Start a conversation

You don’t always wait to be messaged: the follow-up, the “your order arrived” and the check-in start with you.

Before you start

You need

• A contact with a phone number and a connected WhatsApp number.
• If the contact hasn’t written in the last 24 hours: an approved WhatsApp template.

Steps

1. In the Inbox, choose ”+ New”. The New conversation drawer opens.

2. Pick the contact and the channel. Search the person by name or phone and select the WhatsApp channel it will go out through.

3. Press “Start conversation”. The conversation opens in your Inbox, under Unassigned: choose Take to make it yours and be able to write (how that works).

4. If the 24-hour window is closed, send a template. WhatsApp only allows free text within 24 hours of the customer’s last message. If they had written you before, the thread shows the notice and the Send template button: pick an approved one, fill its variables, check the Preview and send. When the customer replies, the window opens and you’re back to free text.

A contact who never wrote you

If the person has never messaged you on WhatsApp, the first message also requires a template — the drawer warns you when creating the conversation. Keep an approved greeting template handy for these cases.

The clock is in sight

Every Inbox card shows how much window is left. Today outbound conversations start over WhatsApp; on the other channels you reply to what comes in.

Result

Note

You made the first move, and the conversation sits in your Inbox with its history — like any other.

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