Speak and translate in the inbox

Reply to customers in their language without typing it yourself. At the end, you can speak in your own language and get a translated reply or voice note, translate a typed draft before you send it, and read any message in the chat in the language you pick.

Before you start

• You can see Inbox in the WhatsApp panel and a chat is open. Open it at app.ohanvi.com/#/whatsapp/team-inbox. See Use the WhatsApp inbox.
• You have the Admin, Manager or Executive WhatsApp role. Every WhatsApp role can use this. See Add WhatsApp agents.
• Your browser can use the microphone, for the voice parts.
• The chat is inside the 24-hour window. Outside it, WhatsApp delivers only approved templates. See Use the WhatsApp inbox.
• You have credits. Speech, voice notes and translations are paid from your balance. See What it costs.

Where the buttons are

Layout	Where you find them
Computer	In the toolbar above the reply box: the microphone (Speak and translate), the language chip next to it, for example HI → EN, and Translate (the languages icon) after it.
Ohanvi mobile app	The microphone in the reply bar opens a sheet with the same settings and a large record button. A translate icon appears inside the message field once you have typed something.

Steps

Choose your languages

1. Open a chat in WhatsApp → Inbox.
2. Click the language chip next to the microphone, for example HI → EN. The language settings open.
3. Under I speak, type to search and pick the language you speak. Pick Detect automatically to let Ohanvi work it out.
4. Under Write in, type to search and pick the language your reply goes out in:
   • Customer's language — the default. Ohanvi detects it from the chat.
   • Same as spoken (no translation) — your words are written as you say them.
   • Hindi in English letters — Hindi written in the English alphabet.
   • Any other language from the list.
5. Click the swap button to exchange I speak and Write in.
6. Under You get, pick Text in reply box or Voice note.
7. Click Done. Your choices are saved for you and used in every chat until you change them.

Speak a reply and get text

1. Check that You get is Text in reply box.
2. Click the microphone. Allow the microphone if your browser asks.
3. Speak. You can record up to 3 minutes.
4. Click Stop. Click Discard instead to throw the recording away.
5. Read the translated text in the reply box. A strip above it shows, for example, Translated from Hindi to English and Heard: … with your original words.
6. Optional: click Use original to put back your words as you said them, or Undo to remove the text.
7. Edit the text if needed, then click Send Reply. Nothing is sent until you do.

Speak a reply and send a voice note

1. Click the language chip, set You get to Voice note, then click Done.
2. Click the microphone and speak.
3. Click Stop. A preview player appears.
4. Play the preview to listen.
5. Click Send voice note to send it. Click Record again to replace it, or Discard to delete it.

The customer receives a normal WhatsApp voice note in the language set under Write in.

Translate a typed draft

1. Type your reply in the reply box.
2. Click Translate. Its tooltip reads Translate draft to and the language, for example Translate draft to English.
3. Read the new text. Your draft is rewritten in that language, and a strip shows You typed: … with your original words.
4. Optional: click Use original to put back your draft, or Undo to reverse the translation.
5. Click Send Reply.

If the draft is already in that language, you see Already in English. Choose another language under Write in to translate it.

Translate a message in the chat

1. Hover over any message in the chat.
2. Click the round translate icon. Its tooltip is Translate.
3. Read the translation under the original message. It shows From Hindi to and a language picker.
4. Optional: pick another language in the picker to translate it again.
5. On a message you sent, click Use in reply to put the translation in the reply box. It goes out as a new message, because WhatsApp does not let a business edit a sent message.
6. Click Hide to close the translation.

Once a message is translated into a language, anyone on your team can reopen that translation.

Use it on the Ohanvi mobile app

1. Open a chat in the Ohanvi mobile app.
2. To translate a message, long-press it, then tap Translate.
3. To speak a reply, tap the microphone. A sheet opens with the same I speak, Write in and You get settings and a large record button.
4. To translate a draft, type it, then tap the translate icon inside the message field.

Languages

Indian languages: Hindi, English, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Odia, Assamese, Urdu, Nepali, Sanskrit, Konkani, Maithili, Sindhi, Kashmiri, Dogri, Manipuri, Bodo and Santali. Hindi in English letters is available under Write in only.

World languages: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Filipino, Sinhala, Burmese, Khmer, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Czech, Hungarian and Romanian.

What it costs

Each use is taken from your credits. The inbox does not show prices. See the rates in Credits and billing.

• Speech is charged per started minute of recording.
• A voice note is charged per character when it is made, even if you discard the preview.
• A text translation is charged once for a draft, or once for a message into one language. Reopening that message translation is free for your whole team.
• Nothing is charged when no speech is heard, when the AI fails, or when the text is already in that language.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Fix
No speech heard. Check the microphone isn't muted and speak a little closer. Nothing was charged.	The recording had no words in it.	Unmute the microphone, then click Try again and speak closer.
The microphone does not start, or the browser says it is blocked	The browser blocked the microphone for Ohanvi.	Click the lock icon in the address bar, allow Microphone in the site settings, then reload the page.
Access Denied when you translate	Your account's roles have not received the new translate permission yet.	It is granted when your account is updated. Contact Ohanvi support if it persists.
The voice note is refused as too long	A voice note can hold at most 2,000 characters.	Set You get to Text in reply box, or split the reply into shorter recordings.
Already in English. Choose another language under Write in to translate it.	The draft is already in the Write in language.	Pick another language under Write in, or send the draft as it is.
Recording stops on its own	A recording is limited to 3 minutes. At 3 minutes it stops and uses what you said so far.	Speak the rest in a second recording.

Related

• Use the WhatsApp inbox
• Send files, voice notes and AI-written replies
• Create canned messages
• Credits and billing in Ohanvi

Screenshots to add

After Choose your languages step 2 — the language settings open with I speak, Write in and You get. After Speak a reply and get text step 5 — the reply box with the Translated from … to … strip, Use original and Undo. After Speak a reply and send a voice note step 3 — the preview player with Discard, Record again and Send voice note. After Translate a message in the chat step 3 — a translation under a message with the language picker, Use in reply and Hide.