How to assign a WhatsApp chat to an agent: five ways
Five ways to assign a WhatsApp chat to an agent: multi-agent in the Business app, by hand, in turn, by queue and by number, with steps for each.
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- By WavesFlo team
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- 3 min read
You can assign a WhatsApp chat in five ways, and which one you have depends on whether you run one number or many. On one number, the WhatsApp Business app offers assignment only through multi-agent, a paid feature. On several numbers, a shared inbox gives every chat an owner by hand, in turn within a team, from a queue with rules, or by who may reach which number.
| Way | How a chat gets its owner | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Multi-agent in the Business app | Press and hold a chat, then More options, Assign chat (Android); open the chat, tap the contact name, then Assign chat (iPhone) | One number, a few agents, a paid plan |
| 2 By hand in a shared inbox | An admin or manager hands each new chat from the shared queue to a person | Enquiries that need a particular person |
| 3 In turn (round-robin) | Each new chat goes to the next person in the team | A steady flow of similar enquiries |
| 4 By queue, with shifts and caps | A queue picks only someone signed in, on shift and under their cap | Teams with shifts, leave and uneven load |
| 5 By number or team | The number a customer wrote to decides which team can see it | Branches, cities, brands |
How does assignment work in the WhatsApp Business app?
- On Android, in the Chats tab, press and hold the chat. Tap More options (three dots), then Assign chat, choose an agent and tap Save.
- On iPhone, open the chat, tap the contact's name, then Assign chat, and choose an agent.
- To see your own chats, filter by Assigned to you. To check who replied, press and hold a message and tap Info.
It covers one number, and it records who owns a chat without hiding the chat from other agents. Assigning WhatsApp chats to your sales team sets out the limits.
How does it work in a shared inbox?
Every number's chats arrive in one list, each marked with the number it came in on. In WavesFlo a new enquiry waits in the shared queue until an admin or manager hands it to someone, or, with round-robin on for a team, goes to the next person in turn. A returning customer goes back to whoever answered them last, if that person is eligible.
- Decide who owns the shared queue: admins and managers see chats nobody owns yet, and reps and team leaders do not.
- For by-hand assignment, open the chat and hand it to a person, with a note on what the customer wants.
- For turns, create a queue for the team in Settings, under Assignment queues, with taking turns as its method.
- Set a cap on open chats per person, and shifts, so work goes only to someone present.
- Read the assignment log for the first week, then turn the manual routine off.
Which way should you pick?
- One number, two or three agents, and the app's price is fine: the Business app is the least change.
- More than one number, or more than four devices needed: a shared inbox.
- Enquiries all alike: take turns. Enquiries that need a language, a city or a past relationship: hand them on by hand, or give each its own queue.
- Shifts and leave: a queue with eligibility, so work never lands on someone who is away.
Where the answer is a shared inbox, WavesFlo's inbox lets you assign by hand or by turns within a team, and hand a chat on with a note, across every number linked from its phone.
Questions
How do I assign a WhatsApp chat to an agent?
In the WhatsApp Business app, press and hold the chat and choose Assign chat, if multi-agent is available to you. In a shared inbox such as WavesFlo, an admin or manager hands the chat on, or a queue gives it to the next eligible person.
Can I assign chats without paying Meta?
In a shared inbox, yes: assignment belongs to the inbox, not to a WhatsApp subscription. WavesFlo is quoted, not priced per chat.
Can a customer see who a chat is assigned to?
No. Customers cannot see which agent or device sent a message, or who the chat is assigned to.
What if nobody is available?
In WavesFlo the chat waits in the queue and shows in the backlog until someone eligible can take it.