What it is for: seeing in one place what people write to you, replying without leaving EK1, and checking that nobody is left waiting.
Where to find it: menu Conversations («Conversaciones») → Inbox («Bandeja»). Unanswered messages are in the same group, under Unanswered («Sin contestar»), sometimes folded inside More… («Más…»).
Who sees it: the Inbox appears if you have your agent, the official WhatsApp channel or WhatsApp campaigns. Unanswered is visible to everyone. If you do not see the Inbox in your menu, ask our support team.
Inbox and WhatsApp: which is which
The menu has two entries that look alike but are not the same:
- Inbox is "all channels together: one thread per person". Use it to see at a glance who has written to you, wherever they wrote, and to reply.
- WhatsApp is "WhatsApp only: your lines and what your agent answers". Use it to manage your numbers, share conversations between your team and adjust what the agent does. It is explained in WhatsApp.
If you only want to reply, use the Inbox. If you want to change the settings of your lines, go to WhatsApp.
What you see first in the Inbox
- Four indicators for the last 48 hours: Conversations («Conversaciones»), Waiting for a reply («Esperan respuesta»), Messages («Mensajes», incoming ↓ and outgoing ↑) and Calls («Llamadas»).
- Your channels, as cards: one for each connected account (your WhatsApp number, your official number...), with its number and its status: Active («Activo»), Check («Revisar») or Paused («Pausado»). Click a card to see only that channel's conversations. All channels («Todos los canales») shows them all.
- The list of conversations, newest first. Each row shows the name, how long ago it was and the last message. If the last message is from the person and you have not replied yet, the row carries the reply («responder») tag.
- The screen refreshes by itself every 20 seconds. You do not need to reload.
If nobody has written in the last 48 hours, the list shows the latest conversations there were, and says so.
Step by step
Reply to a conversation
- Click the conversation in the list. The thread opens with all the messages (photos, audio and documents appear as attachments you can open).
- Look at the Reply by WhatsApp («Responder por WhatsApp») box (for your official number it says Reply by official WhatsApp).
- If it says Open conversation: you can write freely, type in Message... («Mensaje...») and click Send WhatsApp («Enviar WhatsApp»). With 📎 Attach («📎 Adjuntar») you can send a photo, audio, video or document.
- To go back to the list, click ← Inbox («← Bandeja»).
Reply when WhatsApp does not let you write freely
On the official number, WhatsApp only lets you write freely during the 24 hours after the person's last message. After that, the box warns you and offers a template:
- Choose one in Approved template («Plantilla aprobada», "Elige una…").
- Fill in the variables it asks for (for example, the name).
- Click Send to followed by the person's number.
- When they reply, the conversation opens again and you can write freely.
If you have no approved template, the box tells you and takes you to Official WhatsApp to create one. More in Official WhatsApp.
Write first to someone (official number)
If you have the official number, ✉️ New message («✉️ Nuevo mensaje») appears at the top.
- Search for the person by name or phone. If the number is not in your CRM, type it in full with the country code and click Write to number («Escribir al número»).
- Choose 📑 Template («📑 Plantilla») or ✍️ Write myself («✍️ Escribir yo»).
- Send. It goes to one person only; to message many people, use campaigns.
Take over from the agent
There is no separate button. It works like this: when you reply from here, the agent goes quiet in that conversation for a while, so it does not talk over you. When you send, you will see sent · agent paused.
- If you see Sent, but I could not silence the agent, the message went out but the agent may answer after you. Tell our support team.
- To hand the conversation back to the agent before the time is up, go to WhatsApp and click ▶ Reactivate agent now («▶ Reactivar agente ahora»).
Leave a note about the person
Inside the thread, under Internal notes («Notas internas»), type in Add note... and click + Note («+ Nota»). Only your team sees it. If the person is not in your CRM yet, there are no notes: you can still reply, and their record is created when you add them.
Listen to the person's calls
In the thread, the Calls from your agent («Llamadas de tu agente») box lists the calls your agent has taken with that person and lets you hear the recording.
Unanswered
What it is for: seeing who wrote and has not yet received a reply.
- Open Unanswered. At the top it tells you how many people are waiting, over the last 14 days.
- Each card shows the name, the channel, the message and how long they have been waiting.
- Click Reply → («Contestar →») to go to the conversation.
Three things worth knowing:
- It looks at WhatsApp and LINE. If you replied to that person by email, Instagram or phone, they will still appear, because the list cannot know. The screen itself says so too.
- The wait takes your business hours into account. If someone wrote at night, the card says so ("by the clock, but mostly while the office was closed"), so it does not look as if you left them waiting for hours.
- If a channel could not be read, a yellow notice says the list is incomplete. That does not mean nobody is waiting.
If something does not work as expected
| What happens | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| I do not see the Inbox in the menu | You have no agent, official channel or WhatsApp campaigns | Ask our support team |
| It will not let me write free text | More than 24 hours have passed since their last message (official number) | Send an approved template and wait for them to reply |
| It says there are no approved templates | You have not created one yet, or Meta is still reviewing it | Create it in Official WhatsApp and wait for Meta to approve it |
| The agent answers over me | The pause could not be recorded, or the time has already passed | Check the notice when you send; if it continues, tell our support team |
| The Inbox list looks short | It only shows the last 48 hours | Click a channel card to see all of that channel |
| Unanswered shows someone I already replied to | You replied through a channel that list does not look at | Ignore it; it is not a fault |
Related
- WhatsApp: your lines and what your agent answers.
- Official WhatsApp: the official number and templates.
- My agent: what your agent says and knows.
- Notifications: where your notifications reach you.