WhatsApp Channel
Overview
The WhatsApp Channel section displays all interactions handled by agents and initiated by WhatsApp users. Through this channel, administrators can configure WhatsApp Accounts shared among agents assigned to specific WhatsApp Queues. Agents can send and receive WhatsApp messages directly via the standard XCALLY Motion Omni Desktop Interface.
This setup enables seamless communication between customers and agents, offering the following benefits:
Customers can use one of the most popular messaging platforms
Agents interact with customers within a unified XCALLY Motion environment
Agents can handle multiple interaction types simultaneously
Interactions are centralized, searchable, and easily managed
Customer information is stored in the Contacts Manager
A WhatsApp session with a customer remains open for up to 24 hours from the time the customer sends the first message. After this window expires, agents can only initiate conversations using authorized templates from Meta or Kaleyra. For more technical details, refer to Meta documentation. |
All agents assigned to the relevant WhatsApp queue will receive the request in their Omni Desktop interface.
Agents can either accept or reject the interaction. If rejected, the request is routed to another agent in the queue (in the example WhatsAppConn1).
The interaction starts when one agent accepts it: the interaction is locked to the agent, and others can view that the interaction is assigned to the relative agent.
WhatsApp session interface
Let's see how a typical WhatsApp Channel session looks like:
CUSTOMER’S SIDE | AGENT’S SIDE |
|---|---|
Inbound interaction
| Inbound interaction During an active WhatsApp interaction, agents view the conversation on the left and contextual information on the right sidebar, including contact details, interaction history and customer journey. Explore here more details. |
Outbound interaction | Outbound interaction When customer receives an outbound message through a WhatsApp template (from Meta or Kaleyra), the message will appear in the conversation thread exactly as designed, including any interactive buttons, images, or videos defined in the template. Additionally, if the "Close Interaction with Quick Reply" option is enabled in the campaign settings, the interaction will automatically close when the customer responds with a quick reply. |
Agents can send messages using various input options:
Text field
Emoticons
Canned Answer
File attachments: one per message, max size: 15 MB; subject to admin settings
Voice Message
Media formats and size limits are available in Media - Cloud API
Agents can also add internal notes during interactions. Refer to the internal notes documentation here.
Message Status Indicators
| A single checkmark means the message encountered a delivery issue |
| A double checkmark means the message was delivered to the WhatsApp recipient |
| If the Interaction tab is open but the agent is currently viewing another interaction, a red notification badge will appear whenever a new message related to the open interaction is received. The badge displays the number of unread messages |
Customers can send location messages using all supported providers (Kaleyra, Meta, Twilio, Sinch V2).
It’s also possible to configure a ChatGPT integration to manage conversation with a bot. Explore documentation here
Closing the WhatsApp Interaction
When an agent clicks the X icon on the session tab
and confirms:
the interaction can be:
Closed
Closed & Disposed (refer to Dispositions documentation).
If enabled by the admin, agents will also see a Transfer option (in the three-dot menu) to redirect the interaction. See the Transfer documentation for more details.
Interactions Management
The 24-hour service window applies to both inbound and outbound interactions. Once expired, agents can:
Send a configured Recontact Template (if the interaction is still open)
Send a Template “Available for agent” to reopen the interaction
The list of the interactions managed by the Agents will be available on the WhatsApp Channel Interactions view:
From version 3.53.0
The Sentiment column displays the predominant sentiment detected in the interaction, which can be Positive, Neutral, Mixed or Negative.
Explore Sentiment Analysis for more info
Arrows next to Last Message indicate if the last message was incoming or outgoing
Filters available:
Start Date
Read/Unread
Status (Open/Closed)
Account
Agent (the first one who managed it)
Tags (multi-select)
Search options:
Basic Search (explore more here)
Advanced Search (explore more here)
The interaction can be:
Open
Closed (by an Agent)
Reopen (by an Agent)
If a number appears next to a contact’s name, it indicates unread new interactions within that conversation (interactions have been received, but not managed)
By clicking a row, agents can view:
Full message exchanged in the single session
Sidebar information (Contact, Interaction details, Customer Journey)
Via the three-dot menu, agents can:
View interaction content, clicking on Show
Download a ZIP of the session (with or without attachments, based on permissions)
Close and optionally dispose the interaction
From version 3.48.0
Agents can reopen closed WhatsApp interactions. In this case you will see in purple the indication of date and hour of reopening.
If reopened within 24 hours customer service window, the agent can resume the conversation and handle it again
If reopened after 24 hours expiration, the agent can only send the pre-configured Recontact Template
The Reopen option is available within the interaction view (via the three-dot menu). Agents can:
Add a tag
Reopen the interaction
Define a disposition
Quote reply feature
FROM VERSION 3.59.0
As an agent, you can use the quote reply feature for WhatsApp interactions (only when using Meta provider accounts). This functionality supports contextual replies from both the customer and agent sides.
To use the quote reply, the agent simply needs to click the three-dot menu next to the message of interest and select Reply. The agent can then send a message that quotes the original customer message, ensuring clear and contextual communication.
Reactions support
FROM VERSION 3.63.0
Reactions, special emoji messages inserted with a button, are supported in XCALLY and they are visible both to Agent and to Customer.
Incoming reaction chat messages have a visualization similar to traditional WhatsApp;
Agents can send reactions to customer messages:
Click on 3 points menu on the top right of the specific message
Choosing the option Send reaction
Select the desired emoji
Agent can also delete the inserted reaction, by clicking on the bin icon
If a chatbot is active in the WhatsApp interaction, it ignores reaction updates and/or emoji removals
Contact Card Messages
FROM VERSION 3.63.0
Interaction messages can contain contact card message with the visualisation of:
contact name
contact phone
By clicking on 3 dots button, you can select Add contact to create and add the contact to the list associated with the WhatsApp account used.
Sending WhatsApp templates
Recontact Template (Post-24h Window)
When the 24-hour customer service window expires:
Agents can send a Recontact Template from the Meta or Kaleyra account, by clicking on relative button
The customer receives the template from sender System
If the customer replies, the interaction reopens and is treated as inbound
Outbound Template to a Single Contact
Agents can send templates to individual contacts using a Meta or Kaleyra account only. Otherwise the system warns that the associated account does not allow the sending of new messages.
Agents can send template to a single contact, by using a template “available for agents”
Steps:
Click “+” to create a new interaction
Enter the contact’s phone number
The system checks if the number exists in the Contacts Manager
We highly recommend to fill both Phone and Mobile fields with the same number to ensure compatibility. Single messages sent by agent consider number inserted in mobile field.
From version 3.50.0, if only one field is filled, the system will automatically copy it to the other.
Refer to Phone/Mobile Field Management at this link.
Once a contact is selected:
Choose a template (preview available via the eye icon)
You can only send a new template message as the contact service window has expired
Click SEND to deliver the message and open a new interaction
Contact creation for outbound messages
FROM VERSION 3.63.0
If you want to send a WhatsApp outbound message to a new phone number, not registered yet in the contact manager, the new contact is created automatically when you fill in the contact field and saved in the list associated with the WhatsApp account in use.
Customer service window management from version 3.63.0
Starting from version 3.63.0, the WhatsApp channel provides greater flexibility in contact management and in handling the customer service window.
The Send a recontact template button is always available to agents, who can send messages at any time (message text area is no longer blocked after the 24 hours, as in previous versions).
If an agent sends a message that is rejected by Meta due to the absence of an active customer service window, a warning tooltip — “Send a Recontact template to continue the conversation” — is displayed. This informs the agent that the message was not delivered and that a contact template should be sent instead.
FROM VERSION 3.65.0
Agents can also send an outbound message to a single contact from the interaction list view, following these steps:
Click “+” to create a new interaction, selecting the WhatsApp account to use
Enter the contact’s phone number
The system checks if the number exists in the Contacts Manager (or the system creates automatically the new contact)
Once a contact is selected, the agent can select between sending a template or a message:
Template: the agent needs to select among the templates “available for agents”
Message: writing in the text field
Click on Send
After the message is sent, the interaction tab is automatically opened.