AI assistant: better replies, written with you

What the tour covers, step by step

Add your own AI key once, then let the assistant draft or polish replies right inside the chat.

1. 01

   Bring your own key

   InboxCRM has no built-in AI subscription. In Options → AI assistant card, pick the Active model — OpenRouter (recommended), Gemini, ChatGPT (OpenAI) or Groq — and paste a key from that provider.

   Read the narration

   Welcome to the AI assistant. Before anything else, an honest note: InboxCRM doesn't include an AI subscription. You bring your own key from an AI provider, and you pay that provider directly — usually a few cents a day for a small shop. Setup happens once, in the Options page, in the AI assistant card. First pick the Active model: OpenRouter is what we recommend, because one key gives you access to many models. Gemini, ChatGPT from OpenAI and Groq work too. This practice copy uses OpenRouter.

2. 02

   Paste the key, press Test, then Save

   Paste the key from your provider's dashboard. Test checks it with the provider — you want 'Key works'. Keys are only stored after you press Save changes.

   Read the narration

   Then paste the key into the matching field — here, OpenRouter API key. You get it from the provider's website, under API keys. It's hidden as you type; Show reveals it. Now press Test: InboxCRM makes one tiny request to the provider and tells you 'Key works' — or explains what's wrong. Finally press Save changes. Nothing is stored until you save. The key stays in this browser's extension storage and is only ever sent to the provider you chose.

3. 03

   Inside a chat: the ⚡ tools button

   In WhatsApp Web, the round ⚡ button above the message box opens InboxCRM's tools. AI assistant is the first item. Anything already typed becomes your draft.

   Read the narration

   Now to WhatsApp Web. Maria is asking about a cake delivery, and you've started typing a rough answer — 'yes friday works, send address'. Just above the message box there's a small round button with a lightning bolt: InboxCRM's tools. Click it and a menu opens upward; AI assistant is the first item. Whatever you'd typed comes along as your draft.

4. 04

   Your draft

   The popup shows who it's writing for and 'Writing as you'. Your draft is optional: leave it empty and ask for a reply, or type a rough version to be polished.

   Read the narration

   This is the assistant. At the top it shows who it's writing for — Maria Silva — and 'Writing as you': it mirrors your own style and the language of the conversation. Your draft is optional. Type a rough version and it'll be polished, or leave it empty and let the assistant write the reply from scratch.

5. 05

   Tone and a custom instruction

   Pick a tone — Friendly, Professional, Short, Apologetic, Persuasive — and optionally type an instruction like 'ask for the delivery address'.

   Read the narration

   Tone chips steer the voice: Friendly, Professional, Short, Apologetic — great for a late order — or Persuasive. The custom instruction is free text: 'make it shorter', 'mention we close at six', 'ask for the delivery address'. I'm picking Friendly and asking it to request the address.

6. 06

   What the AI sees

   Ticked: the text of the last 15 messages of this chat is sent to your provider so the reply fits the conversation. Untick for draft-only. Nothing else leaves your computer.

   Read the narration

   This line matters: 'Using the last 15 messages of this chat'. When ticked, the text of the recent messages — labelled me and them — is sent to your AI provider along with your draft and instruction, so the reply actually fits the conversation. That's the only thing that leaves your computer: recent message text. No contact list, no phone numbers, no media. Untick it and the assistant sees nothing but your draft. For a sensitive chat, untick.

7. 07

   Write a reply or Enhance my draft

   Write a reply drafts the next message from the conversation. Enhance my draft polishes what you typed. Either way, a suggestion appears below in a few seconds.

   Read the narration

   Two buttons, two jobs. Write a reply drafts the next message from the conversation alone. Enhance my draft — what I'm pressing — keeps your meaning and fixes the wording. Give it a couple of seconds… and there it is: 'Friday works perfectly, Maria! Could you send me the delivery address so I can confirm the slot?'. Same message, just the way you'd write it on a good day.

8. 08

   Edit, regenerate, insert — you still press send

   The suggestion is editable. Regenerate gives a different wording, Copy copies it, Insert into message box puts it in WhatsApp's composer. Nothing is sent automatically.

   Read the narration

   The suggestion is a text box — edit it freely. Regenerate asks for a different wording; Copy copies it; Insert into message box places it in WhatsApp's composer. Read this line: nothing is sent automatically. The assistant never presses send — you read it, fix it, and send it yourself. That's deliberate: it's your name on the message.

9. 09

   Where else AI helps — and its one rule

   Campaigns → 'Vary each message with AI' rewords bulk texts per recipient. Right-click a message → Translate. Everything needs your key: with no key, AI features simply don't run.

   Read the narration

   Inserted — see it in the message box, waiting for you. AI shows up in two more places. In Campaigns, 'Vary each message with AI' rewords your text slightly for every recipient, so identical bulk messages don't look like spam. And right-clicking a message gives you Translate. One rule covers all of it: it uses your key. No key, no AI — the buttons just tell you to add one in Options. Your original text is never changed without you asking.

10. 10

    Add your key

    Get a key from OpenRouter (or Gemini / OpenAI / Groq), paste it in the AI step of the setup wizard or Options → AI assistant, Test, Save. Then open a chat and press ⚡ → AI assistant.

    Read the narration

    That's the assistant. To use it for real: create a key on OpenRouter — or Gemini, OpenAI or Groq — paste it into the AI step of the setup wizard here, or into Options, AI assistant, press Test and Save. Then open any chat, press the lightning button and try Write a reply. Or continue with the Orders and deliveries tour.