Messaging
Messaging Overview
Waveline brings customer SMS and MMS and private internal team messaging into one conversation workspace. Conversations stay connected to the appropriate inbox, allowing the right teammates to review the history and continue the discussion.
Preparing to send customer messages?
Assign an active phone number to an inbox and complete outbound SMS registration before sending external messages. Receiving messages and using internal team messages do not depend on outbound SMS registration.
Choose a messaging guide
Choose external or internal messaging
| External messaging | Internal messaging | |
|---|---|---|
| Recipient | Customers and outside contacts | Teammates and shared inboxes |
| Delivery | SMS or MMS | Inside Waveline |
| Business number | Required | Not used |
| Use it for | Customer-facing communication | Private coordination |
See Sending Messages for customer communication and Internal Team Messages for private coordination.
Where to find Messages
In the web app, open Phone → Messages to review conversations. To begin a new conversation, select the Message action beside your account in the sidebar.
In the mobile app, open Messages. Select an existing conversation or use the new-message button to begin one. For detailed information about the conversation list, inbox filters, unread indicators, and group names, see Conversations.
For more information, see Where to find Conversations.
How messaging is organized
Numbers, inboxes, and conversations work together
A phone number is the identity an external recipient sees. An inbox represents the teammate, team, department, or location handling the communication. A conversation preserves the participants and message history.
See Inbox Overview, Sending Messages, and Conversations for details.
Who can work from a conversation
Your own personal inbox and shared inboxes where you are a Member or Manager let you send and reply. A Viewer can read the inbox's conversations but cannot send from it. Owners and Admins can also have view-only access through their organization role; that does not give them permission to reply from every inbox.
See Inbox Participants and Conversations for detailed access information.
Find a conversation
To find a thread by participant name, phone number, or conversation name, see Search for a conversation.
Review a saved reply suggestion
An authorized AI assistant can save a private, unsent reply suggestion in a conversation for you to review before you send anything. For more information, see Use a saved AI reply suggestion.
Recommended starting path
- Complete outbound SMS registration if the organization will send customer messages.
- Assign a phone number to the intended inbox.
- Add the appropriate Inbox Participants.
- Add or import contacts.
- Follow Sending Messages to exchange a test message.
- Review Notifications on the devices teammates will use.
Best practices
- Use the correct inbox for each customer relationship.
- Keep internal coordination separate from customer-facing messages.
- Review the recipient and recent conversation before replying.
- Respect consent and opt-out requests.
- Check delivery information before resending a message.
Find the right troubleshooting guide
A message failed or did not arrive
Review delivery statuses and determine whether the issue affects one recipient or all outbound messages.
A customer asked to stop
Understand customer opt-outs and how to respond to requests to stop messaging.
An attachment will not send
Check supported media, attachment limits, and common file problems.
A conversation is missing or view-only
Review inbox filters, hidden conversations, and conversation access.
You cannot send from an inbox
Check that you are a Member or Manager of the sending shared inbox, rather than a Viewer.
Outbound messaging is unavailable
Review the organization's outbound SMS registration and number readiness.