Overview
Chat with Team adds a threaded conversation directly to each invoice in Vic.ai. Instead of discussing an invoice over email, Slack, or in person, your team can now start a conversation right where the invoice lives. Tag a teammate, ask a question, loop in a vendor by email and the entire exchange is attached to that invoice going forward.
Chat with Team is a tab within the invoice drawer's Chat tab, alongside the existing Vic AI assistant. You move between "Vic" (the AI assistant) and "Team" from the
same tab.
If your company only has one of the two experiences enabled, the tab shows that experience directly without needing the extra tab.
Roles and Access
Role | View threads | Send internal messages | Send vendor emails |
Company Admin | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Accountant | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Invoice / PO Mismatch Approver | Yes | Yes | Yes |
View-only user | Yes | No | No |
Vendor / non-user | No | No | No |
Every user with access to an invoice can read its full chat history regardless of this permission; the compose box is simply hidden for roles that don't have it. Revoking the permission never removes or hides prior messages.
Using the Invoice Chat
First, ensure your role has access per the table above.
Open the invoice.
In the invoice side-drawer, select the Chat tab.
Switch to the Team tab (if your company has both Vic and Team enabled).
If the invoice already has one or more threads, they're listed and you can reply to any of them, or start a new one.
Type your message. There's a single message box — no subject line, no separate recipient form.
How to message a teammate
In the composer, type @ followed by their name.
Select them from the typeahead list (shows avatar, name, and email).
Click Send. They'll get an in-app notification; no email goes out for internal-only messages.
Deactivated users appear at the bottom of the typeahead with a "(deactivated)" badge and can't be selected. A teammate without access to the invoice can still be selected, but shows a "(no invoice access)" badge as a heads-up.
How to message a vendor or external recipient
In the composer, type @ followed by the vendor/user’s email address.
If that address isn't in your company directory, an "(external)" option appears — select it to add it as a recipient.
Send the message.
The vendor receives an email from "{Your Company Name} via Vic.ai." The subject line is generated automatically (e.g., "Invoice 12345 from Acme Supply") — there's nothing to fill in.
When the vendor replies to the email, their reply appears automatically in the same thread in Vic.ai. No forwarding or other action required.
To reply to an external message, select the ‘reply’ icon to respond directly to the email (no “@” required).
Attachments
Users may attach a file to any message and it will display in the invoice chat.
Add Attachment
For Vic.ai users, select the paperclip icon to attach a document to any message (email or internal chat).
External users can attach files to the reply email. Attached files will be available for download in the chat.
Notifications
A red badge with a count of unread messages appears on the notification bell on the Navigation bar.
Clicking a notification opens the relevant invoice and chat thread directly, scrolled to that message.
New messages in a thread you have open appear without needing to refresh.
Use "Mark all read" to clear all notification badges at once.
Viewing communication history
Every message on an invoice — internal and vendor, in-app and email — is listed in chronological order in the thread, with sender name, timestamp, and a channel indicator.
Long vendor email replies with quoted history are collapsed by default; click "Show quoted text" to expand the full chain.
If an inactive user sent a message, their name and email are preserved exactly as they were at the time they sent it.
A few limitations
The vendor email subject line is generated automatically and can't be edited.
Attachments are capped at 10 MB per file and 25 MB per message; vendor-facing emails embed attachments up to 5 MB and use a 7-day download link above that.
A thread's message history isn't currently exportable as a standalone file; it's viewable in the invoice drawer.
Soft-bounced vendor emails (temporarily undeliverable) don't generate a notification until the delivery either fully fails or succeeds.
Frequently asked questions
Can a vendor see messages meant for my internal team?
No. A vendor only receives the specific message(s) where they're an added recipient. Internal-only messages never leave Vic.ai.
Can I have more than one conversation on the same invoice?
Yes. You can start a new, independent thread at any time — useful when separate topics (a pricing dispute vs. a coding question, for example) shouldn't be mixed together.
What happens if my permission to send messages is revoked while I'm in the middle of typing?
If you try to send after your permission has been revoked, you'll see a message that you no longer have permission to send, and the message won't go through. Nothing you've already sent is effected.
Can view-only users participate in a conversation?
They can read the full thread history but won't see a compose box — they can't send messages internally or to a vendor.