GoHighLevel ConversationsHow the Unified Inbox Works and How Teams Run It
One inbox, every channel
All plans- SMS, MMS and group texts
- Email, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram
- TikTok DMs and website live chat
- Calls and voicemails on the thread
- RCS private beta
- iMessage and LinkedIn DMs
Key facts
GoHighLevel Conversations at a glance
Checked October 11, 2026 · HighLevel: Conversations tab
- Included
- Every plan
- Inbox panels
- My Inbox, Team Inbox, Internal Chat
- Team tools
- Assign, comment, @mention, snippets
- SLAs
- Per channel, calendar hours
- AI
- Conversation AI + human handover
- LC Email, SMTP or Gmail/Outlook sync
- Mobile
- Full inbox in the apps
- Bulk SMS export
- Not documented
Channels
Every channel in one GoHighLevel inbox
Each channel connects differently and plays by its own rules. This is the cheat sheet.
| Compare | How you connect | Rules to know |
|---|---|---|
| Texting | ||
| SMS and MMS | LC Phone or Twilio number | A2P or toll-free verification; STOP opts out |
| Group SMS | From the inbox | 2–9 people (US and Canada numbers) |
| RCS | Enabled by support (Twilio) | Private beta; falls back to SMS |
| WhatsApp Business connection | 24-hour window; templates outside it | |
| Social and web | ||
| Facebook Messenger | Connect your Page | Automated DMs within 24 h of their last message |
| Instagram DMs | Connect the business account | Same 24-hour rule |
| TikTok DMs and comments | TikTok integration | Arrive in real time |
| Website live chat | Chat widget code on your site | Assign or let AI answer |
| Email and calls | ||
| LC Email, SMTP or Gmail/Outlook sync | Unsubscribe header on bulk email | |
| Calls and voicemails | Phone system | Recordings and voicemails on the thread |
| Internal comments | Built in | Hidden from the contact; can’t be edited |
| Not native | ||
| iMessage | Third-party apps only | |
| LinkedIn DMs | LinkedIn posting is in Social Planner | |
From HighLevel’s Conversations, chat widget, TikTok, RCS and Social Planner articles. WhatsApp details in Does GoHighLevel support WhatsApp?
Permissions
My Inbox, Team Inbox and Internal Chat
Who sees what depends on the panel and the user’s data access.
| Compare | My Inbox | Team Inbox | Internal Chat |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it shows | |||
| Contents | Assigned to or followed by you | Every conversation in the sub-account | Private team discussions |
| Customers involved | |||
| Who can open it | |||
| Full-access users | |||
| “Only assigned data” users | |||
Speed
Tools that save your team time
Snippets
Saved text and email replies, inserted from the composer and edited before sending.
Comments & @mentions
Notes in the thread the contact never sees. @mention a teammate to notify them.
Filters & saved views
Channel, tags, owner, date and last-message direction, with AND/OR. Save and share views.
Bulk actions
Mark read or unread, star and delete many conversations at once.
Manual actions
Calls and texts that workflows queue for a person, worked from one list.
Mobile inbox
Reply, call and schedule messages from the HighLevel app.
Ownership
Assignment: every conversation needs an owner
Unassigned conversations are the ones that never get answered.
New message routing
- New message
- Assign to user (round robin)
- Owner notified
- SLA timer running
- Assign by hand, by contact owner, or with a workflow (round robin across several users)
- Add followers so a manager sees the thread in their My Inbox
- Save an “Unassigned” view and check it twice a day
- Each user turns on “assigned to me” notifications
Round-robin details in the CRM guide.
Response time
Response-time SLAs
A countdown on every new customer message, so nothing waits too long.
An SLASLA: Service-level agreement: the longest time your team promises to take before replying. turns “reply quickly” into a number the whole team can see.
- One target for every channel, or a different target per channel
- Timers: grey on track, orange due soon, red overdue
- Sort by “longest SLA overdue” to work the worst first
- AI replies stop the timer by default; workflow messages don’t (both configurable)
- Internal comments never count as a reply
- Calendar hours only: business-hours SLAs are planned
- Needs the “CRM Redesign – Conversations” Labs flag; applies to new messages only
From HighLevel’s SLA article (modified 8 September 2026). SLA widgets for dashboards are covered in GoHighLevel reporting.
AI
Conversation AI and the human handover
Let AI answer the routine questions, and hand anything else to a person with context.
AI → human handover
- Customer asks
- Conversation AI replies
- “Can I talk to someone?”
- Assign + task + bot paused
Handover triggers
- The person asks for a human
- The AI doesn’t have the information
- Several failed attempts to resolve it
What happens next
- Assign a user and send a closing message
- Pause the bot for a set time
- Create a task due in 24 hours; tag “human_handover”
- No default assignee = it sits unclaimed
More in GoHighLevel AI; costs in AI pricing. HighLevel guide: human handover.
Email inside Conversations: which setup to use
Three ways to send and receive email in the inbox. Most businesses use two of them.
| Compare | Gmail/Outlook sync | LC Email | SMTP (Mailgun, SendGrid…) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | |||
| Use it for | 1:1 email from your own mailbox | Bulk and workflow email | An email provider you already use |
| Capabilities | |||
| Email from new, unknown senders | Not reliably | Yes, on a dedicated domain | Mailgun yes; others existing contacts only |
| Full open, click and bounce stats | Limited | ||
| History before connecting | — | — | |
| Limits | Gmail ~500 1:1 emails/day; 3 MB attachments | Daily ramp (see email guide) | Your provider’s limits |
For SMTP, tick “Enable reply” or replies won’t reach the inbox. Domain setup and limits in our email marketing guide. HighLevel guides: Gmail sync · Outlook sync · add your own SMTP.
Website
Website chat widgets
Live chat
An on-site chat box. Messages land in Conversations and can be assigned or answered by AI.
All-in-one widget
One bubble offering live chat, SMS/email, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Voice AI.
Facebook & Instagram
Send visitors to Messenger or Instagram DMs. Connect the account first.
Create widgets under Sites → Chat Widgets, then paste the code on your site or use the WordPress option. HighLevel guides: chat widget · all-in-one widget.
Rules
Channel rules that catch teams out
- SMS: the first text in a conversation gets your sender name and opt-out line automatically
- SMS: replies like STOP, STOPALL, CANCEL switch on Do Not Disturb for that contact
- WhatsApp: free-form replies only within 24 hours of the customer’s last message; templates after that
- Facebook and Instagram: automated DMs only within 24 hours of the person’s last message
- Email: bulk emails get a one-click unsubscribe header (not 1:1 emails)
- Internal comments can’t be edited or deleted once posted
Full texting rules in SMS marketing.
Blue bubbles
iMessage and RCS in GoHighLevel
RCS
Richer texts with your brand name, images and buttons, falling back to SMS when a phone can’t receive RCS. Enabled by HighLevel support with a Twilio connection.
iMessage
HighLevel has no built-in iMessage channel. Third-party apps add it; it’s a popular request on HighLevel’s ideas board.
RCS prices and rules in SMS marketing.
Records
Keeping records and exporting conversations
Important for regulated businesses: know what HighLevel can and can’t export before you rely on it.
- Every thread keeps the full history on the contact
- Voice AI call logs and WhatsApp workflow stats export to CSV
- Contact CSV exports don’t include SMS or email logs
- Messaging analytics can’t be exported
- No documented bulk export of SMS conversations
- Finance and other regulated firms: agree an archiving method (API or a third-party archiver) before go-live
From HighLevel’s contact export and messaging analytics articles. This is general information, not compliance advice.
Troubleshooting
Common inbox problems and fixes
| Compare | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Missing messages | ||
| Conversations missing from the inbox | Filter or view applied; limited data access | Clear filters; check the user’s permissions |
| Rep can’t see a conversation | “Only assigned data” access | Assign them or add them as a follower |
| SMTP email replies not arriving | “Enable reply” is off | Turn it on for the SMTP service |
| Gmail emails not syncing | Lost permissions; attachment over 3 MB | Reconnect; send large files as links |
| Can’t send | ||
| Instagram/Facebook reply blocked | 24-hour window passed | Wait for their reply or use SMS/email |
| WhatsApp message failed | Outside the 24-hour window | Send an approved template |
| Text not delivered | DND, registration or carrier filtering | See the error code in our SMS guide |
| Team | ||
| AI handover sat unclaimed | No default assignee | Set an assignee and notifications |
| No SLA timers | Labs flag off, or old messages | Enable the flag; timers start on new messages |
Setup
Set up the inbox in six steps
- Step 1
Connect channels
Phone number, email, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and the website chat widget.
- Step 2
Set permissions
Decide who gets full access and who sees only assigned data.
- Step 3
Write snippets
Prices, directions, booking link, after-hours reply.
- Step 4
Automate assignment
A workflow that assigns new conversations and notifies the owner.
- Step 5
Set SLAs
A realistic target per channel; review overdue daily.
- Step 6
Go mobile
Install the app for every user and turn on notifications.
What users ask
GoHighLevel inbox questions from Reddit, answered
“Can I send iMessage inside GHL?”
The #2 result for “imessage gohighlevel”.
Fix Not natively. Use a third-party iMessage app that connects to HighLevel, or try RCS (private beta) for branded, richer texts.
Source: r/gohighlevel: Sending iMessage inside of GHL“Is there a way to bulk export conversations?”
Firms need message records outside HighLevel.
Fix There’s no documented bulk export. Plan archiving through the API or a third-party archiver, and confirm with support for your plan.
Source: r/gohighlevel: Bulk export conversations“Can internal comments go in archives?”
Teams want notes kept with the record.
Fix Internal comments live in the thread and can’t be edited or deleted, which helps as an audit trail. Exporting them is the same problem as exporting messages.
Source: r/gohighlevel: Internal comments in archives“Conversation AI, can someone please help?”
New users struggle to make the bot behave.
Fix Start in suggestive mode, give it a short knowledge base, and set a human handover with a default assignee before going fully automatic.
Source: r/gohighlevel: Conversation AI help
Expert take
How we run the inbox for client teams
GoHighLevel Conversations FAQ
What is the GoHighLevel Conversations tab?
Which channels does the GoHighLevel inbox support?
Can my team share one inbox?
Can I stop reps seeing each other’s conversations?
How do I assign conversations automatically?
Can I leave notes the customer can’t see?
What are snippets?
Can I set response-time targets (SLAs)?
Does Conversation AI reply inside the inbox?
Can I connect my Gmail or Outlook inbox?
Why don’t emails from new people appear in Conversations?
Can I add live chat to my website?
Does GoHighLevel support iMessage?
Does GoHighLevel support LinkedIn messages?
Can I export all my SMS conversations?
Why are some SMS conversations missing from my inbox?
Can I message Facebook or Instagram leads any time?
Can I reply from my phone?
Can I see unanswered conversations quickly?
Footnotes
- HighLevel help centre: Conversations tab (modified 27 July 2026), filters and views, internal comments, internal chat, snippets, SLAs (8 September 2026), human handover, roles and assigned data, Gmail and Outlook two-way sync, SMTP, chat widgets, TikTok DMs, web chat, RCS (6 October 2026), contact export and messaging analytics; LinkedIn via Social Planner. Checked October 11, 2026. Back to text
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