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Messaging & Conversations

The Lead Inbox brings every conversation with your leads into one unified thread — SMS, Facebook Messenger, Instagram DM, WhatsApp, and voice all live side-by-side, per lead.

Viewing conversations​

  1. Tap any lead in the list to open their conversation
  2. Messages are grouped by date with timestamps
  3. Your messages (outbound) appear on the right in teal/cyan bubbles
  4. Lead messages (inbound) appear on the left in dark bubbles
  5. AI-generated messages are marked with a subtle AI badge
  6. Translated messages show a 🌐 "Translated from {language}" badge — tap to inline-expand the original
  7. Photos a lead sends appear right in the conversation — tap one to view it full-screen. Voice messages show as a player you can play in place, and the ones you send do too. Videos, PDFs and other files still appear as a tappable chip (🎥 Video, 📄 PDF, 📎 File) — tap it to open or download. If a voice message can't play on your device, it shows as a 🎵 Audio chip you can tap to open instead.

:::info How long attachments stick around Photos, voice messages, videos and files — whether a lead sent them or you did — are kept for 30 days from when they were sent, then automatically removed to keep storage in check. The message itself, and any text that came with it, stays in the conversation forever; only the attachment expires. If you need to keep something longer, save it to your device within that window. :::

:::tip Tap the LeadHub logo Tapping the LeadHub AI logo in the top-left of any screen takes you to the matching section on leadhubai.io — useful for sharing a page with a teammate or jumping over to the marketing site quickly. :::

Quick actions (the fastest way to work a list)​

Every lead in the list has a quick-actions menu you can open without first tapping into the conversation. Two ways to open it:

  • Swipe left on a lead to reveal the menu
  • Tap the ⋮ button on the right side of the row

A first-visit hint banner appears at the top of the list ("Swipe left on any lead — or tap ⋮ — to see quick actions") and dismisses itself the first time you use either gesture.

The menu shows different options depending on where the lead is in your pipeline:

Lead stateAvailable quick actions
New / Contacted / Replied / Qualified👤 Assign to me*** · ✨ Enable AI**** · 📅 Schedule · ⏰ Snooze · ❌ Lost
Assigned🏷️ Status* · ✨ Enable AI**** · 📅 Schedule · ✅ Complete · 🚐 On My Way** · ❌ Lost
Booked✨ Enable AI**** · ✅ Complete · 📅 Reschedule · 🚐 On My Way** · ❌ Lost
Completed / Closed♻️ Reopen

* Status only appears once you've configured Assigned-bucket Lead Labels (e.g. Follow-up, Booked) — tap it to pick one right from the list.
** On My Way only appears when the lead has an open, scheduled visit — it doesn't show for a phone-call booking, or for a lead with nothing scheduled yet.
*** Reads ✨ Disable AI instead when the lead is already assigned to you and the AI is still actively replying to it — tap it to take the conversation over. See Taking over from the AI below.
**** Enable AI only appears on a lead that's assigned to someone (you or a teammate) with the AI currently paused — see Handing a lead back to the AI below.

Tapping ❌ Lost or ✅ Complete opens a label picker first if you've configured labels for that bucket, so you can record why a lead was lost or how it was won, not just flip its status. If a bucket has no labels configured, tapping through works exactly as before.

Each action confirms with a short toast — "Assigned to you ✓", "Marked done ✓", "Snoozed ✓", etc. — so you know it fired without needing to check the list.

:::tip Why quick actions matter When 30 leads come in on a Monday morning, opening each one to triage takes forever. Quick actions let you clear the list in under a minute — assign the hot ones, snooze the cold ones, schedule the booked ones, all from the list view. :::

Sending a message​

  1. Tap on a lead to open the conversation
  2. Type your message in the input at the bottom
  3. Press Enter to send (or tap the Send button)
  4. Use Shift+Enter to add a new line without sending

:::info When you reply manually When you send a manual message, the AI pauses for that conversation and pending follow-ups are cancelled — your reply takes over without any extra step. This doesn't reassign the lead: if nobody was assigned yet, it stays unassigned even though the AI has stopped responding. :::

Internal notes​

Jot something down for your team without the customer seeing it — what you agreed on a call, the gate code, "wants a quote by Friday".

  1. Open the conversation and tap 📝 Note above the message box (tap Reply to go back to messaging the customer).
  2. Type your note and tap Add note.

The note appears in the conversation, in time order between the messages, in a yellow Internal note bubble with your name and the time. A few things to know:

  • Only your team sees it. It is never sent to the customer, and the AI never reads it or reacts to it.
  • Nobody is notified. Adding a note doesn't send a push notification.
  • Who can read it: anyone who can see the lead. Agents see the leads assigned to them; Owners and Admins see every lead.
  • Deleting: tap the ✕ on a note to remove it. You can delete your own notes; Owners and Admins can delete anyone's. Notes can't be edited — delete and add a new one.
  • Leads you added yourself have a note box instead of a message box, since LeadHub doesn't message those customers. Notes are how you keep the history of the sale there.

Taking over from the AI​

There are a few ways to pause the AI on a lead and start responding yourself:

  • Just send a message. Typing a reply in the conversation pauses the AI on that lead automatically — see the note above.
  • Swipe the lead in the list (or tap ⋮) and tap 👤 Assign to me — claims the lead and pauses the AI, without opening the conversation.
  • Open the conversation and tap the status pill at the top, then pick any status other than AI.

Once a lead is already assigned to you and the AI is still replying to it (for example, right after you hand it back — see below), the swipe action relabels itself ✨ Disable AI instead of "Assign to me," since it's already yours.

Handing a lead back to the AI​

If you took a lead over but want the AI to keep the conversation going while you focus on something else, you don't have to reassign it first — the lead stays yours the whole time:

  • Swipe the lead in the list (or tap ⋮) and tap ✨ Enable AI — appears on any lead that's assigned to someone (you or a teammate) with the AI currently paused.
  • Open the conversation and tap the status pill, then pick AI.

Either way, the lead's assignee doesn't change — only whether the AI is the one replying does. See How AI Replies Work for what happens while the AI is paused, and how to tell from the list whether it's currently active.

Sending photos and voice messages​

You can send a photo or screenshot and voice messages to leads on Facebook Messenger, Instagram DM, and WhatsApp — right from the conversation. SMS text conversations don't support them yet.

Send a photo or screenshot​

  1. Open the conversation and tap the photo icon next to the message box
  2. Choose a picture from your library, or take a new one
  3. A small preview appears above the message box — tap ✕ to remove it
  4. Tap Send

The photo shows up in the conversation right away. If you also typed a message, it's sent as a separate message right after the photo — Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp don't allow a caption and a photo in a single message.

:::tip Need to send a document? PDFs and other files can't be sent from the inbox. Open the document on your phone, take a screenshot, and send that as a photo instead. :::

Record a voice message​

  1. Open the conversation and leave the message box empty — the Send button turns into a microphone 🎤
  2. Tap the microphone to start recording (the first time, allow microphone access when your phone or browser asks)
  3. Speak — you'll see a timer and a live level bar. Tap ✕ to cancel
  4. Tap the stop square when you're done
  5. Listen to it in the player that appears above the message box, then tap Send — or ✕ to throw it away

A recording can be up to 2 minutes. It stops automatically at the limit and keeps what you recorded. Very short recordings (under about half a second) are discarded.

:::info How voice messages look to the lead The lead receives your recording as an audio message they can play in Messenger, Instagram or WhatsApp. On WhatsApp it appears as an audio file rather than the round voice-note bubble. :::

Limits and rules​

Facebook MessengerInstagram DMWhatsApp
Photo formatsJPEG, PNG, GIFJPEG, PNG, GIFJPEG, PNG
Largest photo10 MB8 MB5 MB
Voice messageup to 2 minutesup to 2 minutesup to 2 minutes

The app automatically converts and shrinks photos that don't fit — for example iPhone HEIC photos or very large pictures — so you don't need to do anything. The one exception is an oversized animated GIF, which can't be shrunk; you'll see a message if that happens.

The reply window still applies:

  • WhatsApp — photos and voice messages can only be sent within 24 hours of the lead's last message (Meta's rule — see the WhatsApp 24-hour rule). Once the window closes, the photo and microphone buttons are hidden until the lead replies again, because a template message can't carry a file.
  • Facebook Messenger and Instagram DM — Meta allows replies within 24 hours of the lead's last message.
  • Leads who came from a comment — you can't send anything until they've replied to your first private message.

When you send a photo or voice message, the AI pauses for that conversation, just like when you send a text.

Bilingual translation (Pro plan)​

If your lead writes in a different language than your preferred language:

  • Their message appears in your language at the top of the bubble, with a 🌐 "Translated from {language}" badge below
  • Tap the badge to inline-expand the original wording in the lead's language
  • Your replies are automatically translated into the lead's language before sending — they receive it in theirs

Set your preferred language in Settings → About → 🌐 My language. Every team member can pick their own — the lead you're reading in English, your colleague might be reading in Spanish, same conversation.

Supported launch languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, French, German, Italian, plus auto-detection for others.

See the full walkthrough in Settings → Agent Language.

Using AI suggestions​

Get an AI-generated response suggestion tailored to the conversation:

  1. Tap the AI sparkle icon next to the message input
  2. Wait a second for the suggestion (loading indicator shows)
  3. Review the suggested response in the green "AI SUGGESTION" bar
  4. Choose:
    • Send — sends the suggestion as-is
    • Edit — copies the text into your input for manual tweaks
    • Dismiss — removes the suggestion

The AI considers the full conversation history, your service pricing, your business type, and the lead's language when generating.

Quick actions on an open lead​

Once inside a lead's conversation, the top bar shows quick-action buttons:

  • ✅ Assign to me — take ownership (pauses the AI)
  • 📅 Schedule Job — opens the scheduling modal (see Scheduling Jobs)
  • 🔔 Snooze — temporarily hide this lead
  • 📝 Status dropdown — change pipeline status manually, or pick AI to hand the conversation back to it (see Handing a lead back to the AI)
  • ℹ️ Info — opens the lead detail panel

Most status changes happen automatically through the AI pipeline, but you can override them any time.

Status values​

StatusMeaning
NEWJust arrived, no one has contacted them
CONTACTEDThe AI is actively replying — either it's still qualifying, or a team member just handed the conversation back to it
REPLIEDLead wrote back after first contact
QUALIFIEDAI has collected all the info needed — ready for booking
ASSIGNEDA team member has taken ownership
BOOKEDJob scheduled
COMPLETEDJob done
CLOSED_LOSTLead is lost (didn't convert)
CLOSED_NO_RESPONSELead stopped responding
SPAMAuto-flagged by spam protection

Lead detail panel​

Tap the ℹ️ info icon in the chat header to slide the detail panel in. It shows:

  • Service requested by the lead
  • Source (SMS, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Voice)
  • Phone / email (if provided)
  • Date added and last activity
  • Pipeline progress — visual dots showing the lead's journey through your pipeline
  • Upcoming jobs for this lead (with Edit / Cancel)
  • Follow-ups — scheduled AI messages with the ability to cancel
  • Message stats — total messages, pending follow-ups, received count
  • Job notes — AI-summarized notes for a technician being dispatched (tap Generate to create)

Mobile navigation​

On phones:

  • The leads list takes the full screen
  • Tap a lead to enter the chat view (full screen)
  • Tap the back arrow (top left) to return to the list
  • The info panel slides in from the right as an overlay
  • The LeadHub AI logo in the top-left corner is always tappable — it'll take you to the matching section on the marketing site (leadhubai.io)

Swipe gestures work on phones and tablets. On desktop, the same actions are available via right-click on a lead row.