Replying on each channel: chats, comments, WhatsApp and email

Every answer you write in the inbox goes back on the same channel the customer used: a DM as a DM, a comment as a public reply under that comment, a WhatsApp chat on the same number, an email as an email in the same thread.

Before you start

You need the inbox task Reply (Owner, Admin, Editor, Reviewer and Agent have it by default). Without it the reply box is replaced by a note saying you can read but not reply.

Step by step: send a reply

1. Open the conversation in the inbox.
2. If nobody owns it yet, press Claim in the thread header so colleagues know you are on it (optional, but recommended).
3. Type in Write a reply… at the bottom.
4. Press Enter or the Send button. Shift+Enter starts a new line. On a phone or tablet the on-screen Return key starts a new line instead, and the message goes with Send (the ➤ button on a phone).
5. Watch the small mark under your message: a spinner while it is sending, then ✓✓ once it is sent (point at the mark to read Sending or Sent). If the platform did not take it, the line under the message says why in your language (for example Not delivered: this channel is disconnected. Reconnect it on Accounts, then press Retry. or Not delivered: the platform did not accept it. Press Retry, or check the channel on Accounts.) with a Retry button, and the box stays empty: fix the cause and press Retry on that message instead of sending again, which would only add a second copy. When the message itself was refused (it could never be sent as it is), the line says why, there is no Retry, and your text is put back in the box to change and send again. When Retry is not offered (the 24-hour window has closed since, the channel is disconnected or was removed), the line says what to do instead of "press Retry": for example Not delivered. More than 24 hours have now passed since this person last wrote, so WhatsApp only allows an approved template: press Send a template., Not delivered. More than 24 hours have now passed since this person last wrote, so Messenger accepts a reply only after their next message. Wait for it, then answer. (Instagram in an Instagram conversation), Not delivered: this channel is disconnected. Reconnect it on Accounts, then write the reply again. (under a template: Not delivered: this channel is disconnected. Reconnect it on Accounts, then press Retry to send the template again.) or Not delivered: this conversation's channel was removed, so the message cannot be sent again from here. On Telegram, Not delivered: this person blocked your bot or deleted their Telegram account. Nothing reaches them there until they write to you again. has no Retry: the channel itself is fine, and sending again would be refused the same way. The person is also marked as having stopped messages on Telegram, under Consent on their contact. Until they write to you again, a red note above the box says This person blocked your bot or deleted their Telegram account, so a reply cannot reach them. It reaches them again once they write to you. You can still add an internal note. (on a phone: They blocked your bot: replies cannot reach them); with Internal note off the box reads Replies cannot reach this person until they write to you again and Send stays grey, and no earlier failed message offers Retry either: they say Not delivered. This person has since blocked your bot, so nothing reaches them there until they write to you again. As soon as they write, the note goes and you can reply as usual.

The reply box, button by button

• 📎 Attach files: pictures (JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, HEIC), audio, MP4, MOV or WebM videos, and PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, text, CSV or ZIP files, up to 25 MB each. You can also drag files onto the thread or paste them. A file of another type is not added: you see the file name followed by cannot be attached: this type of file is not supported. (for example setup.exe cannot be attached: this type of file is not supported.) with the list of types. Each file uploads first. When the upload did not get through (the connection, or a server error) the file shows the reason in red with Retry; when the file itself was refused (its type or its size) it shows the reason and can only be removed with Remove attachment (×). You cannot send until every file is uploaded or removed.
• / Saved replies (/): insert a saved answer. Typing / at the start of an empty box opens the same list. See Saved replies.
• 🎤 Voice note: tap once to start and tap ■ Stop to finish, or press and hold and release to finish. Discard throws the recording away. The recording is attached like a file.
• ✨ AI suggest a reply: writes a draft into the box for you to edit.
• Internal note switch (under the box): turns the box amber and the button into Add note. A note is never sent to the customer. See Internal notes.
• The hint line reads Enter to send · Shift+Enter for a new line · / for saved replies (on a tablet: Return for a new line · Send to send · / for saved replies).
• Length: a reply or a note can be up to 4,000 characters. From 3,000 characters a counter under the box shows, for example, 3,250 / 4,000 characters. Over the limit (a long saved reply or AI suggestion) it turns red and reads Too long to send: [n] of 4,000 characters. Shorten it or split it into two messages., and Send stays grey until it is shorter. Instagram and Messenger take less: a direct message on Instagram can be up to 1,000 characters and one on Messenger up to 2,000. The counter shows from three quarters of that (750 / 1,000 characters on Instagram, 1,500 / 2,000 characters on Messenger); over it reads Too long for Instagram: [n] of 1,000 characters. Shorten it or split it into two messages. (Messenger and 2,000 on Messenger) and Send stays grey. An Internal note in those conversations keeps the 4,000 limit.
• Unsent text is kept: what you typed in a conversation stays in its box when you open another conversation or another page, and is there again when you come back to the inbox in the same browser tab. Closing the tab (or the browser) clears it.

Comments: one thread per person

• Each commenter gets their own conversation. When two people comment under the same post, or somebody replies under another person's comment, they are separate conversations, so your answer is published under the right person's comment.
• Replies to comments are text only: the 📎 button is disabled with Comment replies are text only on this platform. and there is no voice note.
• Attachments customers send (photos, voice notes, files) are copied into OmniBrand when the message arrives. If the platform or our storage does not answer at that moment, the message still arrives and the attachment shows its name with Attachment still downloading - it is tried again automatically.: OmniBrand tries again after about 1 minute, 5 minutes, 30 minutes, 2 hours and 6 hours, and the picture appears in the thread by itself when it comes through. If it still cannot be fetched (or the platform's link has expired) it shows Attachment unavailable with a Retry button: press Retry to try once more now. If that fails too you see Still unavailable. Try again later. - you can also ask the customer to send it again.
• Open the original post (in the thread and in Conversation details) opens the post on the platform.

WhatsApp: the 24-hour window

WhatsApp lets a business write freely for 24 hours after the customer's last message. After that only an approved template message may be sent.

• When more than 24 hours have passed, a yellow note appears above the reply box: More than 24 hours have passed since this person last wrote. WhatsApp only allows an approved template message now, or wait for their next message. with the button Send a template (see below). On a phone the note is one line, 24-hour window closed: send a template., beside Send a template; the full sentence is read out by screen readers and shows on a larger screen. The reply box opens as an Internal note (amber), so you can still leave a note for your team. If you switch Internal note off, the box reads Replies are closed until this person writes again and Send stays grey (point at it: A reply would be refused: the 24-hour reply window is closed. Write an internal note instead.). When the person writes again, the note goes away and the box switches back to a reply on its own (unless you switched Internal note on yourself), so check the switch before you press Enter.
• A message that failed for this reason has no Retry while the window is closed, because it would be refused again; the line under it says press Send a template instead. The window opens again as soon as the customer writes. A template that was not delivered keeps its Retry, also while the window is closed: it sends the same template, in the same language and with the same values, again.

Messenger and Instagram: the 24-hour window

Messenger (Facebook Page messages) and Instagram direct messages have the same rule: your Page or account can answer a person within 24 hours of their last message. There are no templates here, so after that you wait for them to write again.

• When more than 24 hours have passed, a yellow note appears above the reply box: More than 24 hours have passed since this person last wrote. Messenger only accepts a reply within 24 hours of their last message, so a reply now would be refused. Wait for their next message, then answer. (Instagram in an Instagram conversation.) On a phone the note is one line: 24-hour window closed: wait for their next message.
• The reply box opens as an Internal note (amber). With Internal note switched off it reads Replies are closed until this person writes again and Send stays grey (point at it: A reply would be refused: the 24-hour reply window is closed. Write an internal note instead.). When the person writes again, the note goes away and the box switches back to a reply on its own (unless you switched Internal note on yourself), so check the switch before you press Enter. A reply that Meta refuses for this reason shows as failed with Not delivered: more than 24 hours have passed since this person last wrote. Messenger only accepts a reply within 24 hours of their last message. Wait for their next message, then answer. The whole reason is shown under the message, and there is no Retry while the window is closed.
• The window opens again as soon as the person writes. Comment replies are not affected.

WhatsApp: send a template to this customer

1. Press the Send a template button in the yellow note. The panel Send a WhatsApp template opens.
2. Read the notes at the top (when this conversation's number is disconnected, a red note first says This WhatsApp number is disconnected, so a template would not be delivered. Reconnect it on Accounts, then send again. with the link Open Accounts for Owners and Admins, and Send template stays grey):

• Customer service window open until [time]., The 24-hour customer service window is closed. Only an approved template can reach this person now. or This person has not written to this number yet. Only an approved template can reach them.
• A green note when the customer came from an ad (see below): templates are free until the time it gives.
• Opted in to marketing, or No marketing opt-in: only Utility templates can be sent. A red This person replied STOP. No template can be sent until they write to you again. means no template can go at all.
• Marketing messages to this person: [today] today and [week] in the last 7 days (your limits: …) when they already received marketing messages. The limits are the ones under Settings → Messaging rules. When the person is over them the note adds that the inbox does not stop you, but broadcasts and bots hold marketing back for them: send a Marketing template only if they asked for it.

3. Find the template. The list shows the approved templates of this conversation's WhatsApp number (OmniBrand's copy, refreshed every 15 minutes; press Refresh from WhatsApp for a template approved a moment ago).

• Type in Search templates to search the name and the words of the message (Arabic or English).
• All, Marketing or Utility narrows the category; All languages lets you pick one language when the number has templates in several.
• Each card shows the name, the language, the category, the type when it is not a standard template (for example Limited-time offer, Coupon code, Carousel) and Quality: medium or Quality: low when Meta rates it poorly. Authentication templates are not listed: their one-time code comes from your own login system.

4. Click a template. It moves to the top with Change template (to go back to the list), and a line says what Meta charges for it now: Free: this customer came from your ad (free entry point window)., Free: a Utility template inside the customer service window., Meta charges this as a Marketing message. or Meta charges this as a Utility message (the service window is closed). A Utility template sent while the customer service window is open is free (Meta does not charge for it).
5. Check the values. Preview shows the phone exactly as the customer will see it, with every value filled in:

• Variables: one box per variable, for example {{1}} in the message, {{1}} in the header or {{1}} in the link of button 1. Each is already filled from this contact's details, as the template says (set when the template was made, under Variables in the template builder). The line under the box says where the value comes from: From the contact: First name (or the custom field or lead field it reads), Fixed value from the template, The contact has no value here, so the template's fallback is used, or No value for this contact. Type one to send. Type in a box to send your own value; Use the contact's value puts the contact's value back.
• Header image: link (or video / document): leave it empty to send the template's own picture, or paste an https link to send another one. A template without its own picture needs the link.
• Location in the header: Latitude and Longitude (for example 51.5072 and -0.1276), and Place name (optional) and Address (optional).
• Coupon code: filled with the template's example code; change it for this customer (up to 20 characters, 15 in a limited-time offer).
• Offer ends: a limited-time offer's end, filled with 24 hours from now in your device's time zone. The countdown in the message runs to it; a time in the past cannot be sent.
• A carousel whose cards have no picture of their own cannot be sent from the inbox: the panel says to send it from a WhatsApp broadcast.

6. If something would stop the template, a yellow line under the values says what (a link that does not start with https://, an offer that has ended, missing consent, or a value nobody filled in: Fill in {{1}} to send this template., which is left out when the box itself already says No value for this contact. Type one to send.) and Send template stays grey until it is fixed.
7. Press Send template. You see Template sent and the message appears in the thread with the values that went out, with the same spinner, then ✓✓. If the conversation was Unassigned, it is now assigned to you and moves to Mine, as when you reply. If WhatsApp does not take it, the panel shows Not sent with the reason in your language (for a disconnected number This WhatsApp number is disconnected. Reconnect it on Accounts, then send the template again. and, for Owners and Admins, the link Open Accounts), Send template stays grey and Cancel becomes Close: the template is already in the thread marked as not delivered, so a second press cannot send it twice. Once the cause is fixed, press Retry under that template in the thread (it sends the same template with the same values again), or open Send a template again to send another. WhatsApp's own error text is never shown. If the person has since replied STOP, or the template is no longer approved, Retry is refused with the reason and the failed template stays in the thread.

• A Marketing template is sent only when this contact shows Agreed for WhatsApp under Consent in Contacts (Consent and opt-out). For an update about an order or a booking, pick a Utility template.
• Nobody who opted out (STOP, unsubscribe, إيقاف and the other words in WhatsApp broadcasts) can be sent a template. If they write to you again, answer inside the 24-hour window without one; templates go to them again only after someone with the Manage contacts task records their new agreement with Record consent in Contacts.
• A template with a Stop promotions button works as in a broadcast: a tap marks the person Withdrew for WhatsApp marketing (Consent and opt-out).
• A Marketing template you send counts toward the person's limits under Messaging rules, like one from a broadcast.
• Up to 10 templates a minute can be sent from the inbox; if you see Too many attempts. Wait a moment and try again., wait a minute.
• This WhatsApp number has no approved templates yet. → an Owner, Admin or Editor creates one under WhatsApp → Templates → New template (Creating a WhatsApp template); Meta reviews it first. If it was approved in the last few minutes, press Refresh from WhatsApp.
• No template matches your search or filters. → clear Search templates or choose All and All languages.
• To send a template to many people at once, use WhatsApp broadcasts. A bot can send one too (Where the bot saves what customers tell it).

WhatsApp: customers who came from an ad

When a customer starts the chat by tapping an ad with a WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram button, a line under the thread header shows From ad: [headline] with the ad's picture, and Open the ad when Meta sent a link. Point at it to see the ad ID. The contact also gets the tag ad: plus a short form of the ad's headline (for example ad:spring-sale), so you can find everyone that ad brought in on the Contacts page or pick them as a broadcast audience.

On WhatsApp the same line shows the free window Meta gives for ad conversations. It is Meta's rule, and it applies when the customer wrote from the WhatsApp app on a phone:

• Reply before [time]: every message is then free for 72 hours → nobody has answered yet. Reply within 24 hours of the customer's first message.
• Free messaging until [time] → your first reply (or your bot's) opened the window. Every message you send until then is free, marketing templates included. If the 24-hour window has closed, the yellow note above the reply box adds This customer came from an ad: templates are free until [time]. and Send a WhatsApp template says the template is free.
• Free window ended [time] or Free window not opened → Meta's normal prices apply again.

The free window never changes what you may send: after 24 hours without a message from the customer you still need an approved template. See Which ads bring conversations for the report per ad.

Email: reply, reply all, forward

An email conversation shows each message as a letter. Details shows who it was sent To and Cc; pictures from the internet are hidden until you press Show pictures; earlier quoted mail is folded under Show quoted history.

1. Under an email, choose Reply (back to the sender only), Reply all (sender plus everyone already on it) or Forward (you choose the address; the original attachments are carried along and can be removed one by one). A letter that failed to send has none of these three: fix it and press Retry, or write it again.
2. Above the text box a one-line envelope says where the email is going: Reply to and the addresses, or Forward to for a forward. Click it to open To, Cc and Subject. Separate several addresses with commas; you can paste lines like Sara Ali <sara@example.com>. Forward opens the envelope on its own with the cursor in To, because a forward has nobody to go to yet.
3. Press Done to fold the envelope, write the text and press Send.
4. If To is empty you see Add someone to send this to. and the email is not sent. Click that line to open the envelope with the cursor in To.

Replies keep the thread (the subject is prefixed Re: once). Your own mailbox is never added as a recipient. Microsoft 365 and IMAP mailboxes send from the mailbox itself; a forwarding address sets Reply-To to OmniBrand's private address for that mailbox. Either way the customer's answer comes back into the same inbox thread.

A conversation whose channel was removed

When the account a conversation came in on is removed from the workspace (Accounts, Remove), its conversations are archived and nothing can be sent to those customers from them any more.

• Opening one shows a yellow note above the box: This conversation's channel was removed, so a reply cannot reach the customer. You can still add an internal note. followed by Reconnect it on Accounts (Owners and Admins; it opens Accounts) or, for everyone else, An Owner or Admin can reconnect it on the Accounts page.
• The box below is an Internal note only: there is no switch back to a reply. Without the inbox task Notes the note shows alone, with no box (This conversation's channel was removed, so a reply cannot reach the customer.).
• Emails in it have no Reply, Reply all or Forward, and failed messages have no Retry.
• To answer these customers again, connect the account again on Accounts (Connecting an account); their next message then arrives in a conversation you can reply to.

Starting a new email

1. Press New email (✉) at the top of the list. If you have no mailbox yet you see Connect a mailbox first - a new email goes out from one of yours. and a Connect a mailbox button that opens Channels.
2. Choose From (one of your connected mailboxes). A mailbox is listed by its name, with its address after it when the name is not already the address.
3. Fill To (Separate several addresses with a comma), optional Cc, Subject and Message. To and Cc take up to 20 addresses each, Subject up to 200 characters and Message up to 4,000 (from 3,000 a counter under the box shows, for example, 3,250 / 4,000 characters). A problem shows in red under its box, and Send stays grey until it is fixed: the address followed by does not look like an email address (for example sara@example does not look like an email address: a typo in To or Cc) or, with 23 addresses, Too many addresses (23): one email can go to at most 20 here.
4. Press Send. You see Email sent and the new conversation opens. If it cannot be sent you see Could not send with the reason in your language.

If something goes wrong

• The platform's reason, or Not delivered, under your message → the platform refused it (for example a WhatsApp window that closed, or a disconnected account). Fix the cause, then press Retry. (While a 24-hour window is closed there is no Retry: wait for the customer to write, or send a WhatsApp template.)
• A colleague has taken this conversation. It is no longer yours to answer. → someone else claimed it while you were writing. Talk to them or ask an admin to reassign it. A link to a conversation (from a notification, or /app/inbox?c=...) that was deleted, belongs to another workspace or is not yours to open shows the list with Conversation not found at the top ("It may have been deleted, be in another workspace, or be on a channel you can't open."); the link is removed from the address: pick a conversation from the list, or hide the note with ✕ (Dismiss). If the conversation is assigned to a colleague and you do not see every mailbox, the note says A colleague has this conversation instead ("It is assigned to another agent, so only they and people who see every mailbox can open it. Ask them, or an admin, if you need it."). Could not load this conversation (or a red line above the messages, with the reason in your language) → it could not be read just now: press Retry. Could not load earlier messages → press Load earlier messages again.
• [name] is larger than 25 MB. → the file is too big; send a link instead.
• Microphone access was denied. → allow the microphone for this site in your browser settings.
• Voice notes are not supported in this browser. → use a current Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
• Nothing arrives from an account and a red banner starts Disconnected: → press Reconnect (see Live updates and alerts). Inside a conversation on that account (also on a phone) a red note above the box says [name] ([platform]) is disconnected, so replies and templates cannot be delivered until it is reconnected. You can still add an internal note. with Reconnect it on Accounts (Owners and Admins) or An Owner or Admin can reconnect it on the Accounts page.; with Internal note off the box reads Replies are paused until this channel is reconnected, Send stays grey, failed messages have no Retry until it is reconnected, and Send a template is no longer the main button. An account that only stopped receiving says [name] ([platform]) has stopped receiving: new messages from this customer may not arrive until it is reconnected. and you can still reply.
• Too long to send: [n] of 4,000 characters. → shorten the text or split it into two messages (see Length above). Too long for Instagram: [n] of 1,000 characters. (or Too long for Messenger: [n] of 2,000 characters.) → Instagram and Messenger take shorter messages than other channels; shorten it or split it (see Instagram and Messenger take less under Length). Not delivered: this person blocked your bot or deleted their Telegram account. → nothing to fix on your side; they can reach you again by writing to the bot. Until then the red note This person blocked your bot... stays above the box and you can only add internal notes.
• This conversation's channel was removed, so a reply cannot reach the customer. → see A conversation whose channel was removed above.

Comments deleted, hidden or edited on Facebook

• If someone deletes their Facebook comment, or the Page hides it, after it reached the inbox, the message stays in the conversation, faded, with Deleted on Facebook. There is nothing to reply to. or Hidden on Facebook. Only the author and their friends can see it. under it. The conversation list then shows the newest message that is still there. If the Page shows a hidden comment again, the line goes away.
• ✨ AI suggest a reply and the AI bot leave these comments out. A reply you send goes under the newest comment of the thread that is still there; if none is left, it is refused with This comment was deleted or hidden, so there is nothing to reply to.
• When the author edits their comment, the inbox shows the new text.

Related

• The inbox: a tour of the screen
• Email
• WhatsApp Business
• WhatsApp calls in the inbox