PIN users can now send messages to colleagues via @mentions directly in the CallMerlin chat. No AI involved, instant delivery. Pure chat starts as 1 minute per session; intensive back-and-forth may add extra minutes.
CallMerlin is built for talking to your business tools. But teams also need to talk to each other. From today, PIN users can send direct messages to colleagues via @mentions in the chat, on every channel: webcall widget, desktop app and Android app. No AI involved. Pure chat starts as 1 minute per session; intensive back-and-forth may add extra minutes, same as any other chat in the widget.
How it works
- Type @ in the chat and start typing a colleague's name. An autocomplete dropdown appears with matching PIN users and groups.
- Select a name, type your message and send. The recipient sees a notification badge the next time they open the chat.
- Messages are stored for 30 days and automatically deleted. The account admin cannot read the content.
Why not just use Slack or email?
Because context matters. Your team is already in the CallMerlin chat asking questions about invoices, deals and tasks. Instead of switching to Slack to ask a colleague about a specific invoice, you stay in the same window. One less tab, one less context switch.
Group messages
PIN users can be organized into groups (e.g. Sales, Support, Management). Type @Sales and every member of the group receives the message. Useful for quick announcements or questions to a specific team.
Inbox and read status
- Unread messages show a badge on the inbox icon.
- Click to open the inbox overlay with all messages, newest first.
- Unread messages appear in bold. Click 'Mark as read' per message or 'Mark all read' at once.
- Sent messages show a delivery status: one checkmark for sent, two checkmarks for read.
Reply and attachments
- Reply to a specific message with a quote. The original is shown above your reply for context.
- Attach a file (image or document) to a direct message, using the same paperclip button as regular file uploads.
Notifications
- If the recipient is offline, they receive an email digest within an hour with all unread messages.
- On the Android app, push notifications alert PIN users instantly when a new message arrives.
No AI, standard chat minutes
Direct messages are a pure text relay via our servers. No AI model is involved and no tokens are consumed. Pure chat starts as 1 minute per session; intensive back-and-forth may add extra minutes, same as any other chat conversation. Direct messages are available from the Professional plan onwards. The feature becomes more useful with 5+ PIN users.
Privacy
- Messages are automatically deleted after 30 days.
- Account admins cannot read message content, only metadata (sender, recipient, timestamp).
- When a PIN user is deleted, all their messages are cleaned up.
- When an account is deleted, the entire message history is removed.
Available on four channels
- Webcall widget: @mention autocomplete in the chat input, inbox overlay with badge.
- Desktop app (Windows): identical interface, same @mention and inbox functionality.
- Android app: full DM support with push notifications for new messages.
- Phone (PSTN): ask Merlin by voice to send a message to a colleague or group.
Getting started
Direct messages are available from the Professional plan onwards. No configuration needed. Open your webcall widget, desktop app or Android app, type @ followed by a colleague's name, and send your first message.
