Opening a thread gives you the full message history and everything you can do to it: reply, attach media, send structured messages, give it an owner, set its stage, and decide whether the AI agent is still allowed to answer.
Replying #
Inside an open 24-hour window the composer sends free text. Outside it, the composer is not the tool — use the Template button, which sends an approved template and re-opens the conversation if the customer replies.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Text | Plain message. Supports the formatting WhatsApp itself supports. |
| Media | Images, video, audio and documents. Uploaded and served over HTTPS, then handed to Meta. |
| Buttons | Up to three reply buttons. The customer taps one instead of typing, which makes their answer machine-readable. |
| List | A menu of options grouped into sections — better than buttons when there are more than three choices. |
| Reactions | Emoji reactions on a specific message, mirroring what WhatsApp users expect. |
Take over: moving a thread off the bot #
This is the most important control on the page. If an AI agent is answering on this number, the AI menu in the header offers Take over this chat, which stops it for this conversation so a human owns the thread from that point on.
For a customer who should never be handled by AI — a key account, a complaint in progress — choose Turn AI off for this customer in the same menu, or use the switch on the Contacts page. That survives across conversations.
Organising the thread #
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Set the owner
Use Set owner from the list. The owner belongs to the customer, so every chat with them follows it; hand one chat to someone else and the owner stays put. -
Set the stage
Use the stage picker in the header, so the inbox can be filtered and you can see what your volume is actually made of. See Stages. -
Archive
Once resolved. It leaves the working list and returns by itself if the customer writes again. -
Clear chat
Deletes the message history for this conversation. This is destructive and cannot be undone — the contact and the conversation remain, but what was said is gone.