Review an older conversation, prepare a suitable follow-up and send only after checking it.
Before you start
Section titled “Before you start”Access: Admin, Sales or Marketing access, with Inbox enabled for your dealership. Team-wide conversation access depends on your role; Sales and Marketing normally work with their own assigned leads.
- Confirm the correct customer and current contact details before sending.
- SMS or email must be available for your dealership and the recipient. Respect any do-not-contact or messaging restriction shown.
Where to go
Sidebar → Inbox → Select a conversation
Watch the walkthrough
Section titled “Watch the walkthrough”24:46 · English narration · Fictional demonstration
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Find conversations, reply by SMS or email, share vehicles and follow the customer’s email and carvio.link experience. Includes drafts, templates, AI, team handovers, queue actions and recovery. English captions are included in the picture; a selectable caption track is also available.
All 37 video chapters
- Use Inbox from start to finish
- Open Inbox from the sidebar
- Review what needs attention
- Check status, channel and team scope
- Find the customer before replying
- Read the conversation in context
- Write and send an SMS
- Return to an unsent draft
- Write a new email
- Follow up within the right email thread
- Attach the right file
- Resolve a missing or failed attachment
- Choose the vehicles to share
- Send the shortlist and inspect its cards
- Read the customer’s engagement without assuming a sale
- What the customer receives by email
- Open the carvio.link shortlist on a phone
- Review a vehicle and express interest
- Understand changed price and availability
- Recover an inactive customer link
- Review templates and AI before sending
- Review the lead while you reply
- Keep the lead’s vehicle interests accurate
- Save an internal handover note
- Give the next action an owner and date
- Pin a conversation you need to keep handy
- Snooze a conversation until later
- Dismiss and restore a conversation
- Review an older follow-up
- Start with an existing contact
- Create a contact only when necessary
- Read restrictions before trying to send
- Recover a confirmed send failure
- Check uncertain delivery before resending
- Correct an unavailable shared vehicle
- Use the necessary phone controls
- Check the customer message and the next action
Read the video transcript
0:04 · Use Inbox from start to finish
In Carvio, Inbox brings the customer conversation and the lead’s next steps together. In this walkthrough, Jordan has asked about a Civic and a possible Thursday visit. We’ll find the right conversation, reply, share two vehicles and leave a clear handover for the team.
We’ll also show what Jordan sees in the email and on carvio.link, including the phone page and the interest confirmation. Then we’ll cover drafts, templates, AI, follow-up queues, new conversations and recovery when something does not work.
The people, dealership and records are fictional training examples. We’ll check the outcome of each action. A sent message, a saved task, expressed interest and a booked appointment are different results.
0:51 · Open Inbox from the sidebar
Start in the application sidebar and choose Inbox. If the sidebar is hidden, open navigation first. Inbox must be enabled for your dealership, and you need an Admin, Sales or Marketing role.
Check the current status and staff scope before looking for a customer. Mine is the normal starting point for your assigned conversations. An administrator can choose All team when reviewing the dealership’s wider work. That changes the list you are viewing; it does not reassign a lead.
1:23 · Review what needs attention
Open is the working queue. Escalated and Overdue draw attention to responses that need review. Due soon shows a response window approaching its deadline. No contact identifies a lead without a conversation to read yet.
Select an attention state to narrow the list, and select the active state again to clear it. Read the customer’s actual message before deciding what action is appropriate. A countdown is a response window, not an appointment time.
Awaiting reply means you are waiting for the customer. Going Cold is a separate place to review older follow-ups. We’ll return to that queue later.
2:03 · Check status, channel and team scope
Use Open, Snoozed, Dismissed or All depending on the work you need. A conversation you snoozed is not missing; look under Snoozed. A conversation marked as needing no reply is under Dismissed.
The channel filter offers All channels, SMS and Email. It narrows conversations by their latest channel; it does not remove the rest of a conversation’s history. Urgency prioritizes attention. Newest and Oldest let you review message recency.
Check Mine or All team as well. These choices work together. Before creating a duplicate customer record, clear search and widen the relevant filters. A conversation already selected can remain open while you change the list.
2:49 · Find the customer before replying
Choose Search conversations and enter the customer’s name or phone number. Wait for the list to finish loading. Choose the matching row, then confirm the name and contact details in the conversation.
If nothing matches, use Clear search and check the status, channel and staff filters. A failed search is not evidence that the customer has no record. If an error appears, check your connection and reopen Inbox before trying again.
For Jordan, we check the name, phone number and Civic enquiry. Never rely on a similar first name alone.
3:26 · Read the conversation in context
Read the latest incoming message and the previous staff response before typing. The SMS or Email label and timestamp tell you how and when the message was recorded. Scroll up when earlier history matters.
The lead workspace gives you contact details, current lead status and the next dated commitment. The AI summary can help you orient yourself, but check important claims against the messages and current record.
If another staff member is shown as replying, coordinate before sending a second answer. Jordan asked whether the Civic is available and whether a Thursday visit is possible. We should answer the availability question without inventing a confirmed visit time.
4:12 · Write and send an SMS
Under Send via, choose SMS and check the to number. Enter a direct response: Hi Jordan, the Civic is available. I can check a time for Thursday. Read it once more before sending.
The counter shows characters and SMS segments. It does not mean every message must be limited to one hundred and sixty characters. Emoji and some characters can use more segments. The counter does not display a billing price.
Choose Send once, then wait. Check the new outgoing message, its SMS label and the cleared editor. Sent is not a read receipt, and a badge appearing while an operation is still running is not the final check.
4:54 · Return to an unsent draft
If you need to leave before sending, wait for the draft’s saving state to finish. Reopen the same lead and the same SMS or Email channel in the same browser and profile. Review the restored wording and, for email, the subject.
A saved draft is unsent. SMS and Email have separate drafts. Do not rely on this as permanent or cross-device storage; keep a secure copy of important text before clearing browser data or changing devices.
Review attachments again after restoring. Remove restored file chips and upload the files again. Add the vehicle selection again, then confirm current availability and the recipient before sending.
5:38 · Write a new email
Choose Email under Send via and verify Jordan’s address. For a new email, enter a useful subject. Our example is Your Civic options. Then write the message in the editor.
You can use the visible formatting controls, emoji and supported attachments. A subject is required for a new email. Choosing Email does not automatically turn an SMS draft into an email, so check the active channel and the wording you see.
We’ll send Jordan two Civic options to review before Thursday. The message asks which one Jordan would like to see; it does not claim a visit is already booked.
6:17 · Follow up within the right email thread
To continue an existing email, use that message’s Reply or Follow up action. The composer shows the Replying to context and subject. Check that this is the message you intend to continue.
The context preview can take you back to the original message. Review the subject even when it is carried over. To start a separate email, choose Send as new email instead, then add the required subject.
After sending, check the new outgoing Email entry. Switching to SMS sends a text message; it does not continue the email as an email reply.
6:55 · Attach the right file
Choose the channel first, then Attach. For SMS, the picker accepts one file up to six hundred kilobytes. Email accepts up to ten files, each up to seven megabytes. Keep the complete email’s attachment total below seven megabytes as well.
Choose a supported file from your device and wait for upload completion. Check the filename and remove anything unintended. Our small Civic summary contains the same two stock numbers, prices and mileages used in the example.
Add a short explanation before sending. Check the outgoing message and its attachment in the thread. A file selected in the picker is not yet a sent attachment.
7:38 · Resolve a missing or failed attachment
If a file is too large or unsupported, it will not become a usable attachment. The SMS picker may simply remain open without adding the file. Choose a smaller supported file and check that it actually appears in the draft.
When an upload fails, use the file’s retry control or remove it and attach it again. Resolve every file you intend to include before sending. The Send button by itself does not prove all selected files are ready.
After restoring an older draft, reattach the files and verify a fresh successful upload. A restored filename alone is not confirmation that the document will be included.
8:20 · Choose the vehicles to share
In the customer message composer, choose Attach vehicles. When suggestions are available, check the More like vehicle at the top. The choices may be grouped as the same model in a similar year, the same model in other years, or a similar size and price.
Search a stock number, make, model or VIN when you need a specific vehicle. We select Civic LX, stock DEMO zero six two, at twenty-three thousand nine hundred dollars, and Civic EX, stock DEMO zero six one, at twenty-four thousand nine hundred dollars.
Read the stock numbers, trim and mileage rather than selecting on price alone. You can attach up to twenty vehicles. Choose Done to return to the message, then review the attached-vehicle count and selection.
9:07 · Send the shortlist and inspect its cards
Include a short message explaining the shortlist. For this email, we’ve also entered the subject and checked Jordan’s address. Review both vehicles, then choose Send once.
The vehicles are sent as one customer shortlist link. The thread shows the message and the two shared vehicle cards. Initially, the share can say Not opened yet with zero visits. Check that the stock numbers and prices match what you intended.
Adding a vehicle under the lead workspace’s Vehicles section is a separate internal record action. It does not send this customer link.
9:44 · Read the customer’s engagement without assuming a sale
When activity is recorded, the shared cards can show visits and an interest indicator. Review which vehicle the activity belongs to, and check the conversation before following up.
A visit does not mean the customer wants to buy. Expressed interest is a reason to contact them; it does not reserve the car, create a deal or book a test drive. Confirm the customer’s next step directly.
Now let’s follow the same shortlist from Jordan’s side, using the actual email template and the actual carvio.link pages.
10:19 · What the customer receives by email
This is the actual shared-vehicle email template, rendered with our fictional example. Jordan sees Alex’s message, both Civic entries, the price date and a link to each vehicle’s details.
For a two-vehicle shortlist, the button says See both. That opens the shortlist. Each vehicle’s details link goes directly to that vehicle. If photos are absent or blocked, the vehicle names and links still let the customer continue.
The email’s Prices as of date describes the sent email. The customer page can show later listing information, so the email and the current page should not be treated as a guarantee that the price or availability will never change.
11:03 · Open the carvio.link shortlist on a phone
On the phone, Jordan opens the shared link and sees Carvio Demo Motors, Alex’s name and the same message about the two Civics. The shortlist keeps the selected order: the LX first and the EX second.
Jordan can scroll through the vehicles, compare their visible prices and mileage, and open a vehicle’s title to read more. The LX is twenty-three thousand nine hundred dollars with forty-two thousand two hundred kilometres. The EX is twenty-four thousand nine hundred dollars with thirty-eight thousand five hundred kilometres.
The dealership and staff contact links remain available when Jordan wants to ask a question.
11:43 · Review a vehicle and express interest
Opening the Civic EX shows its price, odometer and available specifications. Photos and listing details appear when they are available. Our example has no photos, so the actual page offers the contact link instead.
Jordan chooses I’m interested. The page confirms that Alex has the interest and will follow up. This is a follow-up request, not a purchase, reservation or appointment booking.
The Call link is another way to reach Alex. See everything Alex sent returns to the shortlist. We do not place a real phone call or send a real customer message in this demonstration.
12:22 · Understand changed price and availability
This is an alternate example after stock information has changed. An unavailable vehicle is marked No longer available. The customer can contact Alex to discuss alternatives; the page should not be treated as a promise that the car remains for sale.
A changed price is also identified. On the shortlist, the page says Alex sent this at a different price. Review the current listing and confirm the terms before making a commitment.
These alternate states do not change the final values in our original two-Civic example.
12:57 · Recover an inactive customer link
If a link is no longer usable, the customer sees This link is no longer active. The page explains that it may have expired or been replaced and asks the customer to contact the dealership for a fresh link.
On the staff side, confirm the intended customer and current stock before sharing again. Send a fresh checked shortlist when appropriate. Do not keep resending an old link without checking what the customer actually sees.
13:26 · Review templates and AI before sending
Templates provide a starting message. Open Templates, search if needed and choose the appropriate wording. Inserting a template replaces the editor content, so keep a copy first if you need your original draft.
Fill every bracketed value. Our Appointment confirmation template supplies Jordan’s name and the dealership, but leaves the date and time for review. The warning says Fill all placeholders before sending. This message does not create an appointment.
AI also prepares wording for review. With text entered, the quick menu offers Improve, Fix grammar, Shorten and Expand. With an empty message, you can draft a reply or a follow-up. Custom lets you provide a more specific request.
Read the result and check every factual claim. Accept keeps the wording in the draft. Retry requests another suggestion. Discard restores the previous wording. Accept does not send. If AI is unavailable, write an appropriate response yourself.
14:30 · Review the lead while you reply
Use the lead workspace to keep the conversation tied to the record. Details, Vehicles, Tasks, Notes and Activity take you to the corresponding sections. Open the customer’s name or Open lead profile for the complete record.
Review Assigned To, Lead Source, Lead Stage and Priority. Change an editable field only when the change is appropriate for your role and workflow, then confirm the displayed result.
Remember that the Mine and All team list filter does not change ownership. Respect a Do not contact state rather than changing the record simply to make Send available.
15:09 · Keep the lead’s vehicle interests accurate
Under Vehicles, choose Add and find the intended stock record. Check the vehicle that was added and the primary-interest marker where shown. This gives your team the lead’s vehicle context.
It is separate from sending a customer shortlist. A vehicle added here has not been emailed or texted. Use Attach vehicles in the message composer for that.
Removing an internal interest does not recall a message already sent. If the customer’s needs change, update the record and decide whether a fresh customer message is needed.
15:44 · Save an internal handover note
Use Add a note for the team to record an internal handover. Our note says Jordan is comparing DEMO zero six one and DEMO zero six two, and asks the team to confirm Thursday’s visit time before booking.
Choose Add, then verify the note under Notes with its author. This is internal team information. It does not appear as a message to Jordan.
Keep the note specific enough for the next person to act: what the customer is considering, what has already been done and what still needs confirmation.
16:18 · Give the next action an owner and date
Use Add in Tasks or Work for this lead in the conversation header when the next step needs tracked work. Choose the appropriate task, reminder, appointment or available template action.
For a task, review the title, assigned person, due date and lead link in the form. After saving, check the item under Tasks. The next-work line is a shortcut to the next dated commitment. If it is not shown immediately, reselect the conversation and check again before creating another task.
The example asks Alex to confirm Jordan’s visit time. That task is not an appointment booking. If the customer agrees on a time, create and verify the actual appointment. A note, task or message mentioning a visit does not book it.
17:05 · Pin a conversation you need to keep handy
Choose Pin conversation to keep an important conversation prominent in the current list. Confirm the active pin and the row’s position. Use Unpin conversation when the extra emphasis is no longer useful.
Pinning does not assign the lead, mark a task complete or send a customer message. Continue to check the conversation’s actual next action.
17:29 · Snooze a conversation until later
Choose Snooze when you want to return to a conversation later. The available choices include one hour, three hours, tomorrow morning, next week and Pick date and time. Read the actual date and time before choosing.
After snoozing, open the Snoozed tab and confirm the conversation is there. You can open and read it or use its available reply controls before the snooze time. Choose Snooze again to change that time.
The current desktop header does not provide a general Unsnooze button. Snooze is a queue action; it does not create a calendar appointment or an assigned task.
18:08 · Dismiss and restore a conversation
Choose No reply needed when the conversation can leave the open queue. Then check Dismissed. This preserves the lead and message history. It does not send a reply or mark the lead Lost.
On desktop, open the dismissed conversation and choose Undo dismiss when attention is needed again. Check the relevant list for the restored row.
If an action shows an error, inspect where the conversation actually appears. Do not rely on a notification alone when an error also occurred.
18:40 · Review an older follow-up
Expand Going Cold at the bottom of the list to review older personal follow-ups. Read the last conversation and check whether another message is appropriate. The main list’s All team filter does not turn this into the whole team’s recovery queue.
Choose Revive for the intended conversation. It prepares a suggested message and opens the lead; it does not send automatically. Check the recipient and channel, update outdated details and choose Send only after review.
If a contact restriction blocks the action, respect the reason shown. If the suggestion fails, you can return to the conversation and write an appropriate message yourself.
19:23 · Start with an existing contact
Choose Compose to start a conversation that is not already open. Search under To by name or phone number. Wait for the result, then read the name, phone and channel indicators.
Select the matching existing lead and confirm the recipient and history before writing. Creating another record is not a remedy for a slow search, failed load or an access restriction.
Use Cancel compose to leave this flow without creating a new contact.
19:53 · Create a contact only when necessary
When no appropriate existing record exists, choose Create new lead. The New Contact form requires a phone number, first name and last name. A number entered in search carries into the form. Back to search lets you check again.
Review the information and choose Start Conversation. Wait for the new lead and verify the recipient. This creates the record and opens a composer; it does not send a greeting.
This form does not collect an email address. Use the available channel only after confirming the customer’s details, write the first message and choose Send separately. If creation fails, check whether the record exists before repeatedly submitting it.
20:38 · Read restrictions before trying to send
A Do not contact notice blocks messages to that lead. Read the restriction and follow the appropriate staff process. Do not create another lead or change contact details just to work around it.
A missing customer phone or email is different from an unavailable dealership channel. When SMS is not set up, the notice explains that the dealership does not have a managed SMS-capable number. An authorized administrator can review Set Up in Settings.
Use another available and appropriate channel only when it is permitted for that customer. A disabled control is a reason to read the notice, not to guess at a workaround.
21:19 · Recover a confirmed send failure
For a failed send, keep the draft and read the exact error. Check the current customer, channel, subject if needed, missing placeholders, files and selected vehicles. Look for the intended message in the thread before trying again.
When the error confirms failure and the message is absent, correct the problem and use Retry. Wait for the operation to finish. In this example, the retry succeeds, the outgoing SMS appears once and the editor clears.
If a retry only returns you to the editor, review the draft before choosing Send once. Do not press repeatedly while an operation is still running.
22:00 · Check uncertain delivery before resending
This is a different outcome. Carvio says Sent, but we could not confirm delivery, and asks you to check the thread before resending. The message may already have gone through.
Read the latest outgoing messages and allow the conversation to settle. Do not immediately send a duplicate. A Sent or delivery state still does not establish that the customer read the message.
If the uncertainty continues, keep the approximate time, channel and exact visible warning when asking for help. Leave private customer information out of screenshots you email.
22:36 · Correct an unavailable shared vehicle
A shared-vehicle send can fail because one or more selected vehicles are no longer available. Read the complete message. When it explicitly says nothing was sent, remove the unavailable vehicle and review the remaining shortlist before trying again.
Check the stock number and current availability. Include the appropriate message text and email subject if needed. After a corrected send, inspect the outgoing shared cards.
This is separate from a customer reopening an older link and seeing No longer available. In both cases, confirm current stock before offering an alternative.
23:16 · Use the necessary phone controls
On a phone, open navigation and choose Inbox, then select the customer. Confirm the name and recipient before typing. More options gives you the conversation actions, and View lead details opens the lead context.
Use Back to inbox to return to the queue. If you use a swipe action and an Undo notification appears, choose Undo immediately when the action was unintended. Do not assume that notification remains available indefinitely.
The same checks apply before sending: correct customer, available channel, reviewed content and a confirmed outgoing result. The written guides remain useful when you need one specific step.
23:59 · Check the customer message and the next action
Return to Jordan’s finished example. The conversation contains the reply and the two-Civic shortlist. The shared stock numbers and amounts match what Jordan sees. The team note records what is still waiting for confirmation, and the follow-up task has an owner and date.
Jordan’s interest is a prompt for a human follow-up, not a reservation or appointment. Confirm the visit time, create the appropriate booking when agreed and keep the lead’s record current.
You can return directly to the relevant chapter or matching written guide for SMS, email, files, sharing, drafts, queues or recovery. Before you leave any conversation, check what was sent, what was saved and who is responsible for the next action.
Open the Going Cold queue
Section titled “Open the Going Cold queue”Expand Going Cold
Watch 18:40Open Inbox and expand Going Cold at the bottom of the conversation list. Review the lead and its last message.
This is a personal follow-up queue. Do not assume the main list’s All team choice expands it.
Read before reviving
Open the conversation and check whether a follow-up is appropriate. Review contact restrictions and current vehicle information.
Read before reviving · Fictional training example Select image to enlarge.
Review the suggested follow-up
Section titled “Review the suggested follow-up”Choose Revive
Watch 18:40Choose Revive for the intended conversation. Wait for the suggested message and selected lead.
Revive prepares text for review; it does not send a customer message.
Choose Revive · Fictional training example Select image to enlarge. Edit and send the appropriate message
Check the recipient, channel and suggested wording. Replace outdated vehicle or visit details. Choose Send, then verify the outgoing message.
If a restriction prevents a suggestion or send, respect the displayed reason. If a suggestion fails, you can return to the conversation and write an appropriate message yourself.
Expected result
Section titled “Expected result”A suitable follow-up has been reviewed and explicitly sent, or a contact restriction has been respected without sending.
If something isn’t right
Section titled “If something isn’t right”Going Cold has no rows
There may be no matching personal follow-ups, or loading may have failed. Check for an error and reopen the queue if necessary.
Revive did not send anything
Revive prepares a draft. Review it and choose Send separately.
The suggested message is outdated
Edit or discard it and check current stock/customer context before sending.
Related guides
Section titled “Related guides”- Find and filter Inbox conversations
Use status, channel, team scope and attention filters to find the conversation you need.
- Review an AI reply before sending
Draft or improve a message with AI, review the result and choose whether to keep it.
- Reply to a lead by SMS
Send a text message to the correct lead and confirm the outgoing message in the conversation.
- Recover a failed Inbox message
Distinguish a failed send from uncertain delivery, protect the draft and avoid duplicate messages.