WhatsApp calling

Customers can call your business from WhatsApp, and agents answer in their browser. Agents can also call customers who have agreed to receive calls.

Plan & access

• Chatwoot Cloud: Business plan and above. Self-hosted: a paid plan with Enterprise Edition, from v4.15.0. Installing the Enterprise Edition build alone does not enable it. See Pricing & Plans.

• Inbox: WhatsApp Cloud API only. Both connection methods work, Quick setup and manual setup. Not available for Twilio or 360dialog WhatsApp inboxes.

• Your number must be enrolled in Meta's WhatsApp Business Calling API. Meta's current requirements include a daily messaging limit of at least 2,000 unique recipients for your number. Check the full, up-to-date list in Meta's Calling API requirements, and your current limit in Meta's messaging limits guide.

• Where calls work: customers can call you from any country where WhatsApp Cloud API is available. Calls you start are not available everywhere: Meta currently excludes some countries, including the United States and Canada, and your business number's country code must be supported. See Meta's country availability for calling.

• Call charges: Meta, or your WhatsApp Business Solution Provider if it bills you, charges for calls separately from your Chatwoot plan. Meta does not charge for calls customers make to you; calls you start are charged. See Meta's Calling API pricing.

• Administrators turn it on. Agents in the inbox take and make calls.

How to check you have it: open the inbox settings. A Calls tab means calling is available for your account.

Turn on calling

New inbox: go to Settings › Inboxes › Add Inbox › WhatsApp Call and complete Quick setup. Chatwoot turns calling on during setup.

Existing inbox:

1. Go to Settings › Inboxes, open your WhatsApp inbox and go to the Calls tab.

2. Turn on Enable WhatsApp Calling.

   

3. Optional: edit the Call permission request message that customers see when you ask to call them.

4. Optional: set the other toggles on the Calls tab:

   • Allow incoming calls: when off, incoming calls are declined automatically, agents are not notified and no conversation is created. Outgoing calls still work.

   • Record calls: attaches each call's recording to the conversation.

   • Transcribe recordings: shown when recording is on. Adds a transcript using Captain, and needs audio transcription turned on for your account.

If you see Voice calling couldn't be turned on for this number, Meta refused to turn calling on. Chatwoot shows this same message whatever Meta's reason was, so do not assume the number is not enrolled. Check the number against Meta's requirements above (enrolment, messaging limit, country). If they all look right, contact support with the inbox name so the team can look up the exact error Meta returned.

Before your first call: each agent must allow microphone access for Chatwoot in their browser.

Test it: from another phone, open WhatsApp, find your business and tap call. A call notification should appear in Chatwoot.

Taking and making calls

• Incoming: a call window shows the caller's name and number, and their city and country when Chatwoot knows them. Otherwise it shows the inbox name. Agents can Join call or Reject the call. Dismiss (✕) hides the window for you only. It does not decline the call, so other agents can still answer.

  

• Outgoing: in a conversation, click Start WhatsApp call. If the customer has not agreed to receive calls, Chatwoot sends them a call permission request instead: Sent a call permission request to the contact. Try again once they accept. Once they accept, call again. See Call permission below.

  

• Other ways to call: click Call back under a missed or declined call in the conversation, or click Call on the contact's details page.

• Call states shown in the conversation: Incoming call, Outgoing call, Call in progress, Call ended, Missed call, No answer.

• Recordings are attached to the conversation when available. Transcripts are added if your account has Captain audio transcription turned on, and use Captain credits until they run out. See Captain AI credits and usage.

  

Call permission

You can only call a customer who has given your business permission to receive calls. Customers who call you do not need permission.

• How Chatwoot asks: when you click Start WhatsApp call without permission, Chatwoot sends a WhatsApp message with your Call permission request message and an option to accept. The customer accepts or declines in WhatsApp.

• The 24-hour window must be open: this request is a normal WhatsApp message, so it only reaches the customer if they messaged you in the last 24 hours. Chatwoot does not check this and shows the request as sent either way. If the window is closed, send an approved template first, wait for the customer to reply, then call.

• Limits and expiry: Meta limits how often you can ask the same customer and decides how long their permission lasts. See Meta's call permission rules for the current limits.

Who gets the call

• Assigned conversation: only the assignee's call window rings, whatever their availability status.

• Unassigned conversation: inbox agents who are set to Online ring.

• No one online: all inbox agents and all administrators ring.

The first agent to join takes the call. If the conversation has no assignee, the agent who joins is assigned to it. When an agent starts a call, the conversation is assigned to them if it has no assignee.

Good practice

• Ask for call permission early in the conversation, not at the moment you need to call.

• In unassigned conversations, only inbox agents set to Online ring, so keep agents who take calls online. In assigned conversations, only the assignee rings, so reassign the conversation if the assignee is away.

Troubleshoot

For Meta error codes and other WhatsApp problems, see Troubleshoot WhatsApp.