Inbox
Inbox is the shared workspace for customer conversations. It brings connected email, messaging, social, chat, and phone channels into queues that sales, support, and success teams can work together.
Inboxes, channels, and conversations
Section titled “Inboxes, channels, and conversations”An inbox is a queue with members and assignment behavior. A channel is the connected customer endpoint that sends messages into an inbox. A conversation is the customer thread your team works on.
Conversation records can hold status, priority, assignee, team, labels, participants, messages, internal notes, and related CRM context.
Work the queue
Section titled “Work the queue”- Open Inbox from the Operations section.
- Select an inbox or saved queue from the navigation panel.
- Open a conversation.
- Assign it to the person or team responsible for the next action.
- Send a customer reply or add an internal note.
- Add labels and connect the customer to the correct Contact and CRM context.
- Close, resolve, or snooze the conversation when appropriate.
Use customer replies for channel-visible communication. Internal notes are for handoffs, investigation, mentions, and context that should remain inside the workspace.
The composer supports rich text, attachments, macros, and channel-specific controls. Email replies can use To, CC, and BCC. WhatsApp conversations can use approved templates when the service window requires one.
Status, assignment, and snooze
Section titled “Status, assignment, and snooze”Conversation statuses include New, Open, Pending, Snoozed, Resolved, and Closed. Status describes the work state; assignment identifies who owns the next step.
Snooze a conversation when it should return at a known time. Presets include one hour, three hours, tomorrow morning, tomorrow afternoon, and next week. Reopen or unsnooze it when work resumes.
Inbox assignment can be configured as:
- Nobody for manual claiming
- Always this person for a fixed owner
- Round robin for rotating assignment
- Least busy for capacity-aware assignment
Configure inbox membership, eligible departments, availability, capacity, fallback behavior, and business-hour behavior in Settings → Inbox → Inboxes. Only eligible inbox members can be assigned.
Connect channels
Section titled “Connect channels”Open Settings → Inbox → Channels and choose Connect Channel. Current channel choices include:
| Channel | Setup |
|---|---|
| Team email | Connect Gmail or Outlook to a shared inbox |
| Live Chat | Add the website widget to a site |
| Connect a WhatsApp business channel | |
| Messenger | Connect a Facebook Page for private messages and supported comments |
| Connect Instagram direct messages and supported comments | |
| Telegram | Connect a bot token and webhook |
| Phone Calls | Connect or buy a number for calls, voicemail, and supported call summaries |
Connect Telegram
Section titled “Connect Telegram”Telegram uses a bot created through the verified @BotFather account:
- Send
/newbotto BotFather. - Enter a display name and a unique username ending in
bot. - Copy the complete API token.
- In Workstation, select Settings → Inbox → Channels → Connect Channel → Telegram.
- Paste the token, choose the inbox, and connect the channel.
- Open the bot in Telegram and send
/startto test it.
Treat the token like a password. If it is exposed, use BotFather’s /revoke command and reconnect with the replacement token.
A Telegram bot cannot start a private conversation. The customer must message the bot first. Telegram also does not use WhatsApp templates or the WhatsApp service window.
Inbox Rules
Section titled “Inbox Rules”Rules automate common message and comment handling. Create them in Settings → Inbox → Rules from a template or from scratch.
Rules can start when a new message or supported public comment arrives. Conditions can inspect the channel and whether content contains keywords, exactly matches text, contains a link, contains only emoji, or contains only mentions.
Available actions include:
- send an automatic reply
- hide or delete a supported social comment
- add a label
- opt a contact out
- present a reply menu or router
Rules can be active or paused. Keep conditions narrow enough that a broad auto-reply or moderation action does not catch legitimate messages.
Macros
Section titled “Macros”Macros are reusable replies with optional one-click actions. A macro can include attachments and can set the conversation status, add a tag, or assign a user.
Macros can be limited to starting conversations, replying, or adding notes, and can be available to everyone or one inbox. Organize them into folders, duplicate useful starting points, and export the library when needed. Configure them in Settings → Inbox → Macros.
Customer context and tickets
Section titled “Customer context and tickets”Link a conversation to its Contact and related CRM records so agents can work with the complete customer history. The conversation can also show or update the linked Contact’s pipeline stage.
Create a Ticket from a conversation when the message needs a formal service record, SLA tracking, or follow-up outside the live thread.
AI assistance
Section titled “AI assistance”When enabled, Inbox can suggest or refine replies and surface customer context. A deployed AI agent can handle eligible conversations automatically, with controls to pause, resume, or take over the conversation. Agent availability and behavior depend on the workspace’s AI configuration and channel setup.
Visibility
Section titled “Visibility”Inbox visibility follows workspace visibility rules, direct assignment, inbox membership, and conversation participation. A directly assigned user or participant can retain access even when a conversation falls outside the normal owner scope.