Messaging
Sending Messages
Waveline lets you send and receive business SMS and MMS from phone numbers assigned to your personal or shared inboxes. Messages remain connected to the selected inbox and number, allowing teammates with access to follow the conversation and reply using the same business identity.
Send a message
Open Messages
Open Messages and start a new message or choose an existing conversation.
Messaging a teammate?
This guide covers external SMS and MMS sent to customers and other outside contacts. To communicate with another Waveline teammate without sending a text message, use an internal team message.
Before you begin
- Assign an active phone number to the personal or shared inbox that will send the message.
- Use your own personal inbox or a shared inbox where you are a Member or Manager. Viewer access does not allow sending, even if you are an organization Owner or Admin. See Inbox roles.
- Complete outbound SMS registration before relying on the number for customer messaging.
- Confirm that the recipient agreed to receive messages from your business.
- Add the recipient as a contact when you want their name and information to appear instead of only their phone number.
Outbound SMS registration is not required for internal team messages and does not control whether your organization can receive incoming messages.
Where to find Messages
In the web app, open Phone → Messages to review and reply to 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 to reply, or use the new-message button to start a conversation with a contact or phone number.
Send a new message from the web app
- Select the Message action beside your account in the web-app sidebar.
- Search for an external contact or enter the complete phone number.
- Select additional recipients when starting a group message.
- Review the inbox and phone number shown beside from.
- Write your message and add media or a snippet when needed.
- Select the send button (paper-plane icon).
- Open the conversation in Messages to review the sent message and its status.
Use the External filter while choosing recipients when you want to focus the list on customer and outside contacts.
On the web, message text can contain up to 1,600 characters. Enter adds a new line; select the send button when you are ready to send.
Send a new message from the mobile app
- Open Messages in the Waveline mobile app.
- Select the new-message button.
- Search for and select an external contact. For a number that is not saved, enter the complete phone number and select Continue with this number. If the number is incomplete, finish entering it before continuing.
- Add any other intended recipients.
- Confirm the inbox and phone number shown at the top. Tap that control to choose another available sending number when needed.
- Write the message and add an attachment or snippet when needed.
- Tap the send button (arrow icon).
Choose the correct sending inbox and number
The sending number tells the recipient which business line the message came from and determines which inbox will contain the conversation. Waveline suggests a default sender, but you should review it before sending the first message.
For a shared customer relationship, send from the applicable shared inbox rather than a teammate’s personal number. For a direct relationship with one teammate, that teammate’s personal inbox may be more appropriate.
Check the sender before sending
A customer may save or reply to the number used for the conversation. Confirm that the selected inbox and phone number represent the business, department, location, or teammate the recipient should reach later.
Send a group message
Select more than one external recipient before sending to begin a group conversation. An external group SMS conversation can include up to 10 participants.
- Start a new message.
- Select the first external recipient.
- Continue searching for and selecting additional recipients.
- Review the complete recipient list.
- Confirm the sending inbox and number.
- Write and send the message.
Use a group conversation only when everyone should participate in the same discussion. For unrelated customer updates or larger outreach, do not create a group message simply to send the same content to multiple people.
Reply to an existing conversation
Open the conversation from Messages, review the recent discussion, and enter your reply. Waveline keeps the response associated with the conversation’s established inbox and business number.
Members and Managers of the shared inbox can continue its external conversations. Viewers can read them but cannot reply. See Conversation access if the composer is unavailable.
See Conversations for filters, unread indicators, and conversation management.
Use a saved AI reply suggestion
An authorized AI assistant can save a private, unsent reply suggestion in a conversation for you to review. You decide whether to use it, edit it, or dismiss it. Saving a suggestion never sends a message.
Before you begin
The assistant connection needs the Save unsent reply suggestions permission and the required message and inbox read permissions. Use your own personal inbox or a shared inbox where you are a Member or Manager; Viewer access and an organization Owner or Admin role alone are not enough. For more information, see AI Integration Access and Messaging.
Suggestions work in existing direct SMS conversations with one external phone number and one sending inbox. Internal, mixed, and group conversations are not eligible. A suggestion can contain up to 1,600 characters.
Ask for a suggestion
Ask the connected assistant to save a reply in the specific Waveline conversation. For example:
Save an unsent reply in Jamie’s Customer Support conversation confirming that we received the request and will follow up tomorrow. Do not send it.
The suggestion is private to the Waveline teammate connected to the assistant. Other teammates do not see it in their composer.
Review and use the reply
- Open the conversation in Waveline.
- Read the saved suggestion beside the composer. On the web, it is labeled AI reply suggestion; mobile shows the available suggestion state.
- If the suggestion is current and your composer is empty, select Use reply.
- Review the text now in your composer and make any changes you need.
- Confirm the sending inbox and recipient. Send the message only when you are ready.
Use reply does not send the message. A suggestion does not replace text already in your composer; finish or clear that draft yourself before using a suggestion.
Dismiss or refresh a suggestion
Select Dismiss when you do not want the saved suggestion. Dismissing it does not erase text already copied into your composer.
A suggestion can become outdated when the conversation changes. Read the new messages before relying on it, and ask the assistant for an updated suggestion if needed.
Saving, using, or dismissing a suggestion does not send a customer message or incur the external integration sending fee. Sending is a separate action, and permission to save suggestions does not let the assistant send.
Add media, snippets, or a signature
- Use the attachment control to send supported photos, videos, or documents. See MMS and Media.
- Use a snippet for reusable replies that teammates send frequently.
- Configure a personal SMS signature when you want your external messages to end with your name, title, or company identity. Signatures are not added to internal messages.
- See Snippets and SMS Signatures for setup and management.
What happens after sending
The message appears in the conversation while sending. The web app may show Sending… or Sent, while mobile can show a progress indicator. If sending or delivery fails, the message shows Failed. A completed message may have no status label.
A processed message remains available to teammates who can access the sending inbox. Replies return to that conversation so the team can continue from the same business number. Waveline does not provide SMS read receipts.
See Message Delivery Issues for status definitions and troubleshooting.
Best practices
- Verify the recipient and sending number before sending.
- Identify the business when the recipient may not recognize the number.
- Keep messages clear, relevant, and consistent with the registered messaging use case.
- Use snippets as a starting point and personalize them when appropriate.
- Avoid public link shorteners, misleading urgency, and unnecessary repeated messages.
- Respect opt-out requests and do not continue messaging someone who asked the business to stop.
- Use group messages only when every recipient belongs in the same discussion.
Troubleshooting
I cannot select a number to send from
Confirm that an active messaging number is assigned to your own personal inbox or a shared inbox where you are a Member or Manager. A Viewer cannot use the inbox as a sender. See Assigning Numbers and Inbox roles.
All external messages fail
Check outbound registration in the Trust Center and confirm that the intended number is active.
Only one recipient fails
Verify the recipient’s complete phone number and whether they opted out.
Media fails but text works
Try a smaller or commonly supported file and review MMS and Media.
The message remains Sending or does not arrive
Do not repeatedly resend it. Follow Message Delivery Issues.
I meant to message a teammate
Start an internal team message instead of sending external SMS.
No AI reply suggestion appears
Confirm that the assistant saved the suggestion in this conversation using your Waveline account and that you can send from its inbox. A Viewer cannot use this feature. Internal, mixed, and group conversations do not support saved suggestions.