Every new inquiry gets an owner and a reply before it goes cold.
A homeowner texts at 7:40 PM asking if you do bathroom-only remodels. Who sees it, who answers, and how fast? inChat is being built so new conversations land in one queue, get claimed, and stay on a visible timer until someone replies.
inChat is in early access. Features shown are in development.
- 1Every new conversation lands unassigned
- 2Someone claims it, visibly
- 3A response timer starts on arrival
- 4The first reply moves the conversation forward
- 5After hours, the customer hears something honest
- 6Review the waiting list, not the whole inbox
The first reply is where most message leads are won or lost
When inquiries arrive by text or WhatsApp, they land wherever the number rings: an owner’s phone, the office line, a rep’s personal WhatsApp. Everyone assumes someone else has it. The customer, meanwhile, has messaged two other companies and will go with whoever answers with something useful first.
- 01
Nobody knows a new lead is waiting
A text sits on the office phone over lunch. A WhatsApp message arrives on the estimator’s phone while he’s on a roof. There’s no shared list of “new and unanswered,” so the gap only shows up when the customer stops replying.
- 02
Two people answer, or nobody does
Without a claim step, the owner and the office manager both reply with different availability, or each assumes the other did. Either way the customer gets a confusing first impression.
- 03
After-hours messages wait until morning
Evening and weekend inquiries are common for service businesses because that’s when customers have time to think. If nobody looks until 8 AM, the customer hears nothing for twelve hours and doesn’t know if the message was even received.
A lead response process that works without a front desk
This is the routine inChat is designed around. It works for a team of three as well as fifteen, and it doesn’t require anyone to watch the inbox all day, only to know when it’s their turn.
Every new conversation lands unassigned
SMS and WhatsApp messages from a new number open a conversation in a shared Unassigned view, not on whoever’s phone happened to ring. The thread is linked to a new contact automatically, so nobody has to create one first.
Someone claims it, visibly
A teammate takes the conversation, or it’s assigned by rule (for example, by service area or round-robin). The owner’s name shows on the thread so the rest of the team stops worrying about it.
A response timer starts on arrival
Each waiting conversation shows how long the customer has been waiting. You set a target, for example a reply within 15 minutes during business hours, and threads past it are flagged in the view managers watch.
The first reply moves the conversation forward
A useful first reply confirms you received the message, answers the specific question, and asks one thing that moves toward a visit, a call or a quote. An AI reply draft (in development) can suggest wording; a person always edits and sends it.
After hours, the customer hears something honest
An automatic after-hours reply (workflow automation, in development) tells the customer when a person will respond. The conversation stays at the top of the Unassigned view so the morning shift starts there.
Review the waiting list, not the whole inbox
At the end of the day, a manager looks at one list: conversations with no owner and conversations where the customer spoke last. That’s the whole speed-to-lead check.
A 7:40 PM bathroom inquiry at a five-person remodeler
Megan got an honest after-hours reply, a real answer six minutes into the workday, and a walkthrough request routed to the right estimator without anyone forwarding a screenshot.
Fictional business and sample messages.
The parts of inChat that matter here.
One queue for new conversations
SMS and WhatsApp land in a shared inbox with an Unassigned view, so new leads aren’t tied to whoever’s phone rang.
See the unified inboxClaiming and assignment rules
Claim a thread in one step, or route by rule. Every conversation shows its owner.
How assignment worksTimers and waiting views
See how long each customer has been waiting and which threads are past your target.
Explore conversation managementAfter-hours replies
Trigger an automatic acknowledgment when a message arrives outside your hours (in development).
Read about automation- Response timers, the inbox and assignment are in development as launch scope; automatic after-hours replies are part of workflow automation, also in development.
- An automatic reply should acknowledge the message, not pretend to be a person. Keep it short and say when a human will respond.
- For SMS, US business texting runs through A2P 10DLC registration, and replies to someone who texted you first still need to follow carrier and consent rules. Check with your provider or counsel; rules change.
- Instagram DMs are planned next after launch; at launch, lead response covers SMS and WhatsApp.
Lead response: your questions.
What inChat is designed to do for lead response, and what’s still being decided.
Ask us something elseNot yet. inChat is in development and offered through early access. The inbox, assignment and response timers are launch scope. You can request early access to follow progress and help shape the first version.
Pick a target your team can actually hold during business hours and measure against it before tightening it. A specific target that you review weekly is more useful than an ambitious one nobody watches.
No. inChat doesn’t send AI replies on its own. After hours, you can set a fixed acknowledgment (workflow automation, in development). AI reply drafts are a separate assistant feature, also in development, and a person approves every message.
SMS and WhatsApp are the launch channels and both are in development. Instagram DMs are planned next after launch. Facebook Messenger and Telegram are planned; email and live chat are under consideration.
Pricing isn’t published yet. You can request details on the pricing page.
Other ways teams use inChat.
Lead qualification
Ask the right questions in chat, record the answers, and hand off cleanly.
ExploreSales follow-up
Follow up over SMS and WhatsApp, and stop the moment the customer replies.
ExploreChat to deal
Turn a conversation into a deal with fields and stages, without copy-paste.
ExploreCustomer communication
Reminders, updates and service questions after the sale, in one history.
ExploreMake every conversation count.
Join the early-access list to see inChat in action, help shape what we build next, and be first to know when your team can start.
- A walkthrough built around your channels
- Early look at pricing and plans
- A direct line to the product team