Channels & Integrations · Channels

WhatsApp calls

Customers tap call in their WhatsApp chat with you. The call rings in the browser for your team, or your AI agent answers.

With WhatsApp calls, customers can call your WhatsApp Business number from the chat or your business profile. The call rings in Inboxi for everyone available on your team, the first person to answer takes it right in the browser, and your AI agent can answer instead, at once or when nobody picks up. Every call is recorded, transcribed and kept in the customer's chat.

inboxi.app/settings/whatsapp-calls
Settings › WhatsApp Calls.
  1. 1Team answers, AI answers, and recording at a glance.
  2. 2Who can listen in to a live call and take it over.
  3. 3Hold music callers hear on hold or during a transfer.
  4. 4Receive WhatsApp calls: turns calling on for this number.
  5. 5Who answers calls on this number.

Requirements

  • A number connected through the WhatsApp Business (Cloud API). A number that is also used on the WhatsApp Business app on a phone (coexistence) cannot take calls in Inboxi; calls keep ringing on the phone.
  • Calls are inbound only: the customer calls you. Calling customers from Inboxi is not available.
  • Inbound WhatsApp calls are free from Meta, and the customer does not need to have messaged you first.
  • Meta enables calling for numbers with a sufficient messaging limit. If calling is unavailable on your number, the card says so.
  • For the AI to answer calls, your workspace needs the voice add-on and an AI agent (see Voice assistant).
  • Staff answer in a desktop browser with microphone access (Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox).

Turn on calling

  1. 1
    Open WhatsApp Calls
    Go to Settings › Channels and click Manage on the WhatsApp Calls card.
  2. 2
    Expand your number
    Under “Your numbers”, open the card of the number that should take calls.
  3. 3
    Switch on “Receive WhatsApp calls”
    Customers then see a call button in the chat and on your business profile.
  4. 4
    Choose who answers
    Team, Team then AI, or AI right away (see below), then click Save.
ModeWhat happens
TeamThe call rings for the team only. Choose whether it rings for the whole team or one team.
Team, then AIThe call rings for the team for 5 to 40 seconds (default 20). If nobody answers, the AI agent does.
AI right awayThe selected AI agent answers every call at once, 24/7.
Calls ring only for teammates who are online and marked Available for calls (in your user menu). If nobody is available and an AI agent is set, the AI answers at once.

Workspace settings

  • Listening in & taking over: “Admins and the owner only” (default) or “Everyone on the team”.
  • Hold music: the built-in Inboxi hold music, or upload your own audio file (up to 5 minutes).

Answering in the browser

An incoming call appears in the call notch, a small bar at the top of every Inboxi screen, with a ringtone. Allow microphone access the first time.

Customer
Taps call in WhatsApp
Meta
Call notch
Rings for available teammates
Answer
First to answer
Talks in the browser
hang up
Chat
Recording, transcript, summary
ControlWhat it does
Answer / DeclineTake the call, or decline it for yourself.
Let AI answerHand the ringing call straight to the AI agent.
MuteMute your microphone.
Hold / ResumeThe caller hears hold music; you can still hear them.
TransferTo the whole team, to the AI, or to a named teammate, with an optional note. Take back cancels it while it rings.
Open chatOpen the customer’s WhatsApp conversation.
Hang upEnd the call.

When someone else answers first, the notch tells you who did. A transfer to you rings with the name of the person who sent it, and you can Answer or choose Not now.

When the AI answers

  • The AI agent picks up, greets the caller and speaks with them in real time, using its instructions and knowledge.
  • Its words are written into the WhatsApp chat as the call goes on.
  • Allowed teammates see a violet notch with Listen in (the caller cannot hear you) and Take over (you join and the AI steps back).
  • The AI can hand the call to your team. If nobody is free, it continues and leaves a “Needs a person” follow-up in the chat.

Calls in the inbox

Every call becomes a card in the caller's WhatsApp chat: incoming, in progress, missed, declined, answered by a teammate or answered by AI. Finished calls include the recording player, a summary, the topic, the tone and whether a follow-up is needed. The chat side panel has a Calls tab listing the customer's calls.

Retention
Recordings are kept for 90 days by default (or less if your workspace sets a shorter period). Transcripts and summaries stay in the chat. Call cards do not reopen the 24-hour messaging window.

Troubleshooting

ProblemFix
“Allow microphone access to answer.”Allow the microphone for inboxi.app in the browser’s site settings, then answer again.
“This browser blocks calls (often an extension).”Try a private window or another browser; some privacy extensions block WebRTC.
Calls never ring for meCheck that you are online and “Available for calls” is on, and that the number’s mode includes the team.
“This number is also on the WhatsApp Business app”Move the number to the Cloud API only to use calling in Inboxi.
“We can’t reach this number at Meta”Reconnect the number from WhatsApp Business, then turn calls on again.