# Review a request and choose who to ask

> Handle requests that need your team: correct the brief, message the member, offer the request to a suggested member or close it, with every step recorded.

Source: https://milvao.com/help/requests/reviewing-requests · Updated 2026-11-06

## Key takeaways

- Requests that need a person are under Requests → Needs you, with the reason in plain words.
- You can correct a brief at any time before an introduction. If the member already confirmed it and you change the service, city or summary, they are asked to confirm again.
- Offer to this member sends the brief to one suggested member. Only one offer can be out per request, and at most 3 members are asked.
- Pause automatic matching on one request to choose the member yourself. Every change is recorded with your name on the request's timeline.
- Message member writes to the person who asked, from your community's number: free text within 24 hours of their last message, otherwise as an approved update template. Closing withdraws any waiting offer and tells the member.

Open **Requests**. The **Needs you** tab lists every request that is waiting for your team, with the reason under each summary. The orange count next to **Requests** in the menu shows how many there are, and **Overview → Needs your attention** shows the same requests grouped by reason, plus offers that couldn't be sent and contact details that failed to deliver.

## The request tabs

| Tab | What's in it |
|---|---|
| **Needs you** | Requests waiting for your team (state **Needs attention**) |
| **In progress** | The member is still confirming the brief, or an offer is out. The line under the summary says what the member is being asked, or who is being asked and how many hours they have left |
| **Introduced** | Both people were sent each other's number |
| **Closed** | Closed by your team or cancelled by the member |
| **All** | Everything, newest first |

![The Requests list with every request, its brief, status and the member asked, filtered by Needs you, In progress, Introduced and Closed](https://milvao.com/screenshots/requests-light.webp "The request tabs: Needs you, In progress, Introduced, Closed and All (sample data)")

Each tab is a table with these columns:

| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| **Requester** | Name (**Guest** for a visitor who pressed Contact) and the masked number |
| **Summary** | The one-line brief, or "Brief not ready yet" |
| **Status** | The request's state |
| **Needs you for / asking** | Why it needs you, what the member is being asked, or who is being asked and how many hours they have left |
| **Language** | The language the member writes in |
| **Kind** | **Contact request** when they pressed Contact on a member, **Matched** otherwise |
| **Age** and **Updated** | When it arrived and when it last changed |

Click **Requester**, **Status**, **Age** or **Updated** to sort, and click again to reverse. The table shows 25 requests a page with "Showing 1–25 of [total]"; use the page numbers, **Previous** and **Next**, or **Rows per page** for 50 or 100. Click a row to open the request. On a phone each request shows as a card instead.

## Why a request needs you

| Reason shown | What happened | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| **Pick a member to ask** | Your workspace approves each match | Choose from **Suggested members** |
| **Milvao couldn't read this request** | The brief couldn't be written automatically | Read **What they asked**, then **Edit brief**, or close it |
| **AI reading is switched off** | Automatic reading is turned off for your workspace (at your request or during a provider problem), so every new request comes to you first | Read **What they asked**, then **Edit brief** to write it, or close it |
| **Still unclear after one question** | The member's answer didn't settle the service or city | Correct the brief; the member confirms it again |
| **No member fits** | Nobody eligible right now (the reason is shown) | Broaden the brief, or close it |
| **3 members have been asked** | The most for one request | Close it, or contact the member yourself |
| **Waiting for the member to confirm the edited brief** | You changed the brief after they confirmed | Nothing. Offers start again once they tap **Confirm** |
| **The member didn't allow sharing their number** | Without it nobody can be introduced | Contact the member yourself, or close it |
| **Automatic matching is paused** | Someone on your team paused it for this request | Choose a member, resume, or close |
| **Contact details couldn't be delivered** | A member accepted but one side didn't get the other's number | **Retry** the failed side |
| **A message is blocked** | WhatsApp wouldn't allow the message right now | It can go once the person messages your number again |
| **Your workspace is suspended** | No offers go out while suspended | Contact the Milvao team |

## Read the request

- **What they asked** is the member's original message. Only your team sees it. Members who are asked see the brief, never these words.
- **Structured brief** shows the service, city, details, and whether the member allowed sharing their number for this request. It also says whether the member confirmed this version.
- **Timeline** lists every step with the time and who did it (the member, Milvao, or the operator's name), including failed sends, which are shown apart from members who said no.

![A request page: the confirmed brief, the members who were asked with their match reasons and answers, and the timeline of every step](https://milvao.com/screenshots/request-detail-light.webp "Reading a request: what they asked, the brief, the introductions and the timeline (sample data)")

## Correct a brief

1. Click **Edit brief**.
2. Change the **Summary**, **Service**, **City**, **Only members who serve this city** and **Details** (one per line, up to 8).
3. Click **Save brief**.

Service and city come from your [skills and cities](/help/community/skills-and-cities). If the member already confirmed the brief and you change the service, city or summary, the form tells you that the member will be asked to confirm again. They get the new brief on WhatsApp, and no new offers go out until they tap **Confirm**. Changing only the details doesn't need a new confirmation.

## Message the member

Use **Message member** (in the card at the top right of the request) to ask the person who sent the request a question or give them an update on WhatsApp, from your community's number.

1. Click **Message member**.
2. Pick a quick reply such as **Could you tell us the city?**, or write your own message (up to 1,000 characters).
3. Click **Send message**.

| When | How it goes |
|---|---|
| The member wrote to your number in the last 24 hours | As your text, starting **From the** *community name* **team:** |
| Longer ago | Inside your approved **Request update** template, with the request summary, up to 850 characters. WhatsApp only allows templates outside the 24-hour window |
| The member replied **STOP** | Only within 24 hours of a message they sent, to answer them. Otherwise the card explains why you can't message them |

If the **Request update** template isn't approved yet, or your number isn't connected, the card says so instead of showing the button. The message appears on the request's timeline as **messaged** with your name; the text itself is kept with the member's other messages and cleared after the retention period. Clicking twice sends one message, and a member gets at most 10 messages from your team an hour.

## Choose who to ask

**Suggested members** shows up to five members who can be asked, best match first, each with the reasons for the match (for example **Specialises in commercial leasing** or **Serves Mohali**). Only members with an active profile who turned on introduction requests and serve the city are listed. Click **Refresh** to rank again.

Click **Offer to this member**, check the summary in the dialog and click **Send offer**. The member gets the brief without anyone's number and has 48 hours to accept. The offer then appears under **Introductions**, marked **Chosen by** and your name, with a countdown.

The button is greyed out, with the reason shown above the list, when an offer is already out, the member hasn't confirmed the brief, 3 members have been asked, or the request is closed. Clicking twice never sends two offers.

When nobody fits, the card says why (for example **Nobody who offers this service serves this city.**) and offers two ways forward: broaden the brief, or close the request. More members turning on introduction requests also helps; **See who can't get offers** opens the member list filtered to them.

## Pause automatic matching

In automatic mode, the **Matching** card has an **Automatic matching** switch for this request. Turn it off and Milvao stops asking new members about this request; you choose instead, or close it. Turn it back on and Milvao may ask the next best member straight away. An offer already out is not withdrawn. In approve-each-match mode there is nothing to pause.

## Close a request

Click **Close request**, pick a reason (for example **Sorted outside Milvao** or **Duplicate request**), add a note if you like, and click **Close request** again. **Other** needs a note. Any offer still waiting is cancelled and the member gets a short message that the request is closed. Contact details already delivered can't be taken back. Introduced requests can't be closed.

## When contact sharing is partial

After a member accepts, each introduction shows **Contact details** with two lines, **To requester** and **To member**, each with its own status: **Pending**, **Sent**, **Delivered**, **Failed** or **Cancelled**. If one side failed, the introduction is marked **Partly shared** and a **Retry** button appears next to that side. Retry checks both permissions again and resends only that side. You can also find every partly shared introduction under **Introductions → Only partly shared**.

## Did you connect?

Three days after an introduction, Milvao asks both people once whether they connected (see [Receiving introduction requests](/help/members/receiving-offers)). Once they've been asked, the introduction shows **Did you connect?** with the date asked and each side's answer: **Yes, it helped**, **Yes, connected**, **Not yet** or **No answer yet**. Only your team sees the answers. **Metrics** adds them up under **Said they connected**.

## Why a request closed

A closed request says why under **Matching**, and the timeline's last step says the same: the reason your team picked (for example **Sorted outside Milvao**), **Cancelled by the member**, **The member didn't confirm the brief in time**, or for a [contact request](/help/requests/contact-requests) **The member they asked declined**, **didn't reply in 48 hours** or **can't take requests right now**. When the person who asked taps **Ask someone similar**, the timeline shows that they asked Milvao to find someone similar.


## If the page is out of date

Someone else, or Milvao itself, may change a request while you have it open. If that happens your change isn't saved and you see **This request changed. Reload to see the latest.** Click **Reload** in the message, check the request again, and redo the change if it still makes sense.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I offer a request to someone who isn't in the suggestions?

No. Only members who opted in and fit the brief can be asked. If someone is missing, check their profile under **Members**: they need an active profile, introduction requests turned on, the right skill and the city.

### Does the member see who chose them?

No. Members never see whether Milvao or your team made the match. Your team sees it on the request and under **Introductions**.

### Is every change recorded?

Yes. Edits, messages to members, offers, pauses, closures and retries are recorded with your name in the audit log, and each step appears on the request's timeline.

### How do I hear about new requests that need my team?

Turn on **A request needs your team** in **Settings → Notifications**, by email or WhatsApp. See [Notifications by email and WhatsApp](/help/team-and-settings/notifications).