# Reply to a customer

The box at the bottom sends a reply, an internal note, a file or a voice note, and says what it costs.

## Quick start

1. Open **Inbox** and click a conversation. In the app, tap the **Inbox** tab, then the chat.
2. Type in **Type a reply…** at the bottom. Owners, admins and agents can send; viewers cannot.
3. On WhatsApp, read the cost line just above the box: it says whether this reply is free.
4. Press **Send**. It goes to the customer straight away, on this conversation's channel.
5. For a team-only remark, switch to **Note** first. Only your team sees a note.

## Watch out

- Nothing un-sends a delivered message. **Delete for me** hides it from your view only; everyone else still sees it.
- On WhatsApp, free text stops once the box says **The 24-hour reply window has closed**. Then only an approved template goes.

![The reply box with the WhatsApp cost line above it and Draft with AI below.](https://inchat.inseller.my/help/inbox/reply-to-a-customer-1.webp)

![Note picked instead of Reply, with a team-only remark typed into the note box.](https://inchat.inseller.my/help/inbox/reply-to-a-customer-2.webp)

![Send later (MYT) open, with In 1 hour, This evening, Tomorrow 9am and a custom time.](https://inchat.inseller.my/help/inbox/reply-to-a-customer-3.webp)

## Getting here

**Inbox** → open a conversation → the box at the bottom of the conversation. In the app: the **Inbox** tab → tap a conversation → the reply bar at the bottom.

## Before you start

- An **owner**, **admin** or **agent** can send. A **viewer** cannot: the send is refused with **You don’t have permission to change conversations here.**
- The conversation needs a channel and a contact. Without either, the send is refused.
- On WhatsApp, free text is only allowed inside the reply window. Outside it, send an approved template instead.

## Fields

| Field | What it means | Default | Limits |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reply / Note | **Reply** goes to the customer. **Note** is saved to the conversation for your team only. | Reply | — |
| via {context} | Which number or page you are answering from. Click it to pick another of the contact's channels. | — | Shown only when the contact can be reached on more than one. |
| Snippets | Insert a saved piece of text. Type `/` in the box to open it. | — | — |
| Variables | Insert a value about the contact, such as `{{contact.first_name}}`. Type `$` to open it. | — | — |
| Emoji | Insert an emoji. Type `:` to open it. | — | — |
| Mention | In a note, type `@` to name a teammate. They get a notification. | — | Notes only. A mention in a reply notifies nobody. |
| Attach a photo, video or document | Pick a file to send with your text. | — | — |
| Record a voice note | Hold to record, then **Send voice note**. | — | — |
| Schedule send | Send this message later instead of now. | — | At least one minute from now, and at most 90 days out. |

## How it works

- **Send** writes the message to the conversation and hands it to the channel straight away. The bubble shows **Sending…** until the channel confirms it.
- A note is stored on the same conversation and marked **Internal note · {sender}**. It is never sent anywhere, on any channel.
- When the contact can be reached on more than one number or page, **via {context}** opens a list of them. **Current** is the one you are on; **Start on this number** opens a fresh conversation on another.
- Just above the box, a line says what the next message costs on WhatsApp. It is a plain statement of Meta's price, not a charge by us.
- **Free reply** appears while Meta is still not charging for replies. The line goes on to name the date charging starts, the rate, and how many replies a month this number gets free.
- **Free reply: {used} of this number’s {limit} free replies used this month.** counts this number's free monthly replies.
- **Meta charges {rate} for this reply** appears once this number's free replies for the month are gone. The line names the rate and the monthly allowance.
- **Free: this customer is in Meta’s free entry window until {time}.** appears when the customer arrived from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Page WhatsApp button. Everything is free until then, templates included.
- When the customer's country is not the one our rate table covers, the line says the rate is that country's instead of naming a figure.
- A template's own cost line names its category: **marketing**, **utility** or **authentication**.
- The clock button next to **Send** opens **Send later (MYT)** with **In 1 hour**, **This evening** and **Tomorrow 9am**, or a time you type. **Schedule** queues it.
- A scheduled message waits in the **Scheduled messages** list under the conversation and is sent by a job that runs about once a minute.
- **Cancel scheduled message** removes one that has not been sent yet.
- On the phone the reply bar also sends a location and a contact card, and has an **HD** switch for photos. The web box has neither.

## When it fails

- On WhatsApp, once the reply window has closed, the box is replaced by **The 24-hour reply window has closed** and the template row. Free text cannot be sent until the customer writes again.
- For a customer who has never written to you, the same place says **This person has not messaged you yet**. The first message has to be an approved template.
- When the number is also used in the WhatsApp Business app, the notice adds that replying from the phone is not limited by the window and costs nothing.
- **Failed to send** on a bubble means the channel refused it. Read the reason in the message that appears, fix it, and send again.
- **Delivery failed** means the channel accepted it and then could not deliver it.
- **Delivery unknown** means we cannot tell. Check the conversation before sending the same message again — it may already have arrived.
- **This message is still sending. Check the thread before sending again.** stops a second copy going out while the first is in flight.
- **Message was sent** followed by a note that it could not be saved here means the customer has it and the conversation does not show it yet. Refresh to confirm.
- When the channel's credentials are broken, a notice replaces the box and links to **Channel settings**.
- **Pick a time at least one minute from now.** and **That is not a valid date and time.** refuse a bad scheduled time.
- Scheduling past the end of the window is refused before it is queued, with a sentence naming that channel's window and asking for an earlier time or a template.
- A scheduled message that failed is marked **Not sent · scheduled {at}**, or **Delivery unknown · scheduled {at}**. **Not scheduled** is what you see when the time you picked is refused.
- A file over the size limit is refused. The message names the file's size and the limit, and suggests a link or a smaller copy.
- A voice note that is too short is refused: **Hold a little longer — that note was too short.**

## Limits

- A sent message cannot be un-sent, deleted for the customer, or edited. **Delete for me** only hides it from your own view.
- Scheduling does not hold a closed WhatsApp window open. A time past the window is refused when you schedule it, not when it is due.
- The box does not check marketing consent. Broadcasts check it, and so does a workflow's marketing template step — not a reply or a template you send by hand.
- Blocking a contact hides their conversations from every view but **Blocked**. It does not stop a reply typed from inside the conversation.
- A note is not a message to the customer, but it is not private either: everyone who can open this conversation can read it.
- The cost line describes what Meta charges. It is not an invoice, and it does not include what anyone else charges.
- The web box cannot send a location, a contact card or an HD photo. Those are on the phone only.

## Best practices

- Read the cost line before sending a template. It is the one place the price of the next message is stated.
- Use **Note** for handover context — what you promised, what you are waiting for — so the next person does not ask the customer twice.
- Keep a snippet for the three answers you type every day, and insert it rather than retyping.
- When the window has closed, send the template that invites a reply. The customer's answer opens the window again for free text.
- Schedule rather than saving a draft you mean to send this evening. A scheduled message survives you closing the tab.

## Use cases

- Sarah Chen asks for a price at midnight; you schedule the answer for **Tomorrow 9am**.
- Michael Torres sends a payment slip; you reply, then add a note naming the order for whoever ships it.
- A customer writes on Messenger and on WhatsApp; you use **via {context}** to answer on the number they use most.
- Three days after the last message the window is closed; you send an approved template, and their answer reopens it.
- A customer asks what the product looks like; you attach two photos with one line of text.

## FAQ and troubleshooting

### Why can I not type a reply?

On WhatsApp, free text is only allowed for a while after the customer's last message or call. Once that has passed the box is replaced by the notice and the template row. Send an approved template instead.

### Does the customer see my note?

No. A note is stored on the conversation and marked as internal. It is never sent on any channel. Everyone who can open the conversation can read it.

### What does the cost line above the box mean?

It says what Meta will charge for the next message on this WhatsApp number — free, free while this number still has free replies this month, or a named rate.

### Can I take back a message I sent by mistake?

No. Nothing un-sends a delivered message. **Delete for me** removes it from your own view and changes nothing for the customer or your teammates.

### Will a scheduled message still send if I close the browser?

Yes. It is queued on the server and sent by a job that runs about once a minute. Closing the tab, or signing out, changes nothing.

### The bubble says Delivery unknown. Should I send it again?

Read the conversation first. The message may already have reached the customer, and sending again would deliver it twice.

### Can I send a voice note or a photo from the web?

Yes — **Record a voice note** and **Attach a photo, video or document** are both in the box. Sending a location or a contact card is on the phone only.

## Related

- [Send an approved template, a flow or a product](https://inchat.inseller.my/help/inbox/send-a-template-flow-or-product)
- [Let the AI draft, polish or brief you](https://inchat.inseller.my/help/inbox/ai-reply-tools)
- [Reply to, star, forward, delete or find one message](https://inchat.inseller.my/help/inbox/work-with-one-message)
- [Take over from the AI, and hand it back](https://inchat.inseller.my/help/inbox/take-over-from-the-ai)
- [Assign, route to a team, add collaborators](https://inchat.inseller.my/help/inbox/assign-route-and-collaborate)

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Source files: `src/components/inbox/ReplyBox.tsx`, `src/app/(app)/inbox/[id]/reply-action.ts`, `src/lib/inbox/send-reply.ts`, `src/lib/inbox/schedule-send.ts`, `src/lib/inbox/add-note.ts`, `src/lib/inbox/wa-cost.ts`, `src/lib/inbox/wa-window.ts`, `src/lib/inbox/send-failure-copy.ts`, `src/lib/inbox/outbound-media.ts`, `src/lib/inbox/require-write-role.ts`, `src/components/inbox/ChannelSendBlockedBanner.tsx`, `src/components/inbox/ScheduledMessages.tsx`, `src/components/inbox/views.ts`, `src/lib/broadcasts/audience.ts`, `src/lib/workflows/template-consent-gate.ts`, `src/lib/i18n/messages/inbox-thread.ts`, `mobile/src/components/inbox/ReplyBar.tsx`, `mobile/src/lib/i18n/en.ts`