Need a driver to move to another parking spot, or want to know when they'll arrive? With Send message, you type a few quick notes in your own language. The visitor AI assistant translates them into the visitor's language. For instructions and questions, it also rewords your notes into a clear request or question, follows up with the visitor, and flags the visitor when you need to act.
This article is for operators, dispatchers and gatehouse staff working in the Peripass management portal.
Before you start
The visitor needs a phone number. Without one, the dialog shows This visitor has no phone number, so there is nothing to send to.
Simple messages can be sent on any channel the visitor uses (WhatsApp, SMS, Telegram or Viber).
Instructions and questions are only possible when:
the visitor uses WhatsApp, and
the visitor doesn't have an open instruction or question yet.
Choose the right type of message
Option | Use it when | What happens |
Send simple message → no reply needed | You only want to share information. | A single message is sent. The assistant doesn't follow up. |
Give an instruction → get confirmation | The visitor needs to do something and confirm they've done it. | Your notes are reworded as a request. The assistant follows up until the visitor confirms. |
Ask a question → get an answer | You need information from the visitor. | Your notes are reworded as a question. The assistant follows up until the visitor answers. |
Send a message to one visitor
Open Send message from one of these places:
Visitor list: click the Send message button on the visitor's row, or click the visitor's phone number. The button is only shown when the visitor has a phone number.
Dispatch dashboard: in the actions of the item or slot.
Yard dashboard: in the visitor's actions menu or quick actions.
The dialog title shows the channel, for example Send WhatsApp message to or Send SMS to, followed by the visitor's name.
Choose one of the three options.
Type your notes in the field that appears:
What do you want to share? for a simple message
What should the visitor do? for an instruction
What do you want to ask? for a question
Short, rough notes are fine, like "go to dock 4 at 14:30". Numbers, docks and times stay as you wrote them.
(Optional) Click Show preview to check the message before you send it. The link appears once you've typed your notes.
The preview shows exactly what will be sent. If the visitor's language differs from yours, use the toggle to switch between the two.
If you change your notes, the preview updates automatically (Writing the message…). Send waits until the preview is ready.
If the preview couldn't be written, you see The message could not be written. Try the preview again. Click Refresh preview to try again.
Click Send.
A confirmation appears: Message sent to the visitor in followed by the language.
Note: You can't choose the language the message is sent in, and you can't edit the reworded text. To change the message, edit your notes.
What happens after you send an instruction or a question
For Give an instruction and Ask a question, the visitor AI assistant follows up for you. Until the visitor responds, it sends a few WhatsApp reminders over about ten minutes. What happens next depends on the visitor's response:
The visitor… | Result |
confirms your instruction | The follow-up closes. The visitor isn't flagged. |
answers your question | Flagged with Visitor replied. The visitor gets a short acknowledgement. |
refuses your instruction or question | Flagged with Visitor replied, so you can read why. |
doesn't respond | Flagged with Visitor did not respond. |
is stuck and needs a person | Flagged with Visitor AI Assistant Handoff, if Flag exceptions is on for the site. |
Each exception points you to the Visitor Communication tab, where you can read the whole conversation. Visitor did not respond and Visitor replied are raised even when Flag exceptions is off.
Send a message to several visitors at once
In the visitor list, tick the checkboxes of the visitors you want to message.
Open Actions below the list and choose Send message.
The dialog title shows Send message to followed by the number of visitors. Only visitors with a phone number are counted.
Type your notes in What do you want to share?.
Click Send to N visitors.
A confirmation shows how many visitors received the message, for example Message sent to 8 of 10 visitors.
Keep in mind:
Messages to several visitors are always simple messages. You can't give instructions or ask questions in bulk.
There's no preview.
Each visitor receives the message translated into their own language.
Visitors without a phone number don't receive the message. If some of your selected visitors have no phone number, the dialog shows a warning before you send, for example 2 of 10 have no phone number and won't receive this message.
If none of the visitors could receive the message, you see The message reached nobody, so nothing was sent.
Read replies and follow the conversation
All messages with a visitor, including reminders and replies, are on the visitor's Visitor Communication tab. It shows the message as it was sent, not the notes you typed. See Visitor Communication tab.
Troubleshooting
Why can't I choose "Give an instruction" or "Ask a question"?
When these options are unavailable, the reason is shown above the options (and when you hover over them):
Giving instructions and asking questions is only possible when the visitor is using WhatsApp. You can only send a simple message.
You can only send simple messages to this visitor because they still have an open instruction or question. Wait until the visitor responds or is flagged.