Reply to a customer or add an internal note

The reply box sits at the bottom of every ticket. It sends replies to the customer by email or chat, and it also writes internal notes that only your team can read.

Before you start

• Who can do this: agents, admins and owners. Viewers cannot reply.
• Plan: all plans.

Step by step

1. Open a ticket. The reply box says "Reply to" the customer's first name. Press r to jump into it.
2. Check the mode at the top left: Email reply, Chat reply or Internal note. Open the menu there to switch.
3. Write your message. Press Formatting (Aa) for Bold, Italic, Bullet list, Numbered list and Link.
4. Type / to insert a macro, or {{ to insert a variable such as the customer's first name.
5. Press Send, or Ctrl+Enter.
6. To reply and finish in one go, press Send & close.

What happens next

For a few seconds the timeline shows "Sending in 10s…" and the send button becomes Undo. See Undo a reply you just sent. Then:

• Email reply: the email goes out and a line under it says Emailed to the customer. See Check if a reply was emailed.
• Chat reply: it appears in the customer's chat window at once.
• Internal note: it appears with a note background, labelled for your team only.

Your first reply on an unassigned ticket assigns it to you. Rules for "an agent replies" run, and a reply cancels any AI agent answer still waiting to go out.

Writing with AI

The sparkle button, Draft a reply with AI (Ctrl+J), writes a draft from the whole conversation. See Draft replies with AI.

Tips

• Use notes for hand-overs: "Refund approved by Kaye, waiting for the parcel."
• Keep chat replies short and send several messages rather than one long block.
• Press → after sending to go to the next ticket.
• Use Send & close for simple questions you have fully answered.

Troubleshooting

"This workspace has used all … conversations in the … plan this month."

The monthly conversation limit is reached and this reply would start a new conversation. Your text is kept. Internal notes and replies to conversations already answered this month still work. See What happens at your plan limits.

"Fill in the required fields before closing."

The ticket needs a required field before it can close. Fill it in the dialog, then send again.

"Invalid message"

The message was empty or too long. Replies can be up to 20,000 characters.

"Viewers can look but not change tickets. Ask an admin for agent access."

Viewers cannot send replies or notes.

"Not emailed: …"

The reply was saved but not emailed. The reason follows. See Check if a reply was emailed.