When we built Octopods, the idea was straightforward: bring your customers' WhatsApp and SMS conversations into Intercom, so your team could handle everything in one place.
It worked. Thousands of conversations later, we've seen what happens when support teams finally have all their channels unified: Their response times drop, and the customers experience improves immediately.
But we kept hearing the same thing from sales and support teams using Octopods:
"What about reaching out first?"
Sending a follow-up. Checking in after an order. Reminding a customer about a renewal. There was no easy way to do any of that from inside Intercom — so we built one.
Introducing Reach
Reach is a free Chrome extension that gives your team a proactive messaging side panel, right next to your Intercom inbox, right in your browser.
You only have to open Reach, search for your contact, pick a WhatsApp template or compose an SMS, and send. You can do it all in the same window you're on. No need to open a new tab to send a proactive message.
What your team can do with Reach today
- Send WhatsApp templates and SMS: Reach out to any contact proactively, without leaving Intercom
- Search contacts and see messaging history: Find any Intercom contact and review all previous proactive messages before sending
- Browse and send WhatsApp templates: Fill up custom WhatsApp templates with contact property interpolation
- Merge duplicate contacts: Clean up your contact list without switching tools
- Work across multiple Intercom workspaces: Avoid any friction switching between workspaces from a single extension
Why proactive messaging is important
Proactive messaging is one of the highest-leverage things a support or sales team can do.
A well-timed follow-up closes a ticket faster. A check-in after a difficult interaction turns a frustrated customer into a loyal one. A reminder at the right moment converts a prospect who went quiet.
But none of that happens when sending a message is a multi-tab, multi-tool ordeal.
For teams already using Octopods to manage inbound WhatsApp and SMS, Reach is the natural next step. You've already got the channel connected. Now you can use it in both directions, without breaking your flow.
What's coming next in Reach
We're just getting started with Reach. Here's what's coming on the roadmap:
- Voice notes and rich media (carousels, attachments)
- Scheduled messages
- Broadcasts
- WhatsApp group management
- Full template management: create, edit, and submit for approval inside Reach
- Voice calls
We'll keep you posted as each piece ships.
Start using Reach today
Reach is free to install and takes a few minutes to set up. If you're already an Octopods customer, you can start using it right now with your existing WhatsApp and SMS connections.
Set up Reach in minutes and start sending proactive messages to customers today.