Talk to us Start free trial on AgentExchange (opens in a new tab)

Shared Inbox

Your team's SMS inbox, inside Salesforce.

The ConnectSMS Inbox gathers the text conversations on every business number you can view into one place in Salesforce, with the customer's record, the assignee and the reply number next to each thread.

Start your 14-day free trial on AgentExchange (opens in a new tab) Talk to us
  • No credit card required
  • Listed on Salesforce AgentExchange
  • Then $120 per user per year
  • Runs on your own Twilio account

What is the ConnectSMS shared inbox? It's a Lightning component, ConnectSMS Inbox, that shows text conversations for the Twilio business numbers you have access to. Your team filters by number, works the All, Mine, Unassigned and Unread views, assigns conversations to themselves, and closes or reopens them. Replies always go out from the number the customer texted.

One inbox, every number

Every conversation your team can see, in three panes.

Conversations on the left, the thread in the middle, the customer and the conversation's details on the right. Admins add the inbox as a tab, to an app or home page, or to the utility bar.

Animation: in the ConnectSMS Inbox, a new text from Sarah Chen, "Perfect, thank you. Should I bring anything?", moves the conversation to the top of the list with an unread badge. Alex Kim opens it, selects Assign and then Assign to me, and replies "Just your ID. See you tomorrow." from the Support line, the number the customer texted. The reply's status changes from Queued to Sent to Delivered.

Recreated from the ConnectSMS interface with sample data.

Conversation list

Name, number, latest message, unread count, business number and who has it, newest first.

Conversation

The full history with delivery status on each message, and a reply box that always uses the right number.

Details

The linked Salesforce record, the business number, status, assignee, read state, opt-out and reply access.

Views and filters

Find the conversation that needs you next.

Three filters and a search box narrow a busy inbox down to the conversations you should be answering.

Search looks at each conversation's latest message, not its whole history. To read everything a customer has sent, open the conversation or the Salesforce record.

  • Business number: All my numbers or one number, each with its unread count
  • View: All, Mine, Unassigned, or Unread with its own count
  • Status: Open, Closed or All statuses
  • Search: the conversation name, digits of the phone number, and the latest message
Business number All my numbers · 3 unread
  • All my numbers3 unread
  • Support line · +1 (415) 555-01992 unread
  • Service line · +1 (415) 555-01231 unread
  • Sales line · +1 (415) 555-0142
View AllMineUnassignedUnread 3
StatusOpen
Search conversations…

Recreated from the ConnectSMS interface with sample data.

Clear ownership

Know who's handling it, and what's still waiting.

Conversations move through the team with a few plain actions, and everyone sees the same state.

Assignment is always to yourself. That keeps Mine honest: it only holds what you chose to pick up.

  • Assign to me takes a conversation; Unassign hands it back to the team
  • Read state is shared, so a message one person has read no longer shows as unread for everyone
  • Close a conversation when it's done, and reopen it from the menu or the details panel
  • Any new message in or out reopens a closed conversation automatically, so nothing stays hidden
Sarah Chen +1 (212) 555-0147 · Contact: Sarah Chen Open Assigned to you
Assign⋯
Assign
  • Assign to me
  • Unassign
⋯
  • Mark as unread
  • Close conversation
  • Refresh conversation

Conversation assigned to you.

Recreated from the ConnectSMS interface with sample data.

Details panel

The customer and the conversation, side by side.

The details panel answers the questions people ask before they reply, without leaving the inbox.

  • Contact details: name, phone and a link to the Salesforce record, or Not linked to a Salesforce record
  • Business number the customer texted, and the conversation's Status
  • Assigned to: the conversation's owner, or Unassigned
  • Read state with Mark as read or unread, and when the Last message was sent or received
  • Opted out: whether the customer has opted out, so nobody tries to text them
  • Reply access: Can reply, or View only if you don't have Send access to that number
Contact details
Name
Sarah Chen
Phone
+1 (212) 555-0147
Contact
Sarah Chen
Conversation details
Business number
Support line+1 (415) 555-0199
Status
Open
Assigned to
Me
Read state
Read Mark as unread
Last message
Mon, Oct 12 at 2:17 PM · Sent
Opted out
No
Reply access
Can replyReplies are sent from this business number.

Recreated from the ConnectSMS interface with sample data.

Built on Salesforce data

The right number, the right record.

Two rules keep conversations tidy without anyone having to think about them.

Always reply from the right number

Each conversation belongs to one business number, and replies always go out from it, so the customer keeps seeing the number they texted. ConnectSMS never switches numbers on a reply. People with View access can read the conversation but see why they can't reply.

To Sarah Chen · +1 (212) 555-0147 From Support line • +1 (415) 555-0199

Replies come from the number this conversation uses, so the customer sees the same number.

You can't reply from Support line · +1 (415) 555-0199
Replies must come from the number the customer texted. Ask your admin for Send access to it, or ask a teammate who has access to reply.

Automatically connect conversations to Salesforce

When a new number texts in, ConnectSMS looks for it in Salesforce. It links the conversation when exactly one Contact has the number, or failing that exactly one open Lead. When several records could match, it leaves the conversation unlinked rather than guessing.

When a new number texts in
  • Exactly one Contact has the numberLinked to that Contact
  • No single Contact, exactly one open LeadLinked to that Lead
  • Several possible recordsNot linked, never guessed
  • No record has the numberNot linked to a Salesforce record

How incoming texts reach Salesforce

Notifications

The right person hears about a new reply.

When a customer texts, ConnectSMS sends a Salesforce notification to the person responsible for the conversation.

The inbox itself updates on its own. When live events aren't available it checks for updates every 20 seconds.

  • It goes to the assignee, or if nobody is assigned, to whoever last sent from the conversation
  • Only people who can still view that business number are notified
  • It names the phone number and business number, never the message text
  • Notifications appear in the Salesforce bell and, if you use it, the Salesforce mobile app
NotificationsJust now
New text message from +1 (212) 555-0147 Open the ConnectSMS inbox to read and reply. Business number: Support line

Recreated from the ConnectSMS interface with sample data.

Mobile and utility bar

One pane at a time on small screens.

Designed for the Salesforce mobile app: the inbox and record component adapt to narrow screens, and updates arrive by polling where live events aren't available.

  • Wide pages show three panes, medium ones two, and narrow ones a single pane
  • In a single pane you move from the list to the conversation, then back with Back to conversations
  • The utility bar version works the same way, so you can answer without leaving the page you're on
  • Admins can turn on Compact layout for tight spaces in Lightning App Builder
Inbox New
Checks for updates every 20 seconds
AllMineUnassignedUnread 3
  • Sarah ChenJust now
    +1 (212) 555-0147 · Contact: Sarah Chen
    You: Just your ID. See you tomorrow.
    Support lineAssigned to you
  • Marcus Reid12 min
    +1 (718) 555-0176 · Contact: Marcus Reid
    Can I move my service visit to Friday morning?1
    Service lineUnassigned
  • +1 (646) 555-01811:05 PM
    Is the Midtown store open on Sunday?2
    Support lineUnassigned
  • Joy ParkerMon
    +1 (917) 555-0133 · Lead: Joy Parker
    You: Thanks for reaching out. A team member will follow up shortly.
    Sales lineAssigned to Jordan Lee
← Back to conversations
Sarah ChenTexting from Support line
Hi Sarah, your appointment is confirmed for tomorrow at 10:30 AM.
Sent by Alex Kim • 2:14 PM • Delivered
Perfect, thank you.
Sarah Chen • 2:16 PM

Recreated from the ConnectSMS interface with sample data.

Who can see what

Access follows your business numbers.

Conversations are private in Salesforce. People see a conversation because an admin gave them access to its business number, directly or through a public group.

Can view

Read the conversations

See every conversation on the number, assign it, close it and mark it read. Replies show as View only.

Can send

Reply and start new ones

Everything View allows, plus replying from that number and starting new conversations. Send includes View.

ConnectSMS Admin

See every number

Admins see conversations on all business numbers, plus the Unknown numbers view described below.

Unknown numbers, for admins only

Texts to a Twilio number that isn't set up in ConnectSMS are kept in an admin-only Unknown numbers view instead of being lost, so admins can see that a number still needs to be set up. Conversations in this view can't be replied to.

A customer texting in for the first time is different: their conversation appears normally on the business number they texted.

Business numbers and access

Start a conversation from the inbox

New Message lets you text a Contact or a Lead without leaving the inbox. After you send, the conversation appears in the list like any other. To text another kind of record, use ConnectSMS on that record's page.

New message Choose who to text. The conversation appears in your inbox after you send.
Recipient type ContactLead
Search contacts…

To text another kind of record, open it in Salesforce and use ConnectSMS on the record page.

FAQ

Shared SMS inbox: common questions

Can multiple Salesforce users share an SMS inbox?

Yes. The shared inbox shows conversations on every business number you're allowed to view. You can filter by number, switch between All, Mine, Unassigned and Unread, assign a conversation to yourself, and close or reopen it. Read and unread state is shared by the team.

The shared SMS inbox

How does assignment work in the ConnectSMS inbox?

Anyone who can view a conversation can take it with Assign to me and release it with Unassign. Assignment is always to yourself, so the Mine view shows what you have picked up and the Unassigned view shows what nobody has taken yet.

Can I search the full message history in the inbox?

Inbox search matches the conversation name, the digits of the customer's phone number and the latest message in each conversation. It doesn't search older messages; open the conversation or the Salesforce record to read the full history.

What happens when a text comes from a number that isn't in Salesforce?

ConnectSMS still creates the conversation on the business number that received it and shows the phone number with Not linked to a Salesforce record. If exactly one Contact, or failing that exactly one open Lead, has that number, the conversation is linked automatically. When several records match, ConnectSMS doesn't guess.

Who is notified when a customer replies?

The person the conversation is assigned to. If nobody is assigned, the person who most recently sent from ConnectSMS in that conversation is notified, as long as they can still view the business number. The Salesforce notification says which number was texted but doesn't include the message itself.

Does the shared inbox work in the Salesforce mobile app?

The inbox is designed for the Salesforce mobile app and the utility bar: on narrow screens it shows one pane at a time, from the conversation list to the conversation and its details, and it checks for updates every 20 seconds where live events aren't available.

Which number do replies come from?

Always the business number the customer texted. ConnectSMS never switches numbers on a reply, so the customer keeps seeing the same number, and people without Send access to that number can read the conversation but not reply.

Keep exploring

Two-way SMS

How replies, delivery updates and opt-outs travel from Twilio back into Salesforce.

Text from any record

The ConnectSMS Text Messages component on Contacts, Leads, Accounts and Cases.

Try it now: every feature, free for 14 days

Put every customer text where your team already works.

Install ConnectSMS from AgentExchange, connect your Twilio account and give your team the numbers they should text from.

Start your 14-day free trial on AgentExchange (opens in a new tab) Talk to us
  • No credit card required
  • Listed on Salesforce AgentExchange
  • Then $120 per user per year
  • Runs on your own Twilio account

ConnectSMS is published by WorkBridge Solutions. Twilio bills your Twilio account directly for messaging, including during the trial.