Summary: The Alta Inbox has dedicated SMS and WhatsApp channels (Beta) where you can read, filter, tag, and reply to text conversations with your prospects — this guide shows you how to work them day to day.
Who this is for: Anyone handling prospect replies over SMS or WhatsApp — SDRs, AEs, and inbox managers.
Before you start
The SMS and WhatsApp channels are Beta features and only appear if they're enabled for your workspace. If you don't see them in your Inbox, reach out to your Alta contact or the support chat.
You need a Twilio number connected and configured so replies land in Alta. See the setup guides linked under Related below.
To send replies, you need reply permission on the campaign the prospect belongs to. Without it, the Send button is disabled with the tooltip "You do not have permissions to reply to this prospect".
Step 1: Switch to the SMS or WhatsApp channel
Open Inbox from the main navigation.
At the top of the left sidebar, use the channel tabs. When SMS or WhatsApp is enabled, the tabs show as icons: Email, LinkedIn, SMS (chat bubble), and WhatsApp — the SMS and WhatsApp tabs carry a small Beta badge.
Click the channel you want. Alta remembers your selected folder per channel, so you can jump between Email and SMS without losing your place.
Step 2: Find the conversation you need
Use the folders in the sidebar: All, Unread (with a live unread count), Replied, and Archived.
Below the folders, the Tags section lists your system and custom tags — click one to see only conversations with that tag. Click Show all to expand the full tag list.
Use the filters above the conversation list to narrow by campaign, campaign tags, tags, date, or free-text search. Your filters are saved between visits.
Step 3: Read and reply
Click a conversation in the list to open it. Messages are grouped by date, and the view scrolls to the latest message automatically.
The header shows the prospect's name (click it to open their prospect page in a new tab) and a campaign chip that opens the campaign. If the number isn't matched to a prospect, you'll see the phone number with a Not a prospect label instead.
Type your reply in the message box at the bottom and click Send. You'll see a confirmation toast ("SMS message sent successfully" or "WhatsApp message sent successfully") once it goes out.
If a draft was already prepared for the conversation, it's preloaded into the reply box — edit it and hit Send.
Step 4: Keep your inbox organized
Tag it: use the tag icon in the conversation header to add or remove tags. To tag in bulk, tick the checkboxes in the conversation list (or Select all) and apply a tag to everything at once.
Archive it: the archive button in the header moves the conversation to the Archived folder. You can unarchive it from there at any time.
Mark as unread: use the envelope icon ("Mark as unread") to bring a conversation back to your Unread folder for later.
Add to DNC: if a contact opts out, click the Add to DNC icon in the header. This adds their phone number to your Do Not Contact list and pauses their active workflows, so no further outreach goes out. If the number is already listed, the button shows "Already in DNC".
Tips and common pitfalls
The Send button stays disabled until you type something — if it's disabled with a message entered, hover it: you most likely lack reply permission on that campaign.
Tag folders and filters work together: selecting a tag folder and then adding tag filters switches you back to All so the filters can apply cleanly.
One conversation can involve more than one prospect (for example, the same number across campaigns). The header shows a +N badge when that happens — replies are linked to the most recently active prospect.
WhatsApp delivery depends on your Twilio WhatsApp sender being approved and within WhatsApp's messaging rules. If sends fail ("Failed to send WhatsApp message"), check your Twilio configuration first.
Related