A call ends with “send me the fee details on WhatsApp”. Your business number lives on one phone. Today it is with Rakesh, and Rakesh is on leave. The customer writes again the next morning, and nobody answers, because everyone assumes it is Rakesh's job.
The WhatsApp inbox keeps those chats on the same contact as the calls, in one place your team can read, on your own WhatsApp Business account. A telecaller can see what was said on the call before they reply, and the owner can see who is still waiting.
The rule that catches everyone out
WhatsApp allows free text only within 24 hours of the customer's last message. After that, you can only send an approved template. That is WhatsApp's rule, and it applies whichever software you use.
Most teams only meet this rule when a reply fails. In the inbox, each chat shows Open with the hours left, or Template only, so people can see it coming. In practice this means you should reply to the ones with the fewest hours left first, and that you need a small set of approved templates ready before you switch this on.
Templates to get approved first
Templates are approved on your WhatsApp Business account, and approval sits with you and WhatsApp. These four cover most of what a telecalling team needs after the window closes:
- A follow-up: “Hello {name}, you asked us about {topic}. Are you still interested?”
- A document request, with a blank for what is pending.
- An appointment or visit confirmation, with date, time and place.
- A short “we tried to reach you” note, with a number to call.
Pick one in the inbox, fill its blanks, and check the preview. The preview is what is sent. You can also start a chat with one of your contacts this way.
Who should see what
Someone without See everyone's data sees only chats with their own contacts. If you use number masking, masked numbers stay masked here too. Decide who owns the inbox on each shift. Unread means nobody here has opened it since the last reply. Needs reply means the customer wrote last. Needs reply is the one to work from, since a chat can be opened and still go unanswered.
Quick replies are saved in your own browser, so they don't follow you to another computer or reach your colleagues. If the whole team needs the same words, make that an approved template or write it down somewhere shared.
What the inbox will not do
The AI does not answer WhatsApp messages. People reply in the inbox, and a workflow can send set messages. An agent sends nothing unless a workflow tells it to. So when the call ends with “send me the fee details”, you have two options:
- A person sends them from the inbox.
- You set up a workflow with the trigger Agent sends during a call. The agent offers it, the caller agrees, and the workflow sends it.
If you promise something in a script, make sure one of these two is really in place. If it isn't, the agent will make a promise nobody keeps. Plain WhatsApp text doesn't reach a customer who has not written to you in the last 24 hours, so a workflow message to a new contact needs an approved template.
When a reply starts something
A customer writing in becomes a contact, if the number is new, and WhatsApp reply is a workflow trigger. So a message can start a process, such as a call back by a person or an update to your CRM. If a customer replies to a campaign message at 11 pm, remember that workflow messages to customers wait out 9 pm to 9 am, unless you turn that off on the Compliance page, and calls wait until 9 am.
STOP means stop
A customer who replies STOP goes on your Do-Not-Call list. A number on that list is not messaged from the inbox either: the send is refused and the message is marked not sent. That list also blocks calls, across campaigns, workflows and your team. Tell your telecallers, so they don't find this out from a failed send and start using a personal phone instead.
What stays with you
Your WhatsApp Business account, your approved templates and consent to message people are yours to manage. Messages go out on your own account, so your provider bills you for them. The inbox has no charge of its own, and WhatsApp as a channel depends on your plan, as the pricing page shows. Connect your account under Integrations and press Test. Connected only means the details are saved. Verified means a test passed. Disconnecting stops replies arriving too, so don't do it casually.