Messaging Channels
Customers write to you where they already are. With WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Instagram connected, those messages arrive in the same team Inbox as your emails, so nobody has to watch three apps. Your reply goes back on the channel the customer used, and the whole conversation stays with their record.
You can also post to your Facebook Page and Instagram account, including videos, reels, stories and posts with several pictures.
WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram may not be enabled in every workspace. If you do not see them in Settings → Integrations, they are not available to you.
For email and the team Inbox, see Shared Mailboxes & Team Inbox.
Use cases
| Situation | What channels help you do |
|---|---|
| A customer prefers WhatsApp | Message them from their record, and see Sent, Delivered and Read as it happens. |
| Someone writes to your Facebook Page or Instagram account | Their message lands in the Inbox under their name. Anyone on the team can answer. |
| A customer sends a photo of a problem | Open the message to see the picture, right in the app. |
| Announcing something new | Post a picture, video, reel or story to your Page and Instagram from one automation. |
Before you begin
- Who can connect. Workspace admins.
- You need your own accounts. A WhatsApp Business number, a Facebook Page, or an Instagram business or creator account linked to a Facebook Page. The app does not set up new numbers or accounts for you.
- Nothing to copy or paste. You sign in with Facebook and pick the account from a list. The app checks it before finishing and tells you plainly if something is missing.
Connect a channel
- Open Settings → Integrations.
- Choose WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram.
- Select Sign in with Facebook.
- Share your account and pick it from the list: the WhatsApp account with its number, the Facebook Page, or the Facebook Page your Instagram account is linked to.
A Page with no Instagram account linked is refused with a short reason. An account without a number is refused for WhatsApp in the same way.
Answer from the Inbox
Open the Inbox. Chats from WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram are labelled with their own name and icon next to your emails. Each person who writes is their own conversation, shown with their name.
- Reply in the Inbox. It goes out on the same channel and joins the same conversation.
- Pictures, audio, video and files that customers send are kept in the app. Open a message to see the picture or play the clip.
- Progress shows as Sent and Delivered (and Read where the channel tells us). If a message fails it shows Not delivered, with the reason.
- People write first on Messenger and Instagram. You can only answer someone who has already messaged you, so there is no send button on records for these two.
Send a WhatsApp message from a record
A record with a phone number shows Send WhatsApp.
- Open the record and select Send WhatsApp.
- Write your message. Select Attach a file to add one picture, audio clip, video or document. A file can go without any words, and you can Add a caption (optional).
- Select Send.
WhatsApp only lets you write freely within 24 hours of the customer’s last message. To write first, or after a quiet day, choose Send a template instead and name one of your approved templates and its language.
If a customer sends STOP, they are marked WhatsApp opted out and are not messaged again until they send START. Automations and the Assistant skip them too.
Files and pictures
You can attach one file to a reply or message. A file that is too big, or of a kind the channel does not take, is refused before anything is sent, with the size limit shown.
| Channel | What you can attach | Size limit |
|---|---|---|
| Picture, audio, video or document | 16 MB | |
| Messenger | One file | 25 MB |
| One picture, video or audio clip | 8 MB |
Post to Facebook and Instagram
Automations can post for you on your connected Page and account.
- Facebook Page: a picture with a caption, text with a link, a video, a reel, or a picture or video story. The ready-made workflow Post several pictures to Facebook puts two to ten pictures in one post.
- Instagram: a picture with a caption or a picture story. Reels, video stories and posts of several pictures or videos come as ready-made workflows: Post a reel to Instagram, Post a video story to Instagram and Post several pictures or videos to Instagram.
- Both together. Posting works the same way on both, so one automation can post to your Page and Instagram.
- Videos take a minute or two. Facebook and Instagram prepare a video first. The post appears once they are ready. Videos are given as a public web address.
- Automations can also delete a post they made.
When a connection needs reconnecting
If someone removes the app’s access on Facebook’s side, the connection shows Reconnect needed in Settings → Integrations. Replies, automations and the Assistant stop using it, and your history stays.
- Open Settings → Integrations.
- Select Reconnect on the channel.
- Sign in with Facebook again.
WhatsApp renews its sign-in on its own about two weeks before it runs out, so you should not need to sign in again just because time passed.
Troubleshooting
I do not see WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram
They may not be enabled in every workspace. Check Settings → Integrations to see whether they are available.
The channel was refused when I connected
The message says why. Common reasons are a WhatsApp account without a number, or a Facebook Page with no Instagram account linked.
I cannot reply
Check that the connection is not showing Reconnect needed. On Messenger and Instagram you can only answer someone who has messaged you first.
My WhatsApp message was not delivered
If the customer has not written in 24 hours, use Send a template instead. A customer who sent STOP cannot be messaged.
Privacy and safety
Anyone who can use the Inbox can read and answer these chats, so connect a channel only for conversations your team should share. Disconnecting stops new messages and keeps the history.