How do I route WhatsApp chats to the right teammate in Whatsable?
Whatsable routes conversations with labels and member access rather than an assignee field: keyword labels, AI agent labels, automations, and per-member numbers and labels.
Whatsable does not assign a conversation to one named teammate. There is no "assigned to" field on a conversation. You route work with two tools that work together:
- Labels on the contact say what the conversation is about: "Sales", "Support", "Spanish", "Client A".
- Member access says which numbers and which labels each member sees.
A conversation then reaches the people whose access matches its labels and its number. Routing works on Pro and Agency, which include the inbox and a team. The free plan has the inbox and the routing features too, but it is for one person: you invite teammates once you subscribe. Bulk Message has no inbox and is a one-user plan.
For the inbox itself, see Shared Team Inbox.
Step 1: give each member the right access
On the Team page, an owner or an admin opens Edit access for a member:
- Which numbers can they work in? All numbers, or Only these numbers.
- Narrow it to certain conversations? All conversations, or Only these labels.
A member limited to the label "Support" sees only conversations whose contact carries "Support", on the numbers they may use. Owners and admins always see every conversation. You can set the same limits when you invite someone. See Team roles.
Step 2: get the right label on each conversation
Pick the ways that fit your team. They all write the same labels.
| How | What it does |
|---|---|
| By hand | A teammate adds or removes a label in the contact panel. Swapping "Sales" for "Support" moves the conversation from one group to the other. |
| Keywords | A label applies itself when a customer's message contains one of its keywords, for example "invoice" for "Billing". |
| AI agent | An agent you allow to use labels applies them from what the customer says, guided by each label's description. |
| Ads | A chat that starts from a Facebook or Instagram ad gets a label named after the ad's headline. |
| Make, Zapier, n8n or the API | Your automation decides the owner, for example a round robin across your sales team or a lead form's region, then adds that label. |
Labels, keywords and AI labels are explained in Labels. The API call is Add a label to a contact.
Whatsable has no built-in round robin. Build it in Make, Zapier or n8n and have the scenario add the label.
Step 3: let the right people know
- An AI handoff notification reaches everyone who can see the conversation. So when the agent hands a "Support" conversation to a person, the members who see "Support" are told. The agent sends it when its Tell the team when a customer asks for a person switch is on.
- Other notifications, such as number or billing problems, go to owners and admins.
See Notifications.
AI agent or person: a different question
Which agent answers a conversation is set apart from which people see it:
- Which agent answers, in the contact panel, picks the AI agent for one conversation, or keeps Use the number's default.
- Let the agent reply turns the agent on or off for that conversation. A teammate's reply pauses it.
Members get only Let the agent reply. Which agent answers and Edit are for the owner and Admins.
See AI agents.
Limits
- A label sits on the contact, not on one conversation. A person who writes to two of your numbers carries the same labels on both.
- A member limited to labels loses sight of a conversation as soon as its last matching label is removed.
- Whatsable labels do not stay in sync with tags in your CRM. Your automations can read and write Whatsable labels.
- Numbers per plan: Bulk Message includes 1 and Pro includes 3; both can add more at $13 a month each. Agency includes up to 100 numbers and sells no extra numbers. See Plans: Bulk Message, Pro, Agency.
FAQ
Can I assign a WhatsApp chat to one teammate?
Not as a named assignee. Route it with a label that matches that teammate's access. A member limited to the label "Ana" sees only the conversations you label "Ana".
Does Bulk Message include routing?
No. Bulk Message has no inbox and no team. Routing for a team needs Pro or Agency. The free plan has the routing features, but you cannot invite teammates until you subscribe.
Can Whatsable round-robin chats?
Not natively. Build the round robin in Make, Zapier or n8n, then add the label from the scenario.
Is routing the same as choosing an AI agent?
No. Which agent answers picks the AI agent for a conversation. Labels and member access decide which people see it.
Who gets notified when the AI hands a chat to a person?
Everyone who can see that conversation, so routing by labels also routes the handoff notification.