Inbox

Read and answer customer replies on SMS and WhatsApp in one shared inbox: assign conversations, close them, link them to a record and reply inside the WhatsApp window.

When a customer replies to your SMS or WhatsApp — or writes to your number first — the message lands in Inbox. Each customer number is one conversation, so your team can see the whole exchange, pick who answers, reply and close it when it is done.

Before you start:

  • You need Can answer the inbox (or Full control) under Messaging, on the account the conversation came in on.
  • Replies come in through a connected Twilio (SMS or WhatsApp) or WhatsApp (Meta Cloud API) account. MSG91 and email replies do not reach the inbox.
  • If you don't see this yet, the owner applies the waiting workspace upgrade — see Upgrade your workspace.

Let replies reach the inbox

Each account has one AxisIQ web address, shown in Channels when you open the account. Your provider must send incoming messages to it:

  • Twilio: open your number (or Messaging Service) in Twilio. Paste the AxisIQ web address as the Status callback URL, and again under A message comes in (HTTP POST). Accounts you connected earlier for delivery reports need the second step added.
  • WhatsApp (Meta): nothing extra. The messages webhook you set up for delivery reports already carries replies.

Find a conversation

Open Messaging › Inbox. The list on the left shows each conversation with the customer's name or number, the last message and an unread count.

  • Show: Everyone's, Assigned to me or Unassigned.
  • Status: Any, Open, Pending or Closed.
  • Search by name, number or the latest message.

The list refreshes by itself every few seconds. Click a conversation to open it; opening it marks it read.

Reply

Type in Reply and click Send (or press Ctrl + Enter). Click Use a template to send one of your templates instead, with its values in Variables, separated by |.

Above the box, AxisIQ tells you what you can send:

  • SMS — "Replies go out as SMS from this number."
  • WhatsApp, within 24 hours of the customer's last message — free text is allowed, and it shows how long is left, for example "Free-text replies allowed for 3h 20m more".
  • WhatsApp, after 24 hours — WhatsApp only accepts a template Meta has approved until the customer writes again. Pick one under Template.

Photos, documents, voice notes and locations the customer sends are shown in the thread; click a file to open it. Replies you send are text or templates.

The panel on the right shows the customer:

  • Status — Open, Pending (waiting on someone) or Closed. A closed conversation reopens when the customer writes again.
  • Assigned to — pick who answers, or Nobody. The person assigned gets a notification when a new message arrives; with nobody assigned, the person who connected the account does.
  • Record — AxisIQ looks for a record with the customer's phone number, such as a customer or lead, and links it: click Open the linked record. With no match, choose a type under Create a record and click Create (the number is filled in), or click Find by number to look again.

Inbox messages also appear on the linked record's Messages tab.

Opt-outs

A customer who replies just STOP (or UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT, STOPALL) is added to Suppressions straight away and is not messaged again. See Suppressions and unsubscribe.