How do I complete private messages handled by third-party platforms?

You can configure whether private messages handled by third-party platforms are automatically marked as complete. This reduces clutter in your Smart Inbox, so agents don’t need to manually review every message processed by external systems like bots or marketing platforms.

The Complete private messages handled by third-party platforms setting is located in the Automations section of the Inbox Settings page. This option allows you to specify which profiles it will apply to and is disabled by default. It only applies to private messages and won’t affect public interactions, such as posts and comments. Additionally, it applies only to messages in standby mode, which are those managed by third-party platforms.

Once enabled, messages processed by third-party systems (e.g., bots, click-to-Messenger ads) will be automatically marked as complete, ensuring agents don’t need to review messages already handled externally.

Turning On The Setting

• Navigate to your Settings by clicking on your initials in the lower left hand corner
• Click Inbox Settings under the Inbox and Reviews section
• Toggle on the Complete private messages handled by third-party platforms setting in the Automations section
• Configure the specific profiles where it should be applied

By default, this feature is turned off, so you’ll need to manually enable it.

Meta Integration Setup Best Practices

Default Application: For human agent responses, Sprout should be set as the default app. This ensures that Sprout can respond to all conversations unless specified otherwise (e.g., in click-to-Messenger ads).

Take Control of Conversations: We recommend enabling the Take Control of Conversations feature for human agent responses. This allows human agents to take over a conversation if automated bots are unable to respond. This is particularly useful when bots aren’t answering specific queries (e.g., sales-specific questions).

Marketing Application: If you're using Sprout bots, it’s recommended to configure them as marketing bots within your Meta account. While you can't set Sprout as the marketing application, you can configure bots to respond to marketing-related questions when no other application is actively responding.

Meta Business Suite Inbox: You can use Meta Business Suite Inbox as the default application. However, it will always allow responses regardless of which application is actively responding.