Handle WhatsApp interactions

Agents receive WhatsApp interactions via social channel chat queues they are serving. To receive a WhatsApp message in the 8x8 Contact Center app for Salesforce, you must:

  • Be a member of the queue to which the WhatsApp interactions are routed.
  • Place yourself in Available status.

What is a typical inbound WhatsApp flow?

When a WhatsApp chat message is offered to an available agent, a notification displays prompting you to accept or reject the chat interaction.

  1. In the 8x8 Contact Center app, click the Change status menu option and change your status to Available.
    The interaction notification in the app indicates an incoming WhatsApp chat request.
  2. Preview the record details and click to accept the interaction.

    3. Note: The reject interaction button is disabled if your contact center administrator has not granted you permission to reject calls.

    Note: If you reject the chat message or fail to accept it before the acceptance interval lapses, your status is changed to On Break.

  3. If the incoming interaction is from an existing customer, the customer or case record pops for preview. The screen pop behavior may vary based on the admin configuration settings.
    If the request is from a new customer, a New Case record entry form pops. Enter the details of the new customer, and save the customer record.
  4. Type your message in the chat window.

    5. Note: The chat window capacity is 40954 characters to allow agents to communicate large bodies of text.

  5. Click to send your message.
  6. After finishing the interaction, click . The timer indicates the time for wrap-up.

    7. Note: If the post-processing countdown interval reaches zero, 8x8 Contact Center automatically sets your status to Available.

  7. If required, select a disposition code.

    8. Note: The 8x8 Professional Services team may provide customization for disposition codes.

  8. Click Wrap up.
    At the termination of the interaction, a chat log may pop. The chat log is saved as a task. The log includes information about the time the WhatsApp message was initiated, accepted, terminated, along with the chat transcript.

What is the screen pop behavior for WhatsApp interactions?

When a WhatsApp interaction is offered, the 8x8 Contact Center integration app searches the Salesforce CRM for a matching phone number. The number of matching records is displayed in the call panel and in the customer’s avatar after accepting the interaction.

Depending on the situation, the search could return:

  • No matching records: The search yields no results for the customer and the CRM screen pops a New Case tab for you to fill in with relevant information.
  • A single matching record: The search yields a single matching record and screen pops the customer information. After the interaction ends, a chat log pops in a new tab. The log is saved as a task in Salesforce.
  • Multiple matching records: If the search yields multiple search results there is no screen pop. In this case, you need to click the avatar and manually select the customer record to link the new case to. Select the correct customer from the list, and click to return to the interaction in the 8x8 Contact Center app panel. By default, the CRM matches the case to the first match in the list. After the interaction ends, a chat log pops in a new tab. The log is saved as a task in Salesforce.

Handling multiple WhatsApp interactions

8x8 Contact Center agents can handle multiple WhatsApp interactions at the same time. Interaction requests continue to be offered until you reach the maximum allowed customer interactions configured by the admin. If necessary, as an agent, you can select the Stop new option from the 8x8 Contact Center app to prevent receiving new customer interactions. This option allows you to control the flow of incoming interactions when you need time to focus on the current ones.

When a new WhatsApp interaction is offered, a notification appears indicating an incoming chat request. The icons for accepted interactions display on the left side of the 8x8 Contact Center app and are listed in the order they were accepted, with the oldest interaction being displayed at the top. Select the desired icon to reply to the interaction.

To ensure you are replying to customers in a timely manner, the icons may display the following visual alerts:

Icon Description
Indicates that a customer message has arrived. It also indicates that the agent replied and is pending a response from the customer. The blue vertical line indicates that the chat is currently selected.
Indicates that the customer message that arrived is past the targeted service-level agreement (SLA).
Indicates that the customer has sent a new message and is waiting for the agent to respond. The number in the orange circle indicates how many unread messages were sent by the customer since the last reply.
Indicates that the customer has sent a new message and is waiting for the agent to respond. The red circle indicates that the response is past SLA, and the background blinks orange until the agent accesses the chat.
Indicates that the chat message failed to be delivered to the customer.
Indicates that the chat interaction ended and is now in post-processing. The background blinks red until the agent completes the wrap-up process.

What happens to the response from the customer?

If the agent ends the conversation before the customer responds, and the customer sends another message, the reply message gets routed to the same channel and gets delivered to an agent assigned to the WhatsApp queue. Note that the same agent who replied to the message may not receive the customer response unless the queue is dedicated to the agent.