Relay

Docs navigation

Inbox

The Inbox is where your team reads and answers WhatsApp messages. Every customer who writes to one of your WhatsApp numbers gets a conversation, and the whole team works from the same list. You can assign conversations, leave internal notes for each other, send templates and quick replies, and let the AI assistant help.

When to use it

Use the Inbox for day-to-day customer conversations: answering questions, following up, and handing conversations between teammates. For one message to many people, use Campaigns instead.

The Inbox with the conversation list on the left, showing the search box, filter chips and conversation rows, and an open conversation on the right.The Inbox with the conversation list on the left, showing the search box, filter chips and conversation rows, and an open conversation on the right.
Search (1), the status filter chips (2) and Search messages (3) sit above the conversation list.

Who can do what

  • Agents, admins and owners Agent+ can reply, write notes, send templates, add and remove tags, and assign conversations.
  • Viewers can browse every conversation but can't reply. Their composer reads "Read-only — viewers can browse but not reply".

The conversation list

Search and filter

  • Search conversations... finds conversations by contact name, phone number or message text.
  • The filter chips narrow the list: All, Unread, Open, Pending, Closed and Snoozed.
  • Tags, Company (All companies) and Assignee (All assignees, Assigned to me, Unassigned) filter further. Click Clear all to reset them.
  • An unread conversation shows a badge with its number of unread messages.

Search inside messages

For a closer look at matches, click Search messages. It searches every conversation and message, plus contact names and phone numbers, and shows each match with the matching text highlighted. Click a result to open that conversation.

Several WhatsApp numbers

If your workspace has more than one WhatsApp number:

  • each conversation row has a coloured edge showing which number it's on;
  • the All numbers menu filters the list to one number.

The number filter only changes what you see. A reply always goes out on the number the customer wrote to, whatever the filter says.

Work a conversation

Click a conversation to open it. The thread header holds the controls for managing it.

An open conversation with the thread header showing the 24-hour timer, the Status control and the Assign control.An open conversation with the thread header showing the 24-hour timer, the Status control and the Assign control.
The thread header shows the 24-hour timer (1), Status (2) and Assign (3).

Status: Open, Pending, Closed

Use Status to show where a conversation stands, so the team knows what needs attention:

  • Open: it needs a reply or some work from your team.
  • Pending: you're waiting on something, such as the customer, a colleague or a delivery.
  • Closed: it's done.

Status is a label for your team: it doesn't stop you or the customer from sending messages. Use the chips at the top of the list to see one status at a time. Automations can also close a conversation.

Assign a teammate

Click Assign and choose a teammate. You appear in the list as "(me)". Choose Unassign to put the conversation back in the unassigned queue.

The person you assign gets a notification, unless they assigned it to themselves.

Snooze a conversation

Snoozing hides a conversation from the active list until a time you choose. It's useful for "get back to this tomorrow".

  1. Hover over the conversation in the list and click the snooze (clock) icon.
  2. Choose a time:
    • Later today: three hours from now.
    • Tomorrow: 09:00 tomorrow.
    • Next week: 09:00 next Monday.
    • Pick a date & time… for any other time.

The conversation moves to the Snoozed filter, and returns to the active inbox at the chosen time. If the customer writes before then, it comes back straight away. To bring it back early, open the snooze menu and choose Unsnooze now.

Snoozing applies to the whole team, not just you.

The 24-hour customer-service window

WhatsApp only lets businesses send free-form messages to customers who have written recently. This rule is called the customer-service window.

  • The window lasts 24 hours from the last message the customer sent in that conversation.
  • Inside the window you can send anything: text, photos, videos, documents, voice notes and interactive messages.
  • After 24 hours, or if the customer has never written, you can only send an approved template. The composer is disabled and reads "Session expired - use a template", with a Templates button next to it.
  • When the customer replies, a new 24-hour window starts.
  • The window belongs to one contact on one number. If you message the same person from a different WhatsApp number, that's a separate conversation with its own window.
  • Internal notes are exempt. They never go to WhatsApp, so you can always write them.

The thread header shows how much time is left: "{hours}h remaining", then "{minutes}m remaining" in the last hour, then Expired. It shows No customer messages if the customer has never written.

A conversation whose 24-hour window has expired, with the composer disabled and a Templates button offered.A conversation whose 24-hour window has expired, with the composer disabled and a Templates button offered.
Once the window has expired, the composer is disabled. Use Templates (1) to send an approved template.

Reply to a customer

  1. Make sure Reply is selected above the composer.

    Below it you'll see "Replying from {number}", which is the number the message will go out on.

  2. Type your message. Enter sends; Shift+Enter starts a new line.

  3. To add a file, click Attach media and choose one:

    • Photo: up to 5 MB.
    • Video: up to 16 MB.
    • Document: up to 16 MB.
    • Voice note: record from your microphone, up to 5 minutes, then click Stop and attach.

    You can add a caption of up to 1,024 characters to a photo, video or document.

  4. Click Send.

The Inbox composer showing the Reply and Note toggle, the Replying from line, the attach, template, and AI draft buttons.The Inbox composer showing the Reply and Note toggle, the Replying from line, the attach, template, and AI draft buttons.
The Reply / Note toggle (1), Attach media (2), Send template (3) and Draft a reply with AI (4).

Media counts as a free-form message, so you can only send it inside the 24-hour window.

Message actions

Hover over a message (or long-press it on a phone) to:

  • Reply: quote that message in your reply.
  • Copy text: copy the message text.
  • React: add an emoji reaction. Choose the same emoji again to remove it.

Message badges

  • AI: sent automatically by the AI assistant.
  • Phone: sent from the WhatsApp Business App. You'll see this on numbers that are also live on the business owner's phone.

Internal notes

Notes let your team talk about a conversation without the customer seeing anything.

  1. Switch the composer to Note.
  2. Type your note. To bring a teammate in, type @ and their name. They get a mention notification.
  3. Press Enter to save it.

Notes appear in the conversation as dashed, amber cards marked Internal note · Only your team can see this.

  • Notes are never sent to WhatsApp, so you can add them even after the 24-hour window has expired.
  • You can edit or delete your own notes. Edited notes are marked "edited".
The composer switched to Note mode, with the Reply and Note toggle highlighted.The composer switched to Note mode, with the Reply and Note toggle highlighted.
Note mode (1). Anything you send here stays inside Relay and never reaches the customer.

Quick replies and interactive messages

Open the More menu in the composer:

  • Quick replies: pick a saved snippet. A text quick reply fills the composer so you can edit it before sending. An interactive quick reply opens the interactive builder, already filled in.
  • Interactive message: build a message with reply buttons or a list. In the builder, Save as quick reply keeps the message for next time.

Quick replies are created and managed in Settings → Quick replies.

Send a template

Use a template to start a conversation, or to reach a customer outside the 24-hour window.

  1. Click the Send template button in the composer, or Templates when the window has expired.
  2. Pick a template. Only approved templates are listed. If you have several lines, use the All lines filter to narrow the list.
  3. Fill in every placeholder: header, body and any link suffix. Meta requires every variable to be set.
  4. Check the Preview.
  5. If you have more than one number, choose Send from.
  6. Click Send template.
The Send template dialog listing approved templates.The Send template dialog listing approved templates.
The template picker lists approved templates only.

If the picker shows No approved templates, approve one in Meta WhatsApp Manager, then sync it from Settings → Templates. See Message templates.

AI in the Inbox

Draft a reply Starter+

Click the sparkle button, Draft a reply with AI. The assistant writes a reply into the composer for you to edit and send. It never sends by itself.

  • It needs at least one message from the customer. Otherwise you'll see "No messages to draft from yet."
  • Each draft uses one AI credit.

See AI assistant for setup.

The auto-reply banner Business

When the auto-reply bot is on, a banner at the top of the conversation shows what it's doing:

  • AI assistant is replying automatically, with Take over. Take over pauses the bot in this conversation and assigns the conversation to you.
  • AI assistant is paused here, with the handoff note and Resume AI, which lets the bot reply again.

The banner only appears once the auto-reply bot is turned on for your workspace. See AI assistant for setup.

Replying pauses flows

When you send a message to a contact, any active flow run for that contact stops, with the status "paused by agent". This keeps a chatbot flow from talking over you.

Working together

Relay shows when teammates are in the same conversation:

  • "{name} is viewing" in the thread header;
  • "{name} is typing…" above the composer;
  • "Heads up — {name} is also replying to this conversation." when you start typing while someone else is. It's only a warning: you can still send.

The contact panel

The panel on the right shows the customer's details. Click Show contact panel or Hide contact panel in the thread header to toggle it.

  • Contact info: name, phone, email and company.
  • Tags: click Add tag to add one, or the × on a tag to remove it.
  • Deals: this contact's deals from Pipelines.
  • Notes: notes about the contact.
The contact panel beside a conversation showing Contact info, Tags, Deals and Notes.The contact panel beside a conversation showing Contact info, Tags, Deals and Notes.
The contact panel shows the customer's details, tags, deals and notes.

On your phone

On a small screen, the conversation list and the conversation are separate screens. Tap a conversation to open it. Tap Back to conversations to return to the list.

The Inbox conversation list on a phone-sized screen.The Inbox conversation list on a phone-sized screen.
On a phone, the list fills the screen.
An open conversation on a phone-sized screen, with the back button at the top left.An open conversation on a phone-sized screen, with the back button at the top left.
An open conversation on a phone. Back to conversations (1) returns to the list.

Troubleshooting

"WhatsApp® is not connected. Go to Settings to connect your account." No WhatsApp number is connected. See Connect WhatsApp.

The composer is disabled and says "Session expired - use a template". More than 24 hours have passed since the customer's last message, or they've never written. Send an approved template. When they reply, the window opens again.

The composer says "Read-only — viewers can browse but not reply". Your role is Viewer. Ask an owner or admin to change your role. See Members and roles.

The template picker is empty. Only approved templates appear. A template also has to belong to the line you're sending from. See Message templates.

"File is … MB — … limit is … MB." The file is over the limit: 5 MB for photos, 16 MB for video, documents and voice notes. Compress it, or send a link instead.

A message shows a red failed icon. WhatsApp didn't accept it. The most common cause is sending a free-form message after the 24-hour window has closed.