If you’ve signed up and are already logged in, the first thing you should do is complete the Onboarding module in your Workspace.
The Onboarding module is designed specifically for first-time users to help you set up respond.io properly and start managing customer conversations right away.
By completing the Onboarding module, you will:
Connect a Channel so customer conversations can start flowing into your Inbox
Set up Lifecycle to organize Contacts based on your sales process
Set up an AI Agent to automate conversations and reduce manual work
Invite teammates to your Workspace to collaborate and distribute the workload
Once these steps are complete, your Workspace is fully set up to receive, manage and automate conversations.
What is the Onboarding module?
If you are a new user on the respond.io platform, the first action you should take is to complete the Onboarding module.
The Onboarding module is a structured, step-by-step onboarding checklist designed to guide first-time users through the core Workspace setup.
Completing this onboarding checklist ensures that your Workspace is properly configured so you can:
Start receiving and managing customer conversations
Track leads and customers using Lifecycle
Automate conversations using AI Agents
Collaborate with your teammates
Step 1: Connect Channels to unify messages and calls
To get started, connect at least one messaging Channel to your Workspace. This means your customers can reach out from whichever platform they choose and your team can handle everything in one place.
Once you connect a Channel:
Customer messages appear in your Inbox
Your team can reply from one unified workspace
Conversations from different platforms are centralized in one place
You can also manage calls (where supported)
View our list of support channels and learn how to set them up here.
Step 2: Learn how Lifecycle helps turn potential buyers into customers
Once your channel is connected and conversations are coming in, it may be helpful to track and organize Contacts based on where they are in your sales process.
Lifecycle helps you and your team:
Track new leads from their first message
Identify high-intent Contacts
Monitor conversion progress across stages
View pipeline performance in the Reports module
Organize Contacts based on sales readiness
Every Workspace includes default Lifecycle stages. This allows you to immediately start tracking Contacts without additional setup.
If your sales process is different, you can customize Lifecycle by adding or removing stages. Click Customize Lifecycle to align Lifecycle with your sales funnel.
Learn more about Lifecycle.
Step 3: Set up AI Agents to lighten your team’s workload
Now that you’ve connected a Channel and set up Lifecycle stages that match your sales funnel, you’re ready to introduce an automation to automate conversations.
The best automation for this is AI Agents. From replying to customers 24/7, to assigning conversations to other agents or teams, AI Agents can help your team reduce manual workload and improve response times.
Click Set up AI Agent to create your first AI Agent.
Learn more about:
Step 4: Invite teammates to collaborate on chats
You’re now ready to invite the rest of your team! This allows you and your team to share Inbox access, assign conversations, and manage workload distribution.
Here’s how to add a new user:
Enter the teammate’s email address
Select their access level (owner, manager or agent)
Click Invite
An invitation email will be sent to them. They must click the link in the email to accept the invite and gain access to your workspace.
If you want to revoke access or edit their access level, click on Configure Workspace Users in the Onboarding module.
Learn more about adding new users.
Resources in the Onboarding module
On the right side of the Onboarding module, you’ll find a Resources list. This list provides shortcuts for learning and support.
The Resources list includes:
A video walkthrough explaining how to use the Inbox module
Direct links to contact the Support team
A link to book a demo with the Sales team
Access to the respond.io Help Centre
A collection of respond.io tutorial videos
Next steps
Congratulations on completing your onboarding journey with respond.io! You’re officially ready to start managing conversations at scale.
To keep the momentum going, you can:
Set up the Inbox for omnichannel support
