Inbox
The inbox is where everyone who gets in touch lands, however they did it, so the whole team can see and answer them. It lists people rather than single messages: open someone to see all their conversations.
What comes into the inbox
- Website chat, from the chat bubble on your website
- Forms on your website, and online bookings (each is its own conversation)
- Emails: replies to emails you sent from DVT, and email forwarded from your own address
- Texts and calls to your business number, with voicemails and recordings
- Leads from Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn lead forms and Google Local Services ads
- Messages and comments from your connected social accounts, such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn
Someone with two or more conversations shows as “N conversations”. Unread ones are marked, and the count shows beside Inbox in the sidebar. A conversation is marked read once someone actually has it open on screen.
Replying
Each conversation has its own reply box. Press Enter to send and Shift + Enter for a new line. Your reply goes back the way the customer got in touch:
- Website chat: it shows in their chat window. If they've left and gave an email, it's emailed to them after 2 minutes.
- Email: it's emailed, and their answer comes back to the same conversation.
- Text: up to 1,530 characters. The box shows how many texts a long message takes.
- A social comment: your reply is posted publicly under their comment.
To start something new, open the person and choose New conversation: an email with its own subject, or a text.
Was it delivered?
Under each email and text you send, DVT shows what happened to it:
| It says | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Delivered | It reached them. |
| Not delivered (with a reason) | Their email bounced, the number couldn't take texts, and so on. |
| Quiet hours: sends … | A text waiting for 8am, when it will go out. |
| Not sent: monthly limit reached | The month's texts or emails are used up. |
When an email bounces or someone marks it as spam, DVT stops emailing them and flags it on their contact page. The Email problems filter under Contacts finds everyone like that.
When DVT won't send
These rules keep your business on the right side of the phone carriers and spam laws, and they apply everywhere in DVT:
- Texts only go to people who agreed to them (the checkbox on your form or booking page) or who texted you first.
- Nobody who replied STOP is texted, until they reply START.
- A text that starts a conversation waits for 8am–9pm in your time zone. Replies within 24 hours of their last text go straight away.
- No email to addresses that bounced, people who marked you as spam, or anyone with email switched off under Do not disturb.
Closing and deleting
Close a conversation once it's dealt with, to keep the Open list short. It comes back by itself if they get in touch again, or reopen it from Closed. Owners can also Delete a conversation: its messages are deleted for good, but the contact and their other conversations stay.
Messages written by someone's connected AI are marked “by AI”. AI drafts wait in the conversation for anyone on the team to check, edit and send.
Common questions
Can I assign a conversation to someone on the team?Coming soon
Not yet. For now, give the contact an owner on their contact page, and each person can filter Contacts to "My contacts". The inbox shows Open and Closed conversations, with the unread ones marked.
Vote for it on the ideas board so we know how much you want it.
Why didn't my text send?
Look under the message. DVT only texts people who agreed to texts (the checkbox on your form or booking page) or who texted you first; it never texts anyone who replied STOP; and a text that starts a conversation waits for 8am–9pm in your time zone. It also stops if the month's texts are used up. The message says which one it was.
A website visitor left before I replied. Will they see my answer?
Yes, if they gave their email. If they haven't read your reply in the chat window within 2 minutes, DVT emails it to them, and their answer comes back to the same conversation.
When a customer answers an email, where does it go?
Back into the same conversation in the inbox, so the whole team sees it.
What does "Delivered" or "not delivered" under a message mean?
It's what happened to the email or text after it left DVT. If an email bounces or the customer marks it as spam, DVT stops emailing them and flags it on their contact page. Find them with the Email problems filter under Contacts.
Can I delete a conversation?
Owners can. Its messages are deleted for good. The contact and their other conversations stay. Anyone can Close a conversation to move it out of the way, and reopen it later.
Some messages say "by AI". What does that mean?
Someone on your team connected their own AI (Claude, ChatGPT and so on) and it wrote that message. On a "Drafts only" connection, the AI's messages wait as drafts for someone to check and send. See Connect your AI.