long ago it was, and an unread count.

Start a new chat

Click New Chat. Choose WhatsApp or SMS. Then type a phone number (with the country code) and a name, or pick a person from your contacts.

Reply to a customer

1. Click a chat in the list.
2. Type your answer in the box at the bottom. It says “Reply to” and the customer’s name.
3. Press Enter, or click the send button.

To answer one particular message, hover over it and click the arrow to reply to it. You can also react to a message with a heart, a thumbs up or a laugh. You can edit a message you sent within 20 minutes, or delete it for everyone.

Use the { } button (Insert variable) to add the customer’s name, email or phone. WaSMS fills in the real value when you send.

Send a file or a voice note

Click the paperclip, then choose Image, Video or Document. You can also drag a file onto the chat. The microphone button records a voice note. Files and voice notes are not available in SMS chats. Under a file a customer sent you, the Request re-send button politely asks them to send it again, for example if it would not open.

Quick replies (saved answers)

A quick reply is an answer you save once and use many times. To create one, open Quick Replies:

1. Type a Title, for example “Greet customer”.
2. Write the Content.
3. Choose the channels it is for: WhatsApp, SMS or Email.
4. Click Save quick reply.

The Shortcut box is optional. To use a saved answer in a chat, type / in the reply box. A list opens. Type a few letters of the title to narrow it down, use the arrow keys, and press Enter to insert it. Check the text, then send. To remove a saved answer, click the bin icon next to it on the Quick Replies page.

Notes, closing and reopening

• Click the three dots at the top of a chat and choose Add Whisper (note) to write a note that only your team sees. It is not sent to the customer.
• Click Close without reply to mark a chat as resolved without answering. A resolved chat shows Reopen chat instead.

What a team member sees

Team members use the same page. If the owner hid a WhatsApp number from a team member, that number’s chats do not appear for them. To add people, see inviting team members.

If you see “Conversations aren’t in your plan”, your plan does not include this page. See how to upgrade your plan.