How to Set Up the Unified Inbox (Conversations) in GoHighLevel

The Conversations section in GoHighLevel serves as a centralized inbox where messages from multiple channels — SMS, email, Facebook Messenger, Instagram DMs, live chat, and more — appear in a single view. Setting it up correctly is one of the first tasks any agency or sub-account owner should complete, because a misconfigured inbox leads to missed messages and broken automations.

This guide walks you through each configuration step, explains how channel integrations affect what shows up in the inbox, and lists the most common mistakes users run into.

Note: This is an independent editorial guide. This site has no affiliation with HighLevel Inc. and does not sell or resell GoHighLevel subscriptions.

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1. Understanding How the Unified Inbox Works

Before touching any settings, it helps to understand the data model. Every incoming or outgoing message in GoHighLevel is attached to a Contact record. The Conversations inbox aggregates those messages by contact thread, not by channel. That means a single contact can have SMS, email, and Facebook messages all visible in one thread.

For this to work, three conditions must be met:

1. The relevant channel must be connected and authorized (e.g., a verified phone number for SMS, a linked Facebook Page for Messenger).
2. The contact must have the matching identifier (phone number, email address, or social profile) stored in their record.
3. The sub-account's conversation creation settings must allow inbound messages from that channel.

If any of these conditions is missing, messages either fail silently or land in an unmatched state.

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2. Connecting Your Messaging Channels

Navigate to Settings → Phone Numbers to add or verify an SMS/voice number. You can provision a new number directly or import an existing one (porting availability varies by region and plan). Once active, inbound SMS automatically creates or matches a conversation thread.

For email, go to Settings → Email Services. GoHighLevel supports two modes:

• SMTP relay (outbound only) — messages you send appear in Conversations, but replies may not route back unless you configure a forwarding address or use a dedicated inbox.
• Dedicated sending domain with inbound routing — this is the recommended setup if you want two-way email threads inside Conversations. Follow the DNS record instructions shown on screen; propagation can take up to 48 hours.

For Facebook Messenger and Instagram, go to Settings → Integrations → Facebook. You must be an admin of the Facebook Page you want to connect. After granting permissions, select which Pages to link to the sub-account. Each Page maps to one sub-account — you cannot split a single Page across multiple sub-accounts.

For live chat (website widget), navigate to Sites → Chat Widget. Customize the widget appearance, set the routing user or team, and copy the embed code to your website. Conversations from the widget appear under the Live Chat filter in the inbox.

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3. Configuring Conversation Filters, Assignments, and Notifications

Once channels are connected, open the Conversations tab from the left sidebar. By default, the view shows All conversations across all channels and users.

Setting Up Filters

Use the filter panel on the left to segment conversations by:

• Channel (SMS, email, Facebook, Instagram, live chat, GMB)
• Status (open, read, unread, assigned, unassigned)
• Assigned user or team

Save frequently used filter combinations as named views so team members can jump directly to their queue.

Assigning Conversations

1. Open any conversation thread.
2. Click the Assign To dropdown in the right-hand panel.
3. Select a user or a team.
4. The assigned user receives a notification based on their personal notification preferences.

For automated assignment, go to Settings → Teams and configure round-robin routing. This is useful for agencies distributing inbound leads across multiple sales reps.

Notification Settings

Each user controls their own alerts under Profile → Notifications. Options typically include in-app, email, and (on supported devices) push notifications. Admins cannot force notification settings on behalf of users — each team member must configure this themselves.

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4. Setting Up Automated Conversation Actions

The inbox becomes significantly more powerful when combined with Workflows. A few high-value automation patterns:

• Auto-reply on first inbound SMS — trigger a workflow when a contact sends an inbound SMS for the first time and reply with a confirmation or intake question.
• Tag-based routing — add a tag to a contact when they reply with a specific keyword, then assign the conversation to a specific team.
• Conversation status updates — automatically mark a conversation as closed after a follow-up sequence completes.

To build these, go to Automation → Workflows, create a new workflow, and select the appropriate trigger (e.g., Customer Replied, Inbound Message).

Keep in mind: workflow behavior related to conversations may vary depending on your plan tier. Check your current plan's feature list inside the platform for confirmation.

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5. Common Errors and Troubleshooting

Even with a correct setup, issues do come up. Here are the most frequent ones and how to address them.

Messages not appearing in Conversations

• Confirm the channel integration is still authorized. Token expiration is common with Facebook — re-authenticate under Settings → Integrations.
• Check that the contact record has the correct phone number or email in the matching field. A number saved with the wrong country code will not match.

Duplicate conversation threads for the same contact

• This usually happens when the contact has two separate records (e.g., one created via a form without a phone number, another created via SMS). Merge duplicates under Contacts using the bulk merge tool.

Outbound messages sending but no reply arriving

• For email: verify your inbound MX or forwarding records are pointing to GoHighLevel's mail servers, not just your SMTP relay.
• For SMS: some carriers filter messages from numbers that have not completed A2P 10DLC registration in the US. Check registration status under Settings → Phone Numbers → Compliance.

Live chat conversations not routing to the correct user

• Open Sites → Chat Widget and confirm the Assigned To field is set to the intended user or team, not left blank.

Notifications not arriving

• The user must check their own Profile → Notifications settings. Also verify that browser notification permissions are granted if using in-app alerts.

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When the Unified Inbox May Not Be the Right Fit

GoHighLevel's Conversations inbox works well for teams managing moderate to high volumes of leads across a few channels. However, if your operation relies heavily on complex shared-mailbox workflows (ticket threading, internal notes with SLA timers, or deep helpdesk integrations), a dedicated customer support platform — such as Zendesk or Intercom — may serve you better. GoHighLevel is designed primarily around marketing and sales communication, not full-scale support ticketing.

Additionally, businesses outside the US should verify SMS carrier support and compliance requirements before committing to the SMS channel, as coverage and regulations vary significantly by country.