Reply to a customer conversation

Open the conversation in the Inbox, type your answer in the Message field and click Send. The customer sees it in chat. If they have not seen it after 15 minutes, HelpWell emails it to them.

You need a role that can write. Viewers cannot reply.

1. #Open the conversation

   Go to the Inbox and select the customer's row in the conversation list.

2. #Pick the Reply tab

   Make sure Reply is selected, not Note. Under the box, the hint reads "Sent in chat · emailed to Jane if unseen for 15 min", with the customer's first name.

3. #Write your message

   Type in the Message field. Type / to open the commands (/reply, /article, /draft, /translate, /assign). You can also use the toolbar: Saved replies, Article, Write with AI, Attach a file and Emoji.

4. #Send it

   Click Send.

#How the reply reaches the customer

1. In chat. If the customer is still in the widget, the reply appears there and is marked seen. You see Seen on it in the thread.
2. By email after 15 minutes. If the customer has not seen the reply after 15 minutes, HelpWell emails it from your support address. The email's reply-to address routes back to this same conversation.
3. Only unseen replies are emailed. A reply the customer already saw in chat is not included in the email.
4. At once, if they wrote by email. If the customer wrote to you by email, your reply is emailed straight away. It does not wait 15 minutes.

If the customer answers the email, their answer lands in the same conversation. HelpWell leaves out the quoted earlier messages.

In the email, text is shown as plain text. Image attachments appear in the email, and other files appear by name.

#Who is assigned

The first teammate to reply to an unassigned conversation becomes its assignee. The timeline shows "… was assigned automatically after replying first." Replying again assigns nothing new.

#Add a note instead

Select the Note tab to leave a message for your team. Notes are never sent to the customer, and the hint reads "Only your team sees notes". Notes get no 15-minute email.

To mention a teammate, type @ and the start of their name, then pick them from the Teammates list. They get a notification that says they were mentioned, with the words of your note.

#Deleted conversations

You cannot reply or add a note to a deleted conversation. HelpWell says it is deleted, and any email queued for it is cancelled. Restore the conversation and you can reply again.