WhatsApp Inbox
View, manage, and respond to incoming WhatsApp messages from your contacts. The inbox provides a unified conversation view with message status tracking and team collaboration features.
Overview
The WhatsApp Inbox captures all incoming messages sent to your connected WhatsApp business phone numbers. It consolidates conversations in a familiar chat-style interface, enabling your team to monitor customer inquiries, respond in real time, and manage conversation lifecycle — all within Voxvaani.
When a customer sends a message to your business number, a 24-hour customer service window opens. During this period, you can respond with any free-form message — templates are not required. After 24 hours, you can only send approved template messages to that customer. The inbox shows a timer indicator for each conversation nearing the window expiration.
Meta expects businesses to respond to customer inquiries within the 24-hour window. Consistently ignoring incoming messages can negatively affect your phone number’s quality rating. Set up automation rules for common inquiries to ensure every customer receives a timely response, even outside business hours.
Inbox Features
Conversation List
The left panel displays all active conversations, ordered by most recent message:
- Contact Name/Number — The saved contact name from your CRM; falls back to the WhatsApp phone number if unknown.
- Last Message — A preview snippet of the most recent message in the conversation.
- Timestamp — When the last message was sent or received (e.g., “2 min ago”, “Yesterday”).
- Unread Count — A badge showing the number of unread messages from that contact.
- Assigned Agent — If the conversation has been assigned to a team member, their name or avatar appears.
- Status Indicator — A colored dot indicating the conversation’s state: open (green), pending (yellow), or resolved (grey).
Message View
Select a conversation to view the full message thread in the main panel:
- Incoming Messages — Aligned to the left with the contact’s identifier and timestamp.
- Outgoing Messages — Aligned to the right with delivery and read status indicators.
- Timestamps — Each message displays the exact send time in your configured timezone.
- Media Attachments — Images, documents, and audio files sent by customers are displayed inline with download options (where Meta policy permits).
Message Status Indicators
Each outgoing message displays a status indicator that reflects the WhatsApp delivery lifecycle:
| Icon | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Clock | Sending | Message is being processed and sent to Meta’s servers. |
| Single check | Sent | Message has been delivered to Meta and is queued for delivery to the recipient’s device. |
| Double check | Delivered | Message has reached the recipient’s device but has not been opened yet. |
| Blue double check | Read | The recipient has opened and viewed the message. |
Status indicators update in near-real-time as Meta reports delivery confirmations. Hovering over any indicator shows a tooltip with the exact timestamp of each status transition.
Replying to Messages
To respond to a contact:
- Click on the conversation in the left panel.
- Type your message in the input field at the bottom of the conversation view.
- Press Enter or click Send to dispatch the message.
The reply uses the WhatsApp API channel. If you are within the 24-hour service window, free-form messages are permitted. Outside the window, you must use a template response.
The inbox only supports text replies for free-form messages (within the 24-hour window). To send images, documents, or template-based messages, use the campaign builder or automation rules instead.
Assigning Conversations to Team Members
Collaborate with your team by assigning conversations to specific members:
- Manual Assignment: Click the Assign button on any conversation and select a team member from the dropdown. Assigned conversations show the agent’s name in the conversation list.
- Auto-Assignment: Use automation rules to route conversations automatically based on keywords, customer type, or time of day.
- Reassignment: Transfer a conversation to another team member at any time. The conversation history is preserved, and the new assignee gains immediate context.
Best practice: Assign high-priority conversations (e.g., complaints, refund requests) to senior team members immediately. Use automation rules to auto-tag conversations with priority levels based on keywords like “refund”, “cancel”, or “complaint”.
Marking Conversations as Resolved/Unresolved
Manage conversation lifecycle with status toggles:
- Resolve: When a customer’s issue is fully addressed, mark the conversation as Resolved. Resolved conversations move to the bottom of the list and are hidden from the default “Open” filter view.
- Reopen: If the same customer sends a new message, a resolved conversation automatically reopens and returns to the active list.
- Filter by Status: Use the status filter tabs to view All, Open, Pending, or Resolved conversations.
Conversation status helps your team track outstanding issues and ensures no customer inquiry is overlooked.
Conversation Search
Use the search bar to find specific conversations:
- Search by contact name (as stored in your CRM).
- Search by phone number (full or partial match).
- Search by message content to locate conversations containing specific keywords.
Search results update as you type, allowing quick navigation to past conversations for context or follow-up.
Conversation Management Best Practices
- Respond within the 24-hour window to maintain free-form messaging capability and comply with Meta’s quality expectations.
- Use saved replies for frequently asked questions if your plan supports it. This saves time and ensures consistent messaging.
- Archive resolved conversations regularly to keep the active inbox focused on current inquiries.
- Escalate appropriately — if an automation rule or junior agent cannot resolve a query, reassign the conversation to a supervisor rather than leaving it open.
- Review conversation history before responding to a returning customer. Context from previous interactions leads to better service.