Customers message businesses on WhatsApp, on Instagram and through website chat. When each channel lives on a different phone or app, messages get missed and nobody knows who replied. A shared team inbox brings every chat into one place, where several agents work together. This guide explains how the shared inbox in the BitVoice Social Media Platform works.
One inbox, three channels
Every conversation appears in one list, sorted by latest activity, with a channel badge: WhatsApp, Instagram or web chat. Each row shows the customer’s name or number, a preview of the last message, unread count and tags. Agents search by phone number or filter by tag.
Everything a customer can send
The inbox shows text with link previews, images, video, voice notes, documents, locations, contact cards, button replies, reactions and quoted replies. Agents reply with text, emoji, quotes and attachments: images, video, audio, PDF and Word files.
| Attachment size | 16 MB | 25 MB |
| Text length | No practical limit | 1,000 bytes |
| Reply window | 24 hours; reopen with a template | 24 hours; wait for the customer |
| Templates and campaigns | Yes | No |
The 24-hour window
WhatsApp and Instagram allow free replies only within 24 hours of the customer’s last message. After that, the inbox locks the reply box. On WhatsApp, an agent sends an approved template to reopen the conversation. Replying inside the window is usually free, while templates may be charged by Meta, so fast replies save money. See WhatsApp Business API pricing.
Delivery ticks
Agents see whether each message was sent, delivered, read or failed, and the reason for a failure. Admins can retry failed messages.
Bot first, agent when needed
When a chatbot is on, it answers new conversations first. The chat header shows bot mode, agent mode or in queue. An agent clicks Take over from bot before replying, so the bot and agent never answer the same message, then Return to bot when finished. See how to build a WhatsApp chatbot.
The customer profile beside every chat
Next to the conversation, agents see the customer’s profile: messages, engagement score, last contact, lifecycle stage, tags, custom fields such as order number, and privacy consents. If the same person writes on WhatsApp and Instagram, agents link the two profiles so everyone knows it is one customer.
Profiles move through lifecycle stages, from new and active to at risk and dormant, and auto-tag rules can label customers automatically, for example tagging VIP customers by message count and response rate.
Team roles
- Users (agents): chat, media, customer profiles and their own conversation report.
- Admins (supervisors): everything, including dashboards, campaigns, templates, bot flows, tags, users and settings.
Deactivate a user when someone leaves to block login while keeping their history.
Desktop alerts
Agents enable notifications once, and new messages show a desktop pop-up with a sound even when the inbox is in a background tab.
Works with the WhatsApp Business app
If your number is also used in the WhatsApp Business mobile app, messages sent from the phone appear in the inbox too, so history stays complete.
The BitVoice Social Media Platform runs on the official Meta Cloud API. Book a demo.
FAQs
Can several agents use one WhatsApp number?
Yes. With the WhatsApp Business API and a shared inbox, many agents answer chats on the same number, each with their own login.
Can we manage Instagram messages in the same inbox?
Yes. Instagram Direct messages from a professional account appear alongside WhatsApp and web chat, marked with an Instagram badge.
What happens after the 24-hour window closes?
On WhatsApp, send an approved template to reopen the conversation. On Instagram, you wait for the customer to message again.
How do agents avoid replying at the same time as the chatbot?
They take over the conversation from the bot first, which switches it to agent mode, and return it to the bot when finished.
