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Reply by email

Who sees this: Inbox — profiles Helpdesk and AI Voice + Helpdesk. Roles: Agent, Supervisor, Admin and Owner can reply. Read-only users see the reply box, but they cannot type in it. Only Supervisor, Admin and Owner can reply in the name of a colleague.

The reply box sits below the messages of a conversation. Email, chat and web widget conversations use the same email reply box, with a list of recipients. This article shows how to write and send an email reply, add copies and attachments, translate a reply and forward a conversation. For WhatsApp, read Reply on WhatsApp.

Prerequisites

  • Your organization uses the Helpdesk or AI Voice + Helpdesk profile.
  • Your base role is Agent, Supervisor, Admin or Owner, or an additional role gives you Manage conversations. Read What your role allows in the inbox.
  • You opened the conversation from Inbox, not from a link that ends in shared=1.
  • Your organization has a connected mailbox for outgoing email. If it has none, the reply is saved but not sent; ask your administrator. Read Connect an email mailbox.

Steps

  1. Open the conversation.
  2. Below the messages, check that the tab Reply is selected.
  3. Check the recipients. The To field already holds the email address of the customer when the contact has one. To add an address, type it and press Enter, a comma or Tab. To remove an address, select the small x on it.
  4. Type your reply in the text box. If your profile has a signature, AurionAI adds it below your text. Read Set up your profile for agent work.
  5. Select Send reply. You can also press Ctrl+Enter, or Cmd+Enter on a Mac, in the text box.

The email reply box with the recipients, the translation bar, the text box and the send button

Send reply stays grey while the To field is empty.

Add copies

  • To send a copy, select Cc next to the To field and add the addresses. For a hidden copy, select Bcc.
  • If the last email of the customer was sent to other people too, a Reply all link appears. Select it to add those people as copies. The addresses you already typed stay.
  • Each field takes at most 50 addresses.

Attach files

  1. In the bar above the text box, select Attach and choose one or more files.
  2. Each file appears as a small label with its name and size. While the file uploads, the label shows three dots.
  3. Wait until the upload ends before you send. To remove a file, select the x on its label.

You can also paste an image into the text box.

Translate your reply

When AurionAI knows the language of the customer, the blue bar above the reply box shows Customer language: and that language. Translate to: is then already set to the language of the customer.

  • Write in your own language. When you send, AurionAI translates your reply into the language chosen in Translate to:. If you already wrote in that language, the text is sent as it is.
  • To send your text without translation, choose None.

Send and change the status

Select the small arrow next to Send reply to see more choices, for example Send & Resolve. AurionAI first sends your reply. It changes the status only when the reply was sent. The list shows only the choices that your role and the current status allow. Snooze, resolve, archive or delete a conversation explains the statuses.

Reply in the name of a colleague

Requires: the base role Supervisor, Admin or Owner.

  1. Above the reply box, find Submit as. It shows Yourself.
  2. Choose the colleague. The text Acting on behalf appears.
  3. Write and send the reply.

The reply shows your colleague as the author. If the conversation is still being worked on, it is assigned to your colleague, not to you. The history of the conversation records that you sent it. The choice goes back to Yourself when you open another conversation.

Forward a conversation

  1. Select the tab Forward. To forward one message, point at the message and select the arrow icon Forward this instead: the message is copied into the forward, with its sender, date and subject.
  2. The window Forward conversation opens. Type one or more addresses in the first field, separated by commas. Add copies in the next fields if needed.
  3. Add your message.
  4. Select Send.

The forward goes only to the addresses you typed. The customer does not receive it. The Forward tab is available only in email, chat and web widget conversations.

Drafts

AurionAI saves what you type as a draft in this browser, for each conversation. When you come back, the draft is still there. To delete it, select Discard draft. A draft does not follow you to another browser or computer.

Result

  • Your reply appears at the end of the conversation. Below it, Sent shows that the mailbox accepted it.
  • In a chat or web widget conversation, the customer can also see your reply in the chat window.
  • If the conversation is still being worked on (for example open, pending or snoozed), you become its assignee. A resolved or closed conversation keeps its assignee. Read Claim or assign a conversation.

If something goes wrong

  • The reply box is grey and you cannot type. Your role cannot reply, or you opened a link that ends in shared=1. Read What your role allows in the inbox.
  • Send reply stays grey. Add at least one address in To. If the contact has no email address, ask the customer for one.
  • An address turns the field red. The text is not a valid email address. Correct it, then press Enter.
  • A message asks you to wait for the attachment upload. A file is still uploading. Wait until its label shows the size without three dots, then send again.
  • The message Reply saved but not delivered appears. Your reply is saved in the conversation, but it was not sent. The message gives the reason, for example a disconnected mailbox or a customer who unsubscribed. The reply shows Failed to deliver. When the reason is fixed, select Retry on the reply. If the reason is in the email settings of your organization, ask your administrator. Read Connect an email mailbox.
  • The reply shows Not sent. AurionAI did not send it, for example because there was no recipient address or the customer unsubscribed. Point at the label to read the reason.
  • The reply box shows a message instead of the text box. This conversation cannot receive replies, for example a call record or an archived conversation. A support request created by the voice agent can be answered by email when the contact has an email address. You can still write a private note. Read Write internal notes and mention colleagues.
  • Forward is missing. You can forward only email, chat and web widget conversations.

Still stuck? Submit a request or .