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Answer a chat

Answer a customer who wrote on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok Shop or your live chat widget, and Replyco sends your reply back on that channel at once. You can start from a chat template, polish your text with AI Help and attach a file. The channel decides what it accepts: WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram take an ordinary reply only within 24 hours of the customer’s last message, so answer chats while they are fresh.

Before you start

Section titled “Before you start”
You needWhere it lives
The Chats permission and access to the chat’s account or live chat widgetSet by an admin in AdminUsers; see Invite users and set what they can do
A connected chat account or a live chat widgetSocial media and phone accounts, Live chat widget
Chat templates, if you want to start from oneChat ToolsAutomation; see Chat templates

Availability: chats, WhatsApp, the live chat widget and AI are part of every plan. See What each plan includes.

Steps

Section titled “Steps”

  1. Open ChatsMy Chats for the chats assigned to you, or ChatsOpen for all open chats you are responsible for, and select a chat.

    Rows with a red waiting time have waited 10 minutes or more; answer those first. The conversation opens in the middle, and opening it marks its messages as read for your whole team.

    The My Chats list under Chats in Replyco, with the heading My Chats, a Search box and Filter by Account; there is no user filter on this list. Three chats assigned to Henry Clarke are listed. The first row, highlighted, is Ethan Price on WhatsApp (Northwind Support) with a blue unread badge 1, the start of his question "Thanks! Does the hub…" and, in green, Time without response: 2 minutes. Below are Ryan Cooper on Messenger and James Walker on WhatsApp, each with a blue tick because the last message is a reply. Selecting the first row opens the chat.
    My Chats holds the open chats assigned to you; start with the one that has waited longest.
    What this screenshot shows
    Screen
    My Chats (/chats/myChats)
    Highlighted
    button “”, chat-list, unread. opens the chat
    Also visible
    heading My Chats; Search and Filter by Account, no user filter; 3 chats: 1 unread with time without response, 2 with a reply tick
    Purpose
    find the chat to answer

  2. Read the conversation and, for a long chat, the AI Summary in the side panel.

    Check Customer Details as well: if no customer is linked, the reply box is disabled and shows Select the recipient to send the message to..., so pick the customer in Select customer first. Everything in the side panel is explained in Chat list and conversations.

  3. (Optional) Start from a chat template: select the form icon right of the reply box, open the list in Select Template and pick a template.

    The template’s text replaces whatever is in the box. Chat templates have no placeholders, so add the customer’s name or order details yourself.

    A WhatsApp chat with Ethan Price open from My Chats in Replyco. His latest message asks whether the hub still charges the laptop while the monitor is connected. At the bottom, the highlighted text box, whose placeholder is Type your message..., now holds the text of the chat template Pass-through charging: "Yes: the hub's USB-C port passes up to 85 W through to your laptop, so it keeps charging while the monitor is connected." To its right are the template icon, the paper clip, AI Help and the blue send arrow, now active.
    A chat template fills the text box; change what you need, then press Enter or the arrow to send.
    What this screenshot shows
    Screen
    My Chats (/chats/:type/:chatId)
    Highlighted
    textbox “Type your message...”, composer, filled from a template. holds the reply until it is sent
    Also visible
    customer's question about charging; template text in the box; template icon, paper clip, AI Help, send arrow
    Purpose
    write the reply

  4. Write or finish your reply in the box. Shift+Enter starts a new line.

  5. (Optional) Select AI Help and pick a rewrite, for example Improve Writing or Correct Spelling.

    The AI’s version replaces your text in the box; read it before you send. With an empty box, AI Help does nothing.

    A WhatsApp chat with Ethan Price in Replyco. The text box at the bottom holds a quick draft, "yes it charges, up to 85W goes through the hub to the laptop", and the AI Help menu is open above it with nine choices: Make Shorter, Make Longer, Improve Writing, Simplify Writing, Make Formal, Make Informal, Make Professional, Make Friendly and Correct Spelling. Improve Writing is highlighted. Choosing an entry has the AI rewrite the text in the box, which replaces the draft.
    AI Help rewrites what you typed, for example to improve the writing or correct the spelling.
    What this screenshot shows
    Screen
    AI Help (/chats/:type/:chatId)
    Highlighted
    menuitem “Improve Writing”, composer-menu, highlighted. rewrites the text in the box
    Also visible
    draft in the text box; 9 AI Help choices
    Purpose
    polish the reply with AI

  6. Press Enter or select the blue arrow to send.

  7. (Optional) To send a file, select the paper clip, Add attachment, and pick it. The file goes out at once, with any text in the box, so write the text first.

What happens next

Section titled “What happens next”

Your reply appears in the conversation straight away, on the right in blue with your name. In the list, the chat’s row gets a blue tick, and the red, yellow or green waiting time disappears. Replying assigns you to the chat if you were not assigned yet, so it now appears in your My Chats, and any auto-response still waiting in the chat is cancelled.

Whether the customer receives it is up to the channel. Messenger and Instagram refuse a reply outside their 24-hour window at once, with an error pop-up, and the reply is not kept. WhatsApp accepts the reply first and reports a refusal a little later: the reply then shows Error Sending in red with WhatsApp’s reason.

When the matter is settled, close the chat with the status select in the side panel. If the customer writes again, the chat reopens by itself, with you still assigned.

Channel limits

Section titled “Channel limits”
ChannelWhen you can replyFiles you can sendEdit and delete your message
WhatsAppWithin 24 hours of the customer’s last message; later, WhatsApp refuses ordinary replies, and Replyco cannot send WhatsApp’s approved message templatesPictures (.jpg, .png), videos (.mp4, .3gp), stickers (.webp), audio (.mp3, .mpeg, .amr, .ogg), anything else as a document; up to 20 MBNo
Facebook MessengerWithin 24 hours of the customer’s last messageFiles up to 20 MBNo
InstagramWithin 24 hours of the customer’s last messagePictures only (.bmp, .ico, .jpg, .jpeg, .png), up to 20 MBNo
TelegramReplyco sets no time limitFiles up to 20 MBYes, also in the customer’s Telegram; you can also reply to a single message
TikTok ShopReplyco sets no time limitFiles up to 20 MBDelete only, and it removes the message only in Replyco; no edit
Live chatReplyco sets no time limit; the customer sees your reply in the widgetFiles up to 20 MBYes; the widget shows the change

On WhatsApp and Messenger, opening the chat also tells the customer that you have read their messages. WhatsApp chats never get an auto-response, unlike the other channels here, so a WhatsApp customer hears nothing until you reply.

Options

Section titled “Options”
ChoiceWhen to pick itEffect
A chat templateA common question, such as delivery times or returnsFills the box with the template’s text
AI HelpYour draft is short, rough or in the wrong toneRewrites the text in one of nine ways, from Make Shorter to Correct Spelling
Reply to Message (right-click a message)A Telegram chat where you answer an earlier questionQuotes that message above your reply
Edit (right-click your message)A typo in a reply on live chat or TelegramPuts the text back into the box; sending saves the change
Transcript (three-dot icon, live chat)The customer wants the conversation in writingEmails the chat as a new ticket; see Chat list and conversations
Assign a colleagueSomeone else should take overAdds them in Assigned; the chat appears in their My Chats

If something goes wrong

Section titled “If something goes wrong”
A WhatsApp chat with James Walker under Chats, Open in Replyco. His message about a missing refund is dated 07/03/2026 14:20. Henry Clarke's reply, sent on 10/03/2026 at 08:35, is shown in blue, and under it the highlighted red text reads "Error Sending: Re-engagement message Message failed to send because more than 24 hours have passed since the customer last replied to this number." The reason comes from WhatsApp, in English. The side panel shows Assigned Henry Clarke, Open, Generate Summary and his phone number.
WhatsApp refuses an ordinary reply more than 24 hours after the customer's last message; Replyco shows its reason under the reply.
What this screenshot shows
Screen
Open (/chats/:type/:chatId)
Highlighted
paragraph “Error Sending”, conversation, failed. none; explains why WhatsApp refused the reply
Also visible
customer message of 07/03/2026; reply of 10/03/2026 with the WhatsApp error; Generate Summary
Purpose
the WhatsApp 24-hour window
SymptomCheckFix
Error Sending with “Re-engagement message” on WhatsAppThe customer’s last message is more than 24 hours old.WhatsApp accepts no ordinary reply until the customer writes again. Reach them another way, for example by email or on the marketplace of their order, and reply on WhatsApp within 24 hours of their next message.
An error pop-up beginning “2018278: You are not allowed to do any actions with chat where user was inactive more than 24hrs” on Messenger or InstagramThe customer has not written for more than 24 hours.As for WhatsApp: the reply was not sent and not kept; contact the customer another way.
An error pop-up “This action is temporary unavailable according new Facebook privacy policy in Europe.”Meta blocked the reply under its privacy rules in Europe.The reply was not sent; contact the customer another way.
The reply box is greyed out with Select the recipient to send the message to...No customer is linked to the chat.Pick the customer in Select customer under Customer Details.
The reply box is greyed out without a tooltip, or Connection unstable. Retrying (attempt {{attempt}}/{{max}})...Your browser lost its connection to Replyco’s chat service.Check your internet connection and reload the page.
Failed to send message. Please check your connection., and the reply shows Error Sending with RetryThe connection failed while sending.Select Retry under the reply once you are online again.
File size is more than 20MB.The file is over 20 MB.Send a smaller file, or a link to it.
The template list is emptyYour company has no chat templates yet.Create them in Chat templates.
Section titled “Related”