> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documents.xobito.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Live Inbox Overview

> The shared WhatsApp inbox where your team replies to customers in real time.

The **Live Inbox** is Xobito's shared WhatsApp inbox. Every conversation between your business and your customers — replies to campaigns, inbound support requests, and ongoing chats — lands here in real time.

## What makes it "live"

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Real-time updates" icon="bolt">
    New messages appear in the inbox the moment Meta delivers them — no refresh, no polling.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Multi-agent" icon="users">
    Your whole team can work the inbox together. Assign conversations to specific agents so nothing is handled twice.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Typing & read indicators" icon="eye">
    See when another agent is viewing the same conversation to avoid double-replies.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Notifications" icon="bell">
    Get desktop and in-app alerts for new incoming messages — configurable per agent.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Snippet file="callout-session-window.mdx" />

## Layout

The inbox has three panels:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Conversation list (left)">
    Every contact who has messaged you, sorted by most recent activity. Unread conversations are highlighted. Filters and search live at the top.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Message thread (middle)">
    The full back-and-forth with the selected contact, including messages from campaigns, bots, and other agents. Inbound on the left, outbound on the right.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Contact panel (right)">
    Quick view of the contact's name, phone, groups, status, custom fields, and notes — plus quick actions (assign agent, add to group, view full profile).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Filters on the conversation list

Above the conversation list there's a filter button that opens a popup with several dropdowns. Set any combination — the list narrows immediately.

| Filter            | Options                                                                         |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Relation type** | All / Lead / Customer / Guest                                                   |
| **Agent**         | Any agent name from your workspace (pick yourself to see chats assigned to you) |
| **Read status**   | All / Unread only                                                               |
| **Group**         | Any group                                                                       |
| **Status**        | Any contact status                                                              |
| **Source**        | Any contact source                                                              |

<Tip>
  To see only your own chats, open the filter popup and pick your name in the **Agent** dropdown. Combine with **Read status = Unread only** to focus on what's waiting for a reply.
</Tip>

## What you can do from the inbox

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Open a conversation" icon="comment" href="/chat/conversations">
    Read, reply, send media, and use canned replies.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Assign to an agent" icon="user-tag" href="/chat/assign-agents">
    Route the conversation to the right person on your team.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Change inbox settings" icon="gear" href="/chat/chat-settings">
    Notification sounds, auto-lead creation, bot stop keywords, and more.
  </Card>

  <Card title="View the contact" icon="id-card" href="/contacts/overview">
    Jump to the full contact record with history and custom fields.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Session indicator

Next to every conversation, Xobito shows a small indicator:

* **Green dot** — session is open. You can reply with any free-form message.
* **Grey dot / "Template required"** — session is closed. Start with an approved template to reopen it.

This saves you from typing a free-form reply only to have it rejected by WhatsApp.

## Message status ticks

Inside a thread, outbound messages show the familiar WhatsApp status ticks:

| Icon            | Meaning                                                         |
| --------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Clock           | Queued in Xobito — not yet sent to Meta                         |
| One grey tick   | Sent to Meta                                                    |
| Two grey ticks  | Delivered to the recipient's device                             |
| Two blue ticks  | Read by the recipient (only if they have read receipts enabled) |
| Red exclamation | Failed — hover to see Meta's reason                             |

## Working the inbox as a team

A few common patterns teams use:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="One agent, triage first">
    A team lead works through the inbox top-down, reads the opening message of each new conversation, and assigns it to the right agent based on topic, language, or VIP status.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Manual assignment from any conversation">
    Open a conversation and assign it to the right teammate from the contact panel. See [Assign agents](/chat/assign-agents) for the full workflow — Xobito does not currently auto-distribute conversations.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Bot first, agent on escalation">
    A [Bot Flow](/automations/bot-flows) handles common questions. When it can't, the customer types a stop keyword (or asks for a human) and the conversation stays open in the inbox for the next available agent to pick up.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Department-based">
    Group contacts by department (sales, support, billing) and have each team filter by their group.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Where to go next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Conversations" icon="comments" href="/chat/conversations">
    How to open, reply to, and search conversations.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Assign agents" icon="user-tag" href="/chat/assign-agents">
    Routing conversations to the right teammate.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Chat settings" icon="gear" href="/chat/chat-settings">
    Auto-clear, notification sounds, stop keywords, auto-lead creation.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Tickets vs. Chat" icon="ticket" href="/tickets/overview">
    When to use tickets instead of the live inbox.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>