WhatsApp calling

Your WhatsApp number can do more than messages — it can take voice calls. Customers call you on WhatsApp, your agents answer live in the browser, and (with the customer's permission) your agents can call customers back. Everything happens inside the same WhatsApp conversation, so calls and messages stay together.

WhatsApp calling runs over Twilio Programmable Voice, so there's nothing extra to install. It works on both Twilio-backed WhatsApp channels:

• WhatsApp via Chatlane — the number Chatlane provides and manages for you. Calling works out of the box, and the outbound call-permission template is set up automatically.
• WhatsApp via Twilio — a number connected through your own Twilio account.

Not available on WhatsApp (Meta). Numbers connected through Meta's Cloud API — the WhatsApp (Meta) channel — don't run on Twilio Programmable Voice, so this in-browser calling feature doesn't apply to them. See which WhatsApp option is right for you for the full comparison.

The same in-browser answering also works for ordinary phone-call channels (see Connect your channels).

Before you start

You'll need:

• A WhatsApp channel connected via Chatlane or via Twilio. (See WhatsApp via Chatlane or Connect your channels if you haven't added one yet.)
• On the Meta side, your WhatsApp Business Account must have:
  • a messaging limit of at least 2,000 business-initiated conversations per 24 hours, and
  • completed business verification.
• The calling icon enabled for the number in Meta Business Manager → WhatsApp Manager (this is what shows customers a call button).
• Agents on HTTPS with microphone permission allowed in their browser.

Heads-up on outbound: business-initiated WhatsApp calls (you calling the customer first) aren't available from numbers registered in the US, Canada, Egypt, Nigeria, Turkey, or Vietnam. Customers in those places can still call you, and they can be located anywhere.

Step 1 — Activate calling in Twilio & Meta

1. In Meta Business Manager → WhatsApp Manager, open your number and enable the calling icon (and, optionally, business hours). This is what lets customers place a call.
2. Make sure the number meets the messaging-tier and business-verification requirements above.

You don't need to touch Twilio's voice settings by hand — when you enable calling in Chatlane (next step), Chatlane registers the number's voice configuration with Twilio for you.

Step 2 — Turn calling on in Chatlane

1. Go to Inbox Settings → Channels and click your WhatsApp channel to open its settings page.
2. Open the Calling tab.
3. Switch on Enable WhatsApp calling. Chatlane registers the number's voice configuration with Twilio.
4. Choose how incoming calls are handled under Inbound call routing:
   • Ring agents (answer in browser) — rings your available agents; the first to answer takes the call. Unanswered calls fall back to voicemail.
   • Voicemail only — every call goes straight to voicemail.
   • (WhatsApp calls can't be forwarded to a regular phone number, so "forward to a number" isn't offered here.)
5. Set the ring timeout (how long to ring agents before voicemail) and the voicemail message that plays when no one answers.
6. Save calling settings.

Outbound calls need no manual template. When you enable calling, Chatlane automatically creates the VOICE_CALL_REQUEST call-permission template on your behalf — there's nothing to paste. (This is a twilio/call-to-action template; unlike normal WhatsApp templates it needs no Meta approval.) If that auto-setup ever fails, it self-heals on the first outbound permission request, and the Calling tab shows a notice.

Step 3 — Set your team up to answer

Incoming calls only ring agents who have opted in — so a call never rings everyone unexpectedly. There are two levels: Receive calls in browser makes an agent reachable at all, and the per-inbox "A call comes in" notification decides which inboxes actually ring them. That per-inbox switch is on by default, so calls ring everyone who can take them until an agent turns it off for an inbox they don't answer — see Phone calls → Choose which inboxes ring you.

Each agent turns on Receive calls in browser:

• in Settings → Notifications, or
• with the quick toggle in the top bar (next to their account).

The toggle only appears once your team has at least one channel set to Ring agents, so if an agent doesn't see it, check Step 2.

Once it's on:

• The agent stays reachable on any page in Chatlane while signed in — they don't have to sit on a specific screen.
• When a call comes in they see an incoming-call popup to Accept or Decline. If they've also enabled browser push notifications, a push alert lets a backgrounded tab know a call is waiting.
• The top bar shows a small "N online" count — how many teammates can currently take calls.

What customers and agents experience

Incoming call (customer → you):

1. The customer taps call on your WhatsApp number.
2. Every available agent who accepts calls for that inbox has their browser ring at once; the first to Accept is connected.
3. The call appears in that customer's WhatsApp conversation.
4. If no one answers within the ring timeout, the customer hears your voicemail message and can leave a recording. The recording (with an optional transcript/summary, if call recording is enabled) lands in the conversation, and the team gets a missed-call notification based on each agent's notification settings.

Outbound call (you → customer):

1. Open the customer's WhatsApp conversation and choose Call on WhatsApp.
2. If you don't have permission yet, Chatlane sends a call-permission request — the customer taps Allow (or declines) right in WhatsApp.
3. Once they allow it, you can call. Permission lasts 7 days, and you can place up to 5 calls per 24 hours to that customer. After that, send a fresh request.
4. The call rings the customer in WhatsApp and connects to you in the browser.

Phone calls work the same way

The browser-answering experience isn't WhatsApp-only. For an ordinary Phone Call channel, open the channel's Voice Config tab and set Inbound call routing to Ring agents (answer in browser). The same per-agent Receive calls in browser toggle and per-inbox A call comes in control decide who gets rung. See Phone calls for the full walkthrough.

Troubleshooting

• The call button never appears for customers. The calling icon isn't enabled for the number in Meta Business Manager, or the number doesn't meet Meta's messaging-tier / business-verification requirements.
• A call comes in but no browser rings. No agent has Receive calls in browser turned on, the channel's routing isn't set to Ring agents, or the online agents have turned A call comes in off for this inbox in Settings → Notifications. Check the "N online" count in the top bar and the per-inbox notification setting.
• "Calling permission is not available" when calling a customer. You need the customer's consent first — send the call-permission request and wait for them to allow it. Remember the 7-day / 5-calls-per-24h limits.
• An agent's toggle is missing. It only shows when the team has a channel set to Ring agents — enable calling (Step 2) first.