Omnichannel Inbox & Advanced Ticket Management in Seen
The Omnichannel Unified Inbox represents the operational core of the Seen platform for customer support agents, sales executives, and operations managers. Consolidating incoming conversations across all connected touchpoints—WhatsApp Business Cloud API, Instagram Direct Messages, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram Bots—into a unified workflow, Seen transforms raw messaging threads into trackable, auditable tickets complete with SLA countdowns, priority ladders, and internal team collaboration tools.
1. High-Productivity 3-Panel Architecture
Seen's inbox workspace is structured around an intuitive 3-panel layout designed to maximize agent efficiency and eliminate context switching:
┌────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────┐
│ LEFT PANEL │ CENTER PANEL │ RIGHT PANEL │
│ (Ticket List) │ (Active Conversation) │ (Contact & SLA) │
│ │ │ │
│ • Mine vs Unassigned │ • Ticket Header & Assignee │ • Contact Identity │
│ • Global Search & Filter│ • Multi-format Bubble Stream│ • Color Tags & Segments│
│ • SLA Countdown Badges │ • 24h Meta Window Lock Bar │ • Flag System & Reason │
│ • Interactive Cards │ • Internal Note Mode Toggle │ • Ticket Cycles History│
└────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────┘
Left Panel: Ticket Directory & Queue Filters
- Assignment Toggle: Instant switching between tickets assigned to you (Mine) and the unassigned triage queue (Unassigned).
- Omni-Search Bar: Search instantly by contact name, international phone number (E.164), ticket ID number, or specific message text fragments.
- Filter Chips: Filter by status, priority level, channel provider, date range presets, or historical import status.
- Real-Time Ticket Cards: Dynamic cards showing contact avatar, channel brand badge, message preview snippet, unread message count badge, and a real-time color-coded SLA countdown timer.
Center Panel: Live Conversation Stream
- Ticket Header Bar: Displays contact name, channel origin, assignee selector popover (
AssignTicketPopover), priority dropdown (PriorityPickerPopover), and administrative actions menu. - Notification Banners: Automatic system alerts for pending transfer approvals (
TransferPendingBanner) and Meta 24-hour service window expirations (LockedChatBanner). - Rich Message Stream: Full support for 16+ message formats with delivery status receipts (Sent, Delivered, Read).
- Composer Toolbar: Rich text formatting, multimedia attachments, location pin drop, voice note recorder, emoji picker, and internal private note toggle.
Right Panel: Contact Intelligence & Ticket Properties
- Contact Info Card: Name, phone, email, channel identifiers, and contact block/unblock toggles.
- Tag Management: Apply or remove color-coded tags to categorize customer inquiries (see Tags & Categories).
- Flag System: Assign visual color flags (
flag_color) with descriptive rationale (flag_reason) for escalation visibility. - Ticket Cycles (Table of Contents): Chronological historical drawer listing previous tickets resolved for this customer.
- Ticket Notes Tab: Dedicated audit tab listing private notes with author identity and timestamped edit histories.
2. Ticket Lifecycles & Status Definitions
Every conversation transitions through standardized lifecycle states represented by status codes and system colors:
| Status Code | Status Name | UI Variant & Badge | Operational Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New | Blue | Fresh inbound inquiry awaiting initial triage by an agent. |
| 2 | Open | Cyan | Active conversation awaiting agent or customer reply. |
| 3 | Assigned | Indigo | Successfully routed to a specific agent or specialized team. |
| 4 | In Progress | Orange | Under active investigation or cross-department resolution. |
| 5 | Closed | Gray | Customer inquiry fully resolved and ticket concluded. |
| 6 | Reopened | Purple | Customer replied after ticket closure, automatically reopening the thread. |
| 7 | Inactive | Slate | Dormant thread with no customer activity over an extended window. |
| - | Archived | Archive Badge | Logical boolean state (is_archived) removing old tickets from active queues. |
3. Priority Levels & SLA Routing
Adjust ticket priority on the fly via the header dropdown (PriorityPickerPopover):
- Urgent (4): Red badge. Reserved for critical service disruptions, high-value VIP escalations, or legal disputes.
- High (3): Orange badge. High-potential sales leads or sensitive post-delivery complaints.
- Normal / Medium (2): Blue badge. Standard operational default for product inquiries and status requests.
- Low (1): Slate badge. Non-urgent suggestions, feedback, or general administrative queries.
Tip: Priority directly dictates response thresholds in your SLA Policies; Urgent tickets enforce accelerated First Response targets and dynamically pin tickets to the top of agent queues.
4. Supported Message Formats (16+ Types)
Seen provides native rendering and composition across a comprehensive spectrum of message types:
- Text: Rich text formatting with bold
*bold*, italics_italic_, strikethrough, and clickable hyperlinks. - Images: In-thread thumbnail preview with full-screen zoom via
ChatLightbox. - Videos: In-line playable video player with download support.
- Voice Notes & Audio: Interactive waveform audio player (
ChatAudioPlayer) with variable playback speeds (1x, 1.5x, 2x) and direct microphone recording. - Documents & PDFs: Structured document cards (
PdfThumbnail) displaying file name, extension, file size, and page preview. - Stickers: WhatsApp native animated and static stickers.
- Location Pins: Interactive Google Map previews with reverse-geocoded addresses and custom pin dispatch via
TicketChatLocationPicker. - Contact Cards: vCard data with one-tap contact import.
- Reactions: Quick emoji reactions overlaid directly onto individual message bubbles.
- Interactive Buttons & Lists: Native WhatsApp interactive options enabling one-tap customer selections.
- Official WhatsApp Templates: Pre-approved marketing and utility templates with dynamic parameter values.
- Internal Notes: Yellow-tinted internal memos visible strictly to team members.
5. Meta's 24-Hour Service Window & Input Lock System
Meta mandates a strict customer protection policy for WhatsApp Cloud API numbers: when a customer messages your business, a 24-hour customer service window is initiated. During this 24-hour span, agents are permitted to send free-form, conversational messages without template restrictions.
What Happens When the 24-Hour Window Expires?
- The message input box locks automatically (
is_input_locked = true,close_chat_24 = true). - A prominent banner displays (
LockedChatBanner): "The 24-hour messaging window has closed. To re-engage this contact, you must send an approved WhatsApp Template". - The standard send button is replaced by "Send Approved Template".
- Clicking this opens the template picker modal (
TicketTemplatePickerModal), allowing agents to select an approved template and fill required parameters (e.g., customer name, order number). - As soon as the customer replies to the template with any text or button tap, the 24-hour service window restarts immediately, and standard composer controls unlock.
Warning: Free-form text messages sent after window expiration will fail at the Meta API level. Always utilize pre-approved WhatsApp Templates to initiate outbound re-engagement.
6. Internal Notes vs Conversation Notes
Seen equips your team with two distinct layers of private team documentation:
In-Thread Quick Notes (Message Notes)
- In the composer bar, toggle the note switch (
ChatReplyNoteToggle) or pressCtrl + Shift + N. - The composer background turns soft amber/yellow with an active "Internal Note Mode" badge.
- Messages posted in this mode render with a distinctive yellow bubble and lock icon, remaining completely invisible to the customer.
- Ideal for logging phone call recaps or briefing a colleague before transferring a ticket.
Dedicated Conversation Notes Tab (Ticket Notes Tab)
- In the right-hand properties sidebar, navigate to the Notes Tab.
- Displays structured, timestamped notes attached to the conversation lifecycle.
- Logs author profile, original creation time, and subsequent edit records.
7. Ticket Transfer Request Workflow
When an agent needs to hand off a ticket to another department or senior specialist:
- Select "Request Transfer" from the ticket action menu.
- In the
RequestTransferPopover, choose the target agent or team and provide a clear transfer reason (Note). - The ticket enters "Transfer Pending" state, displaying a high-visibility banner (
TransferPendingBanner). - Supervisors review pending transfers within the Transfer Requests dashboard to approve or reject with feedback.
- Upon approval, assignment changes immediately, and the activity is recorded in the timeline.
8. WhatsApp Coexistence (Historical Threads)
For businesses transitioning from physical WhatsApp phones to Seen's Cloud API:
- The WhatsApp Coexistence engine allows you to view archived historical chats that took place prior to connecting with Seen.
- Historical tickets carry a distinct "Historical" badge (
is_from_history: true). - Enables agents to review previous orders, invoices, and discussions seamlessly without checking legacy physical handsets.
Keyboard Shortcuts for Maximum Speed
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Enter |
Send message immediately |
Shift + Enter |
Insert line break without sending |
Ctrl + Shift + N / Cmd + Shift + N |
Toggle between customer reply and internal note mode |
Esc |
Close active modals, popovers, and image lightbox |
/ (in input) |
Trigger canned responses quick-picker menu |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the customer see the name or avatar of the responding agent?
No. Outbound messages appear on the customer's WhatsApp as originating from your verified Business Account profile. Agent identities and avatar icons remain purely internal within Seen for auditability and management reviews.
What should an agent do if a customer sends an incorrect location pin?
Agents can launch the TicketChatLocationPicker, pinpoint the correct landmark or branch address on the map, and dispatch it to the customer as an interactive Google Maps card.
How does blocking a contact work?
When an agent toggles Block Contact (is_blocked: true), further messages from that number are suppressed from creating new open tickets in the inbox, while historical logs remain safely preserved for corporate records.
