Agents

WhatsApp limits

What the agent receives, what it sends, how conversations are grouped and what one number can be connected to, as it works on WhatsApp today.

This page is the list of what a connected WhatsApp number does and does not do, so you can set a customer's expectations and write the persona to match. Every row is how the number behaves today; where a row is a limit, the next column says what to do instead.

Messages the agent receives

What arrives What happens
A text message It is recorded on the customer's conversation and answered
An image, video, voice note, document, sticker, location, contact card or reaction Nothing. It is not answered and it does not appear on the conversation
A text message while the workspace has no credits It is recorded and marked read, and gets no reply
The same message delivered twice It is answered once
A message from a new customer A conversation opens, named after the customer's WhatsApp profile name; without one, the row reads WhatsApp contact and the last four characters of the customer's number

Every row above applies to a number connected as described in Connect WhatsApp; connecting subscribes the number's messages to EchoNova automatically.

The agent hears only text. Write the persona so it asks for anything else in words: an order number typed rather than a photo of the receipt, an address typed rather than a pinned location.

As soon as a text message arrives, the customer's phone shows the message as read and shows the typing indicator until the reply is sent.

Replies the agent sends

Reply What the customer gets
The agent's answer One text message, sent as written. Nothing is split, shortened or reformatted
A turn that fails The fixed line Sorry, I can't respond right now. Please try again shortly.
A reply WhatsApp refuses Nothing. The reply stays on the conversation in the portal, and the customer does not receive it
Buttons, cards, images, files or links as attachments Never. Every reply is a text message; a link is sent as text

Because a reply is one message, a long answer is one long bubble. Tell the persona how long a reply may be; the guidance in How the prompt is assembled applies to WhatsApp as it does to a call.

The delivery status recorded on a reply is sent when WhatsApp accepts it and failed when it does not. It does not move on to delivered or read.

Conversations

Rule Value
Conversations per customer One open conversation at a time per customer per number
When a conversation continues While the customer's next message arrives within 24 hours of the last message in either direction
When a new conversation starts On the first message more than 24 hours after the last one. The earlier conversation closes and shows Resolved
What the agent remembers The whole conversation while messages keep coming. Once the conversation has been quiet for 15 minutes, its next message resumes from a replay of the recent messages, as described in How the prompt is assembled
Handoff to a person None. The agent answers every text message on the number while the number is connected. See Human handoff
What closes an open conversation early Disconnecting the number, or assigning it to another agent. Both close every open conversation on the number, and the next message opens a new one
Working hours Not applied. The number answers at every hour; see Working hours

A customer sees none of this grouping. To them it is one chat with your number; to you it is one row per 24-hour stretch on the Conversations tab.

The connection

Rule Value
Workspaces per number One. A number connected to another workspace is refused with That WhatsApp number is already connected to a different EchoNova workspace.
Agents per number One. Move it with Assign to another agent, or confirm Move this channel? when connecting it again from another agent
Numbers per agent Any number of them
How you choose which numbers to connect You tick them yourself, in Choose what to connect when a sign-in grants more than one, or straight away when it grants one
Permissions Meta asks for whatsapp_business_management and whatsapp_business_messaging
How long the Meta sign-in window is valid 10 minutes
How long a Choose what to connect list is valid 10 minutes, or until it is used once
How long WhatsApp access lasts About 60 days. The channel shows Reconnect by <date> in the last 7 days, then Token expired. Reconnect.
What Disconnect removes The channel and the access saved with it. Conversations stay on the agent's Conversations tab
What reconnecting the same number does Refreshes the saved access, and links the number to this agent if it had none

FAQ

Is there a limit on how many messages a customer can send?

Not on the number. Every text message is answered and every reply is charged as a turn. See What a turn costs.

Can the agent message a customer first?

No. The agent replies to messages that arrive; it does not start a conversation on WhatsApp.

Why does a customer's photo not appear on the conversation?

Only text messages reach the agent. Anything else is not recorded. Ask the customer to type what the photo shows.

Why is there a second conversation row for the same customer?

More than 24 hours passed between two of their messages. The earlier row closed and the later message opened a new one. Both are on the Conversations tab.

Can I set a different reply length or tone for WhatsApp?

Not per channel. The persona is shared by every channel the agent is connected to. Give the WhatsApp number its own agent if it needs its own wording. See Channels overview.