# Reply to customers

Write replies, use canned responses and quick commands, quote a message, recall one, and understand reply windows and delivery ticks.

You answer every channel from the same reply box at the bottom of a conversation. Ha Tang sends your reply back where the customer wrote: into the website chat or your app, as a Zalo, Messenger or WhatsApp message, or as an email in the same thread.

You need **Work** access to Customer Support to reply.

## Send a reply

1. Open the conversation in **Customer Support → Inbox**.
2. Type in the reply box. Press `Shift+Enter` for a new line.
3. Press `Enter` or click **Send**.

Your message shows at once with a clock while it is being sent. On the website chat the customer sees that you are typing while you write.

In chat messages you can write `**bold**`, `_italic_` and `` `code` ``. Links become clickable.

## Faster replies

- **Canned responses.** Type `/` at the start of a line to pick a saved reply, for example `/gio` for your opening hours. On the phone and Mac apps, the lightning button opens **Mine** and **Team**, and saves the message you are writing as a new one.
- **Schedule send.** Write now, send later: the clock button next to **Send** on the web, a long press on the send button on the phone. See [Schedule a message](https://hatang.dev/help/inbox/scheduled-messages). See [Canned responses](https://hatang.dev/help/inbox/canned-responses).
- **Quick commands.** Type `@` at the start of a line to act on the conversation instead of writing:

  | Command | Does |
  |---|---|
  | `@c` | Resolves the conversation |
  | `@ok` | Marks it handled without a reply: it leaves **Unanswered only** and its unread count is cleared |
  | `@` + a tag name | Adds that tag, or creates it if it is new (for example `@giá-sỉ`) |

  Use the arrow keys and `Enter` or `Tab` to pick from the list. In an internal note, `@` also lists your colleagues to [mention](https://hatang.dev/help/inbox/internal-notes-and-mentions#mention-a-teammate).
- **AI suggestion.** When the AI assistant drafts a reply, it appears above the reply box. Click **Insert** to edit and send it, or **Discard**.
- **Products and orders.** **Product** sends product cards and **Order** creates an order with a payment link. See [Product cards in chat](https://hatang.dev/help/products/product-cards-in-chat) and [Payment in chat](https://hatang.dev/help/products/payment-in-chat).

![Typing / opens the canned responses](https://hatang.dev/help/img/en/inbox/canned-picker.webp)

## Quote a message

Hover a message and click the reply arrow to answer that message specifically. "Replying to «…»" appears above the reply box; the customer sees your reply attached to their message. Quoting works on the website chat, TikTok, WhatsApp, Telegram, LINE (for messages LINE allows quoting) and personal Zalo.

## Recall a message

Hover a message your team sent and click the recall arrow, then confirm **Recall this message?**. Recalling works on:

- **Website and app chat**: the message disappears from the customer's chat.
- **Personal Zalo**: the message is recalled on Zalo.
- **Telegram**: for messages Telegram accepted.

The message is replaced by **Recalled**, and an internal note records who recalled it and what it said. Other channels do not let a business take a message back, so the arrow does not appear there.

## Reply windows

Some platforms only accept replies for a while after the customer's last message. The conversation header shows a green chip such as **window open · 23h** while you can reply, and a red **window closed** chip after that.

| Channel | Window |
|---|---|
| Zalo OA | 48 hours |
| Messenger and Instagram | 24 hours; up to 7 days when the HUMAN_AGENT tag is on for that channel (shown as **past 24h · HUMAN_AGENT replies**) |
| WhatsApp | 24 hours; after that only templates approved by Meta, with **Send a template** |
| Telegram Business | 24 hours |

When the window is closed the reply box switches to internal notes, and a banner explains what the customer has to do. Website chat, email and the other channels have no window.

## Email replies

In an email conversation the reply box adds **To**, **CC**, **Add BCC** and **Subject**, buttons for bold, italic, links and lists, and **Send email**. The buttons write the same marks as chat (`**bold**`, `_italic_`), and the email shows them formatted. Your signature is added automatically. Attached files go out with the email. Under each reply you see what happened to it: **Email sent**, **Delivered**, **Opened**, **Opened, link clicked**, or **Email bounced**, **Marked as spam** and **Email failed** in red.

## Did the customer get it?

| Under your message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Clock | Sending |
| One tick | Delivered to the channel |
| Two ticks | **Seen** by the customer (on channels that report it) |
| **Not sent** with **Retry** | Your browser could not reach Ha Tang. Check the connection and click **Retry** |
| **Not delivered:** and a reason | The channel refused it. See [Message not delivered](https://hatang.dev/help/inbox/message-not-delivered) |

If the conversation is **Closed**, the reply box says "This conversation is closed". Reopen it first, or wait for the customer to start a new one.