Overview
A WhatsApp Web inbox can receive and place voice, video and group calls directly from the platform. The agent answers in an in-browser softphone (accept, reject, hang up, and two-way audio), and every call is logged in the contact's conversation, alongside the messages.
Beyond traditional calls, the WhatsApp Web inbox offers two optional features you turn on in settings: recording the call (which plays back inside the conversation) and AI auto-answer, where an assistant answers the call for you. Video and group calls have their own per-inbox switch, so you can release each one at your operation's pace.
This page is for administrators: how to enable calls, recording and AI on a WhatsApp Web inbox. For day-to-day usage, see the agent guide for calls.
Prerequisites
- An administrator role to configure the inbox.
- A WhatsApp Web inbox already created and in the connected state (see Connect WhatsApp Web by QR pairing).
- The voice/calls feature enabled for your account — it's optional; if the calling tab doesn't appear, confirm the enablement with the operator.
- The WhatsApp Web connection service must have calls enabled. When you turn calls on, the session is reconnected so it starts signaling calls — this is normal and takes a few seconds.
- For AI auto-answer, the artificial intelligence features enabled on the account.
- An up-to-date browser and microphone permission granted by the agent who will answer.
Step by step
- Go to Settings → Inboxes and open the desired WhatsApp Web inbox.
- Open the Calling tab/section.
- Turn on Enable calls. When the page shows that the gateway accepted the configuration, click Restart session to apply and confirm. The WhatsApp Web session is restarted (the device stays paired, no QR code is requested) and, within a few seconds, the page reports that calling is applied to the current session.
- (Optional) Turn on Record calls to log each call's audio in the conversation.
- Check the Video calls and Group calls switches. Both come on; turn off whichever your operation is not going to use yet.
- (Optional) Turn on AI auto-answer and choose the call assistant that will answer.
- Save. Make a test call and confirm it appears in the contact's conversation.
Settings & options
- Enable calls: turns on voice handling for the inbox. Required to receive and place calls.
- Record calls: records the call audio; when it ends, the recording becomes available to listen to inside the conversation itself.
- Video calls (
calls.video_enabled): releases camera and screen sharing on this inbox. It shows up only on WhatsApp Web inboxes and is on by default. When off, the video button disappears for agents and an attempt to turn the camera on is refused with a notice — audio calls keep working. - Group calls (
calls.group_calls_enabled): lets agents start calls on WhatsApp group conversations. It also shows up only on WhatsApp Web inboxes and is on by default. When off, the call button is not offered on group conversations. - AI auto-answer: an AI assistant answers the call automatically. Use it when you want triage or handling without depending on an available human agent.
- Agent microphone: each agent grants the browser's microphone permission on the first call.
Use cases
- Serve customers over WhatsApp calls without leaving the conversation, with history and assignment.
- Keep call recordings for review, quality or training.
- Let AI answer calls after hours or during demand spikes.
- Run a video demo, or bring the customer and their team together on a group call.
Usage from calls answered by the bot
New calls with a valid identifier record conversation, transcription, speech and summary usage separately when those steps are used. Measured costs attributed to a call appear in the Cost Center and in conversation usage; do not add these views as independent expenses. This corrects the missing usage record for the call turn.
Usage-recording failures do not prevent the bot from answering or discard a response, transcription or audio already produced. If attribution cannot safely begin, service continues with conversation-only accounting when available. Automatic retries by the transcription or speech service preserve service but may leave call usage unknown. The platform does not repeat a response on another provider merely to obtain accounting confirmation.
Final confirmation requires every step to be recorded and the summary to finish. Partial measurement keeps only the known subtotal, with the complete total unavailable; cancellation, failure or an unconfirmed step leaves closure unknown. Hanging up or waiting a few seconds does not prove complete cost, and a missing amount does not mean zero cost.
Calls continue using the configured providers. When a transport cannot safely attribute a step yet, measured usage remains on the conversation and call attribution is incomplete. Calls without a valid identifier also retain conversation-only accounting. History stays as it was: the update does not recalculate or fill in costs for old calls. A call interrupted by a restart may retain unknown cost. For scheduled updates, arrange with operations to finish ongoing calls before changing versions.
Tips, limits & best practices
- A WhatsApp call holds up to 32 people (you + 31 participants). On larger groups the agent picks a subset of up to 31 to call.
- Video needs a browser with WebCodecs (Chrome, Edge or Safari 16.4+) on the agent's computer. Without it, video is unavailable for that agent and audio calls keep running normally.
- Turning Video calls or Group calls off does not drop anything in progress: it applies to the next calls.
- When you enable or disable calls, wait for the session to reconnect before testing.
- Recording: notify participants when your policy requires it; treat recordings as sensitive data.
- Keep the paired phone connected to the internet — without an active session there are no calls.
- Respect WhatsApp's limits (anti-ban): avoid abnormal volumes of messages and back-to-back calls.
Troubleshooting
- I don't see the Calling tab: the voice feature may not be enabled for your account — talk to the operator.
- I enabled it but no call rings: confirm the inbox is connected and that the session reconnected after turning calls on.
- The recording doesn't appear: check that Record calls is on; the recording is only available after the call ends.
- The agent doesn't see the video button: check the Video calls switch on this inbox and the agent's browser (Chrome, Edge or Safari 16.4+).
- I can't call on a group conversation: check the Group calls switch; if the group has more than 32 people, the agent must select up to 31 participants.
- A notice says the session is restarting when I call: a restart to apply calling is under way. Wait a few seconds and call again; no call is started while the session restarts.
- AI doesn't answer: confirm the AI features are enabled and that AI auto-answer is on with an assistant selected.
Hybrid inbox and configuration confirmation
In a hybrid inbox, Calls reads and updates the WhatsApp Web partner even when you opened the logical Cloud inbox. Conversation ownership and permissions remain with the inbox you manage. The call policies saved there (recording, maximum duration and inbound calls) are also copied to the Cloud inbox of the pair, so the two never hold different policies. The pair's AI agent does not replace the agent the Cloud inbox already had: it is recorded beside it, as an inactive copy. Turning calling on or off still applies to WhatsApp Web only. While the pair is on, the number's calls are answered by WhatsApp Web only.
If the pair is undone, the Cloud inbox goes back to the AI agent it had of its own (or to none, if it never had one), without you saving anything. If the copied agent still belongs to the account and is different from the Cloud inbox's own agent, the Calls tab shows the copied-agent notice and the Activate copied agent button: only that button makes the copy answer the Cloud inbox's calls. There is no notice when there is no usable copy. Saving the other settings does not activate it. Changing the agent in the selector and saving is the inbox's own choice and discards the copy.
The inactive copy does not travel with the account in a duplication or a migration. At the destination, the Cloud inbox keeps the AI agent it had of its own, if that agent was carried over too, or has none; the copy is recorded again only when the call settings of an active pair are saved there.
The page distinguishes unconfirmed configuration, pending upload, failure and configuration accepted by the gateway. Accepted by the gateway means the change only takes effect after the session is restarted: use Restart session to apply, then test an inbound and an outbound call. The platform only shows applied to the current session after confirming with the gateway that calling is active on that session. If a call is refused with the notice that calling has not been applied to this session yet, restart the session on this same page. The restart is not offered while a call is in progress on the inbox. Acceptance alone does not establish working audio or recording. Use Retry configuration after failure. Check the installed gateway's capabilities before offering video, groups or AI answering to the team.