Chat & shared inbox — overview

Chat is Vendschat’s shared inbox — every customer message from WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram becomes a thread your team can filter, assign, label, and resolve together. Who this is for: Support agents, team leads, and anyone asking Co-Admin “Where is the inbox?”, “How do I reply?”, or “Why can’t I type a message?” Where to go: Sidebar Chat → /chat

Quick reference

Topic	Answer
Main inbox	Chat (`/chat`)
Layout (desktop)	Thread list (left) · Conversation (center) · Recipient panel (right, optional)
Layout (mobile)	Three screens: Threads → Conversation → Recipient
Open a thread	Click a row in the thread list
Reply	Type in composer → Send (or Enter)
24h window expired	Composer shows banner — use Templates (WhatsApp)
Filter unread	Toggle Unread above thread list
Filter channel	Header dropdown — All channels or one channel
Search threads	“Search by Phone or Name…”
New outbound chat	New Chat (+) → template / channel picker
Deep link thread	`/chat?thread={id}`
Deep link message	`/chat?dl={token}` (scrolls + highlights message)
Mark read	Opening a thread marks it read automatically
End conversation	Recipient panel → End Chat + optional note

What Chat is (and isn’t)

Chat is	Chat is not
Shared team inbox for customer conversations	Your internal Slack — (team chat UI exists as placeholder)
Real-time updates when customers message	A personal phone WhatsApp app
One place for WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram threads	Cross-workspace — threads belong to current workspace
Where humans reply, assign, label, resolve	Where Co-Admin lives (that’s the internal assistant)

Customer-facing automation uses AI Agents on assigned threads — see AI Agents overview.

Example: Harbor Legal Services

Jess and Omar share one WhatsApp number for intake.

Time	Action in Chat
9:00	Jess opens Chat, filter Unread, label filter `New intake`
9:05	Clicks thread — recipient panel shows phone, notes, Assigned to
9:10	Replies in composer; customer sees WhatsApp message
9:30	Tags `Urgent`, assigns Omar from recipient panel
10:00	Omar resolves — End Chat, note: “Engagement letter sent”
Next week	Same customer messages — history visible, thread reopens

How to open Chat

Platform	Navigation
Desktop	Left sidebar → Chat (messages icon)
Mobile	Bottom nav → Chat
Direct URL	`/chat`
Default after login	Most users land on Chat after sign-in

Access: Role Member with Chat page access sees Chat. Owners/admins see Chat plus Settings, Onboarding, etc. See assignments doc.

Screen layout (desktop)

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  [Channel ▼]  [New Chat] [Labels]     ← Chat thread header      │
├──────────────┬──────────────────────────────┬───────────────────┤
│ Thread list  │  Conversation header         │ Recipient panel     │
│              │  (name, labels, assignee)    │ (contact, assign,   │
│ Search       ├──────────────────────────────│  labels, end chat)  │
│ Filters      │  Message timeline            │                     │
│              │  (bubbles, dates, ticks)     │  [hide ◀]           │
│ Rows…        ├──────────────────────────────┤                     │
│              │  Message composer            │                     │
│              │  (channel, templates, AI)    │                     │
└──────────────┴──────────────────────────────┴───────────────────┘

Three columns explained

Column	Purpose
Thread list (~320px)	All conversations — search, filters, unread badges
Conversation (flex)	Message history + composer for selected thread
Recipient panel (~320px, collapsible)	Contact profile, assignment, labels, End Chat

No thread selected (desktop): Center shows Vendschat logo empty state. Hide recipient panel: Click the small chevron on the panel edge (desktop).

Screen layout (mobile)

Mobile uses one pane at a time with slide transitions:

View	How to get there
Threads	Default when opening Chat
Conversation	Tap a thread row
Recipient	Tap contact info in conversation header

Back: Use back control to return Threads ← Conversation ← Recipient.

Thread list — controls

Channel filter (top)

Account selector in thread list header:

All channels — every connected channel in this workspace
Or pick one WhatsApp / Messenger / Instagram account

Filters which threads appear in the list.

Search

Placeholder: “Search by Phone or Name…” Searches contact phone and name. Results refresh after a short debounce.

Read state toggle

Value	Shows
All	Every thread (default)
Unread	Threads with unread messages
Read	Threads already read

Unread rows show bold preview text, inbound arrow (red when unread), and a count badge (e.g. 3, caps at 99+).

Label filter

Filter icon (funnel) → dropdown:

All labels — clear filter
Check individual labels (multi-select)

If your role has label-scoped access, only permitted labels appear. Create labels: Settings → Workspace → Labels or header Labels shortcut.

Assigned messages (inbox icon)

Badge on inbox-style button — indicates threads assigned to you (team routing). Use with assignment workflow in assignments doc.

Infinite scroll

Scroll near the bottom of the thread list to load more (20 per page).

Thread row details

Each row shows:

Element	Meaning
Avatar + channel badge	Contact + channel type (WhatsApp, etc.)
Name	Contact display name or phone
Preview	Last message snippet
Arrow ↘ / ↖	Inbound vs outbound last message
Timestamp	Relative time of last message
Label chips	Tags on this thread
Unread badge	Count of unread messages

Hover menu (⋯ on row): Mark as read, Mark as unread, Mute, Delete — quick actions on the thread.

Opening & reading threads

Select a thread

Click a row → conversation loads in the center (mobile: switches to Conversation view). Automatic read: Selecting a thread marks it read and clears unread count for that conversation (including related channel threads for the same contact). URL sync: Browser address updates to /chat?thread={id} so refresh or share link reopens the same thread.

Deep links

URL param	Behavior
`?thread=123`	Opens thread `123` on load (server prefetches timeline + recipient panel)
`?dl={token}`	Resolves token → opens thread and scrolls to / highlights a specific message

After landing via ?dl=, the token is stripped from the URL on next navigation.

Real-time updates

While Chat is open, new inbound/outbound messages on Meta channels (WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram) appear in the thread list and open conversation without refresh. Delivery status ticks (sent → delivered → read) update live on open threads.

Conversation column

Control	Action
Back (mobile)	Return to thread list
Contact name	Inline edit display name
Search	Search within conversation (toggle panel)
Contact info	Open recipient panel (mobile: full screen)
Labels	Add/remove labels on this thread
Assignee	Assign teammate, group, or AI Agent (compact)

Message timeline

Chronological bubbles — inbound (customer) vs outbound (your team)
Date separators between days
Delivery ticks on outbound WhatsApp-style messages: pending → sent → delivered → read (blue double-check)
System events (assignments, status) shown as timeline lines

Scroll up for older messages (paginated load).

Message composer (bottom)

Control	Purpose
Text area	“Type your message…” — Shift+Enter for new line, Enter to send
Channel selector	When contact has multiple channels, pick which to send from
Templates	WhatsApp approved templates (when window expired or proactive send)
Generate Reply (sparkle)	AI draft for agents — see composer doc
Emoji	Insert emoji into text
Send	Dispatch message

24-hour messaging window: If Meta’s session window is closed, composer shows:

“The 24-hour messaging window has expired. You can only send template messages until the recipient replies to reopen the conversation window.”

Use Templates button to pick an approved WhatsApp template.

Recipient panel (right column)

Open by default on desktop when a thread is selected. Shows:

Section	Content
Profile	Avatar, name, phone, country, language, email
Notes	Internal contact note (editable)
Assigned to	Dropdown — user, group, or AI Agent
Labels	Manage labels on this thread
Channels	Which channels this contact can be reached on
Status	Open (live indicator) · End Chat

End Chat (resolve)

Click End Chat in status area
Optional ending note
Confirm

Thread moves to resolved state. Customer messages later typically reopen the conversation. Details: Shared inbox & labels.

Edit contact

Update name, phone, email, country, language, note — saves to contact record and updates thread list/header.

New Chat (outbound)

Thread list header → New Chat icon (+ message bubble). Opens template composer modal:

Choose channel (if multiple WhatsApp numbers, etc.)
Enter recipient phone (for new WhatsApp outbound)
Pick template and send (or schedule where supported)

Used to start conversations outside the 24h window or message new numbers. Requires active WhatsApp channel for template sends.

Threads, contacts & channels

One contact, multiple channels

A customer may message on WhatsApp and Instagram. Vendschat links them under one contact when possible:

Thread list may show related threads
Composer channel picker lists all channels for that contact
Preferred channel auto-selects the channel that last received an inbound message

Thread status values

Status	Meaning
open	Active — needs handling
pending	Waiting (e.g. external dependency)
snoozed	Paused until later
resolved	Closed via End Chat

Unread vs read

Field	Meaning
`unread_count`	Messages customer sent since last read
`is_read`	Thread marked read by a teammate

Opening a thread clears unread for that conversation group.

Labels in Chat

Where	Action
Thread list filter	Funnel icon → filter by label(s)
Thread row	Colored label chips on row
Conversation header	Add/remove labels
Recipient panel	Full label editor

Create/manage definitions: Settings → Workspace → Labels. Deep dive: Shared inbox & labels.

Assignments in Chat

Assigned to dropdown (recipient panel or mobile header):

Teammate — named owner
Group — queue (e.g. Tier 1)
AI Agent — bot handles thread until handoff
Unassigned — shared pool

Deep dive: Assignments & teams.

Generate Reply in Chat

Composer sparkle / wand menu → draft reply from recent messages, apply tones (empathetic, simplify, translate, etc.). Human always reviews before Send. Not the same as AI Agents. Deep dive: Composer & Generate Reply.

Co-Admin & live inbox data

Customer asks…	Co-Admin approach
“How many open threads?”	Workspace overview tool
“How do I filter unread?”	Product docs — Unread toggle
“Are we connected on WhatsApp?”	List channels tool

Co-Admin uses the user’s current workspace session.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Check
Empty thread list	Customer must message connected channel first; verify channel active; correct workspace
Can’t type in composer	24h window expired → Templates; channel `can_send` false
Message not delivered	Channel disconnected; WhatsApp registration — see error modal
Don’t see Chat in nav	Role may lack Chat page access
Wrong conversations	Workspace switcher in Settings; channel filter set to one account
Labels missing in filter	Create in Settings → Labels; check label-scoped membership
Panel won’t load	Refresh; reselect thread
No real-time messages	Rare — refresh page; verify workspace channel connection

​Quick reference

​What Chat is (and isn’t)

​Example: Harbor Legal Services

​How to open Chat

​Screen layout (desktop)

​Three columns explained

​Screen layout (mobile)

​Thread list — controls

​Channel filter (top)

​Search

​Read state toggle

​Label filter

​Assigned messages (inbox icon)

​Infinite scroll

​Thread row details

​Opening & reading threads

​Select a thread

​Deep links

​Real-time updates

​Conversation column

​Header

​Message timeline

​Message composer (bottom)

​Recipient panel (right column)

​End Chat (resolve)

​Edit contact

​New Chat (outbound)

​Threads, contacts & channels

​One contact, multiple channels

​Thread status values

​Unread vs read

​Labels in Chat

​Assignments in Chat

​Generate Reply in Chat

​Co-Admin & live inbox data

​Troubleshooting

​Related docs