A unified inbox for email, WhatsApp and live chat
Sektra's Unified Inbox is one list across every mailbox, WhatsApp Business number and website chat that a person on your team can read. Each row names the inbox it came from, and each client has a single record whichever channel they used. Owners, notes, tags and rules work the same way on all of them.
A unified inbox merges several mailboxes and channels into one list, so a team stops checking each address and each app in turn. In Sektra that list covers Gmail and Google Workspace, Outlook and Microsoft 365 with shared mailboxes, any IMAP mailbox, WhatsApp Business numbers and the chat widget on your website. It is sometimes called an all-in-one inbox, because the conversations a business receives on different channels are answered from one place.
A list alone does not show that two conversations belong to the same client. Sektra therefore keeps one record per client across channels. A WhatsApp contact whose phone number or email already appears in the mail history is joined to that client automatically. Any other contact can be linked to an email address from Lens, the relationship panel beside each thread. A client who emails, messages on WhatsApp and opens a website chat then appears with one history.
One unified list across every mailbox and channel
The Unified Inbox has the same sections as a single inbox, including Priority, Mine, Unassigned and All. A chip on each row names the inbox the conversation belongs to. Email and WhatsApp conversations are ranked together in Priority, so an urgent message on either channel is seen first. A new email composed from the list asks which inbox to send from, while a reply always goes out from the inbox the conversation arrived in.
WhatsApp Business conversations beside email
A WhatsApp Business number connects through your provider and becomes a shared inbox with an owner, notes and tags on each conversation. Replies are written in the same composer as email. For 24 hours after a customer's last message the reply is free text, and after that the composer offers an approved template, as WhatsApp requires of every business.
Website chat that continues by email or WhatsApp
The chat widget on your website opens a conversation in the same list, with the same owners, notes, tags and rules as email. If the visitor leaves and has given an email address or a WhatsApp number, the next reply goes there from the same thread, and their answer returns to the chat. A bot can answer first from your help center, and it hands the conversation to a person when nothing in the help center fits.
Inbox groups for teams with several addresses
An inbox group is a named set of shared inboxes that one team works as a single scope. A group with Keep separate switched on is left out of the Unified Inbox and shown on its own. Groups never widen access, because access is granted inbox by inbox and the unified list shows a person only the inboxes they can read.
What your team gets
One list to work from
Every mailbox, WhatsApp number and chat widget a person can read appears in one list with the same sections.
One record per client
Email, WhatsApp and chat history with the same client sit on one record, shown in Lens beside the thread.
The same tools on every channel
Owners, notes, tags, rules and service levels apply to a WhatsApp conversation or a chat as they do to an email.
Access stays per inbox
The unified list shows a person only the inboxes they have been given, and a personal inbox appears for its owner alone.
Unified inbox setup in four steps
The steps follow the order a new workspace takes them in, and they use the names of the screens as they appear in the app.
- 1
Connect the mailboxes
Connect each Gmail, Outlook or IMAP address the team answers, and mark the shared ones as Shared.
- 2
Add WhatsApp and chat
Connect a WhatsApp Business number through your provider, and create a chat widget to place on your website.
- 3
Open the Unified Inbox
Choose the Unified Inbox from the Inboxes menu in the top bar, or set it as the view Sektra opens on.
- 4
Group inboxes if needed
The account owner can group shared inboxes for one team, and switch on Keep separate to leave a group out of the list.
Common questions
These are the questions teams ask before they set this up. If yours is not covered here, send it to us.
What is a unified inbox?
A unified inbox is one list that brings together the conversations from several mailboxes or channels, so they can be read and answered in one place. Some unified inboxes are personal mail apps that merge a person's own accounts. Sektra's Unified Inbox is built for a team, with an owner, notes and a record of the client on every conversation.
Does a unified inbox work with Gmail and Outlook together?
Yes. One Sektra workspace can hold Gmail and Google Workspace mailboxes, Outlook and Microsoft 365 mailboxes and IMAP mailboxes side by side, and the Unified Inbox lists them together. Each mailbox stays with its provider and syncs both ways, so nothing is moved from Google to Microsoft or the reverse.
What is an all-in-one inbox?
An all-in-one inbox is a single place to answer every channel customers use to reach a business. In Sektra those channels are email on Gmail, Outlook and IMAP, WhatsApp Business and a chat widget for your website. The same owners, notes, rules and client record apply to each of them.
Does each channel count as a separate inbox on a plan?
A connected Gmail, Outlook or IMAP mailbox and a WhatsApp Business number each count as one shared inbox on your plan. A chat widget comes with an inbox of its own that does not count against that limit. The pricing page lists how many shared inboxes each plan includes.
Other parts of the same inbox
Sektra compared with the tool you use now
Each page states what the other tool is built for, what it costs and what changes when a team moves to Sektra.
Articles on this subject
How an omnichannel inbox unifies email and WhatsApp for client teams
An omnichannel inbox puts email, WhatsApp and chat with the same customer in one place, but vendors sell four different things under that name. This guide explains the levels, compares seven customer communication tools, and gives a one-week trial plan.
Read the articlePlaybooksWhatsApp team inbox for client teams sharing one Business number
A WhatsApp team inbox lets several teammates answer one WhatsApp Business number with an owner and notes on each conversation. This guide covers the Business Platform setup, the 24-hour window and templates, the working rules, and six tools that offer one.
Read the articlePlaybooksHow to add live chat to your website in five steps
Live chat installs the same way on any website, with one short snippet. This guide covers the five install steps, the seven settings to decide before the widget goes live, and how to keep chats in the same inbox as the customer's email.
Read the articleTry it on your own inbox
Connect a Gmail, Outlook or IMAP mailbox and the trial runs on your own mail, with nothing to migrate and no card required.