Messages is a single inbox for two kinds of conversation:
- Customer texts (SMS) to and from people outside your business.
- Team chat between people inside your business, one-on-one or in a group.
Keeping both in one place means you can answer a customer and check with a colleague without switching tools.
Opening Messages
- Click Messages in the sidebar.
- Internal team chats and customer text threads appear in the same list.
- A connection status shows when you are Connected.
Starting a team conversation
- Click New Chat.
- Choose a teammate for a one-on-one chat, or select several people for a group.
- Type your message and press Enter. Shift + Enter adds a new line.
Internal team messages stay inside your business — they are not texted to anyone's phone. Customer conversations are sent as real text messages from your business number.
Telling the two apart
- Team chat is internal coordination. It does not use a texting number and does not count as message usage.
- Text (SMS) goes to a real phone. You choose which business number to send from, and a character counter helps you keep it to a single segment.
Real-time and history
Messages appear live while Messages is open, and typing indicators show when someone is replying. Every conversation keeps its full history, so you can scroll back or search.
Good habits
- Use team chat for quick internal questions instead of email.
- Keep customer-facing replies in the customer's text thread so the whole team sees the context.
- Search before starting a new thread to avoid duplicating a conversation.
FAQ
Can people outside my company join team chat? No. Team chat is internal only. To message someone outside your business, use a text conversation.
Do internal team messages cost anything or need registration? No. Team chat does not send a real text message, so message charges and texting registration do not apply. Those apply only to SMS and MMS sent to real phone numbers.
Where do customer text conversations live? In the same Messages inbox, as text threads. See Business Text Messaging: Getting Started.