> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vorel.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# WhatsApp for teams

> Staff alerts and replies over WhatsApp, the session window, the shift opener, and why groups are not possible.

For teams who live in WhatsApp rather than Telegram, staff can link their own numbers and work
escalations from there.

This runs on your existing WhatsApp connection. It does not need a second number.

## Linking

<Steps>
  <Step title="Mint a code">
    An owner or admin generates a link code in **Settings, then Channels**. The panel shows the code
    and your own WhatsApp number to send it to.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The staff member sends it">
    They message that code to your business number from the phone they want linked.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Linked">
    Their number is bound to their user and their role.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Linking runs inbound, which is what makes it work without needing an approved template. Nothing has
to be sent to them first.

A staff message on a linked number creates no customer record and no customer conversation. Sending
`STOP` unlinks. It does not add the number to your do-not-call list.

## The session window

WhatsApp's 24-hour rule applies to your staff exactly as it applies to your customers. Meta does not
have a staff exemption.

This means alerting behaves differently depending on when it happens:

| State                                                | What gets sent                                                         |
| ---------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Window open** (they messaged in the last 24 hours) | A full free-form alert with the summary and a link                     |
| **Window closed**                                    | An approved template carrying a quick-reply button                     |
| **Window closed, no approved template**              | Nothing is sent, and the skip is recorded rather than failing silently |

## The shift opener

Because an open window makes everything cheaper and richer, the console gives you a one-tap
**start of shift** link. A staff member taps it at the beginning of their day, the window opens, and
the rest of their shift runs on free-form messages.

The reply to a shift opener is deliberately one short line. Its job is to open the window, not to
start a conversation.

## Working an alert

When the window is closed, the alert arrives as a template with a quick-reply button. Tapping the
button pulls up the full alert, because the template body itself is fixed and approved by Meta and
cannot carry the detail.

Replying works the same way it does elsewhere: your text goes to the customer on their own channel.

## Commands

`/start`, `/help`, `/status` and `/digest` are recognised, plus acknowledging an alert by its
reference. `/help` answers from canned copy in both languages, so it works even if nothing else is
configured.

## Delivery confirmation

A read receipt from a linked staff number is the only real proof an escalation reached a human. Those
receipts are tracked separately from customer receipts, so "did anyone actually see the alert" has
an answer.

## Groups are not possible

The official WhatsApp Business API cannot post into group chats. This is a Meta platform limit and no
integration works around it. Staff alerts on WhatsApp are one to one.

If you want a shared team channel, use [Telegram](/assistants/telegram), Slack or Microsoft Teams as
your escalation destination.

## Costs

Alerts sent inside the window are free-form and cost a conversation charge. Alerts sent outside it
are template messages, which are billed by Meta at the utility rate. The platform records which mode
each alert used, so the cost is attributable rather than a surprise.

Keeping shifts opened is the single biggest lever on this cost.