Reply to customers and add internal notes
Choose the audience
Open the **Reply** menu before typing. A customer reply and an internal note have different audiences. Internal notes are for the staff timeline; never place staff-only instructions in the customer reply mode.
Send a reply
1. Read the newest customer message and check the active channel.
2. Keep **Reply** selected and write the answer in the editor.
3. Add a relevant article or attachment if it helps the customer complete the next step.
4. Review the full text, recipient context, and any queued macro actions.
5. Select **Send**, or use the displayed Command/Ctrl + Enter shortcut.
6. Check that the message is shown as sent; a draft or an attachment upload alone is not a sent reply.
Add an internal note
Switch the composer to its internal-note mode, write the handoff context, and save it. Mention a staff member when their attention is needed. Confirm that the note appears in the staff-only timeline. A mention is not a substitute for assigning ownership.
Use attachments carefully
Use **Attach files**, wait for upload completion, and review the attachment before sending. Share only files the customer is entitled to receive. Remove secrets, unnecessary customer data, and unrelated records from images and exports first.
If sending fails
Keep the draft, read the error, and confirm that a previous attempt has not already appeared in the transcript before retrying. For email, inspect its delivery status beside the message. A successful send request does not guarantee that an external mailbox received the email.