Welcome to GHL NEWS! In Today's issue:

• Conversations & Inbox UI/UX updates

• AI Builder & Conversation Bots

• New APIs & Integrations (Bookings, Schedules, Google Forms)

• Contacts, SmartLists & Social Planner updates

Lots of updates this week including some significant user interface updates that some weren't ready for (yikes!)

The new user interfaces for contacts, inbox, and conversations went live for everyone this week. Those are some of the most used areas for GHL users and like any UI change some love it some hate it...

In case you don't know, for most big changes like this HighLevel releases them in beta (in the Labs area inside the platform) and agencies can decide whether to allow their subaccounts to see the beta features or turn them on for them etc.

In Labs, those features usually have a label under them saying when they will be rolled out to everyone (i.e. released out of beta)

The folks caught off guard likely did not pay attention to that as these updates have been in Labs for several weeks (and we talked about them here in previous updates)

Maybe that's a section I'll add to our newsletter here, features coming out of beta in the next few weeks. Let me know if that would be helpful!

As always, please click at least one of the news items or reply to the message to make sure you continue to receive GHL NEWS!

This Week's News:

Agent Studio Updates

Agent Studio has received a major upgrade focused on making agent building easier, faster, and safer. New features include an AI-powered Router for intent- or logic-based branching (now usable even in sequential flows), a built-in Template Library with official starter templates, and full version control with staging, production promotion, and quick rollbacks. Together, these updates enable smarter builds, safer releases, and faster experimentation, while continuing to expand real-world use cases and power across sub-accounts.

Google Forms – Actions & Triggers in Workflows

HighLevel now includes native Google Forms integration inside Workflows, eliminating the need for third-party tools like Zapier or Pabbly. Users can capture Google Form responses and use them directly in automation, mapping answers to CRM fields and workflow conditions. Near real-time triggers fire on new form submissions, while actions allow workflows to find forms and retrieve responses programmatically. OAuth-based authentication and centralized integration management simplify setup. This unlocks tighter automation between Google Forms and CRM-driven workflows.

Conversation Views: Save Filters, Work Faster

Conversation Views allow users to save commonly used inbox filters as reusable views for faster navigation. Teams can quickly switch between priority conversations such as unassigned chats or channel-specific messages without rebuilding filters. Views are private by default, with admins able to share them across teams for alignment. This reduces repetitive filtering and improves inbox efficiency. The feature is available on the New Conversations interface via Labs.

Enhancements to New Conversations UI: Inbox Unread Counter & Standardized Date Format

The New Conversations UI now displays a real-time unread counter for each inbox, providing instant visibility into pending messages. Counts update dynamically as conversations are received or marked read and remain visible across inbox tabs. Dates have also been standardized to a clear MMM-dd format to eliminate regional ambiguity. These improvements make inbox management faster and less error-prone. The update is available through the CRM Redesign Labs toggle.

AI Builder: Smarter Wait Step Generation

AI Builder can now generate complex, multi-step wait logic from a single natural language prompt. It correctly handles time delays, business-hour windows, reply-based waits, and timeout logic while preventing invalid configurations. Safeguards ensure predictable wait behavior, correct timezone handling, and structurally sound workflows. This dramatically reduces manual configuration for advanced automations. Users can build sophisticated timing logic faster and with fewer errors.

Increased Bot Message Limit per Conversation

The maximum number of messages a bot can send per conversation has increased from 25 to 100 for prompt-based and form-based bots. This allows bots to sustain longer, more complex conversations without stopping unexpectedly. No configuration changes are required, and existing bot behavior remains intact aside from the higher limit. The update reduces drop-offs and manual intervention at scale. It significantly improves reliability for advanced Conversation AI use cases.

Publish Instagram Stories via Push Notifications

Social Planner now supports scheduling Instagram Stories via push notifications. Users can plan Stories ahead, receive a mobile reminder, and complete publishing inside Instagram using native tools like music, stickers, and links. At publish time, media loads automatically and captions are copied to the clipboard for convenience. This balances planning with creative flexibility despite Instagram API limitations. Teams can collaborate more effectively while staying consistent with Story posting.

Analytics for External Tracking

HighLevel now provides native analytics for externally hosted sites and forms through External Tracking. Users can view page views, form views, responses, completion rates, and engagement metrics like time on page and bounce rate. Filtering by domain, page, or form enables focused analysis, while audience insights reveal device and geographic trends. All analytics live directly inside Site Analytics without third-party tools. This enables better optimization and clearer insight into off-platform performance.

Integration page UI/UX revamp

The Integration Page has been fully redesigned with a structured card-based layout for consistency and scalability. Improvements include faster load times, unified modals, standardized error handling, search functionality, and clearer connection management. Technical optimizations significantly reduce JavaScript payload and improve accessibility and performance scores. Role-based access and safer disconnect controls improve governance. This revamp delivers a cleaner, faster, and more reliable integration experience.

Dashboard & Custom Report Performance Optimisation

Backend optimizations across Dashboards and Custom Reports reduce redundant API calls and improve load times. Parallelized requests and smarter data fetching enhance responsiveness when navigating or editing reports. These improvements apply to widgets, filters, and report builders without changing user workflows. The result is smoother performance, especially for complex or data-heavy dashboards. All enhancements are backend-only and require no user action.

Contacts – Revamped List View & SmartLists (Full Launch)

The revamped Contact List View and SmartList 2.0 are now fully launched to all customers. Users benefit from faster loading, cleaner UI, improved column management, and advanced filtering with AND/OR logic. SmartList sharing and permissions have been upgraded for more granular access control. This unifies contact management into a single, powerful workflow. Teams can now manage and segment contacts more efficiently.

Local Marketing Audit — Major Upgrade

Local Marketing Audits are now configurable, refreshable, and trackable over time instead of static one-off reports. Users can review business details before audits, refresh reports instantly, and view up to 12 months of historical results via an interactive timeline. Centralized settings control report frequency, sections, and delivery, while multilingual PDF exports improve sharing. These upgrades turn audits into an ongoing performance tracking system. Agencies gain clearer insights and stronger client reporting.

Keyboard Shortcuts in Page Builder!

Keyboard shortcuts are now available across Funnels, Websites, Blogs, Stores, and Webinars in the Page Builder. Users can save, publish, navigate layouts, open panels, and edit content using familiar keyboard commands. Pressing Shift + / reveals all available shortcuts. This speeds up page creation, reduces reliance on the mouse, and improves precision for complex layouts. The feature enhances productivity without altering existing safeguards.

Social Planner – Category Queue can now be edited!

Category Queues in Social Planner are now fully editable, allowing users to reorder posts, adjust schedules, and reschedule entire queues. A new visual calendar view provides weekly and monthly insights into queued content. Users can control where new posts are inserted and add posts directly from the composer. These enhancements eliminate the need to rebuild queues from scratch. Content planning becomes more flexible and efficient for multi-brand teams.

Workflows: Snapshot improvements – no more “stuck” contacts

Workflow snapshots now automatically remove contacts waiting on steps that are deleted during a snapshot refresh. This prevents contacts from getting stuck and eliminates the need for manual cleanup. A one-time notice and execution log entry provide transparency when changes occur. Existing behavior for manual step deletion remains unchanged. Automations stay accurate and uninterrupted after snapshot updates.

Quiz Results Page CTA Section Enhancements

The Quiz Results Page CTA setup is now faster and smarter, especially for multi-tier quizzes. CTA content, names, and links automatically carry over between tiers to reduce repetitive setup. If CTA fields are left blank, buttons are hidden for cleaner presentation. The enhancements apply to new quizzes by default and to existing quizzes after re-saving. This improves configuration speed and result-page clarity.

Enhanced Privacy for Third-Party Events When Using “Login As”

Calendar privacy has been strengthened when accessing accounts using Login As. Third-party calendar events now always appear as “Busy,” regardless of settings, ensuring details remain private. Event information remains visible only to the event owner. Existing calendar behavior for standard users is unchanged. This update improves security and privacy across elevated access scenarios.

Publisher Listing Force Sync Feature

Force Sync allows users to manually prioritize business listing updates when they are delayed or stuck. Available for Yext and Uberall integrations, it can be triggered at the entity or publisher level. The feature signals listing providers to prioritize updates, though timing remains publisher-dependent. This gives agencies more control over urgent listing changes. It helps resolve long-standing sync delays faster.

Services (v2) – Service Booking Public API is Now Live

The Service Booking Public API is now available, enabling full programmatic control over service bookings. Developers can create, retrieve, update, and delete bookings, including services, add-ons, staff, and resources. This supports custom booking flows, external system sync, and automated scheduling logic. The API unlocks scalable integrations for service-based businesses. It significantly expands flexibility across the booking ecosystem.

Content Corner:

How To Create and Manage Global Custom Colors in HighLevel

We waited a loooong time for real global colors and custom values. See how they work!

Did you know?

Did you know that Calendars in HighLevel had a built-in user interface for setting up reminders and responding to reschedules/cancellations? You don't always need to create separate workflows for those any more unless you need the additional capabilities those provide. For the basics, you can do it right in the calendar itself.