Starting a new chat in Wati is easy, whether you're messaging an existing contact or reaching out to someone new. This guide walks you through each step, from opening the chat window to sending a pre-approved WhatsApp template message.

Follow these steps to begin a new conversation in Wati:

Step 1: Log in to your Wati account.

Step 2: Go to the Team Inbox.

Step 3: Click the WhatsApp icon to open your WhatsApp channel.

Step 4: Click the + button to start a new chat.

Step 5: Choose how you want to send the message:

If you enter a number that isn't already saved, Wati automatically adds it as a new contact after the message is sent.

Step 6: Click Next.

Step 7: Select a pre-approved template message from the list.

You can:

Step 8: Fill in any required variables in the template, such as the customer's name or order ID.

Step 9: Review the message to make sure all details are accurate and complete.

Step 10: Click Send.

When you send a template message to a new or unassigned contact, Wati automatically assigns the resulting conversation to the operator who sent the template message.

This makes it easier for the operator to find and continue the conversation in the Team Inbox without manually assigning the chat.

If Operator A sends a template message to a new contact, the conversation created from that message is automatically assigned to Operator A.

The article now explains that new or unassigned contacts are automatically assigned to the operator who sends the template, while the conversation remains available in the Team Inbox; add the enhancement to the article’s release notes or changelog for consistent product documentation.

You can delete chats from the Team Inbox manually or use the auto-deletion feature available on the Business Plan.

The auto-deletion option is available under Team Inbox settings.

You can configure Wati to automatically delete messages and contacts older than a specified number of days. The following data types can be auto-deleted:

To enable auto-deletion, check the box next to each data type, enter the number of days, and click Save.

To manually find and delete messages, select the message type (Text or Media) from the dropdown, enter the number of days, and click Find. Wati will display the number of messages and total size matching your criteria. You can then delete them from the Actions column.

When starting a new WhatsApp chat, you must select a pre-approved template message. You can search for a template, scroll through the available templates, or click + New Template to create a new template.

You must also fill in any required template variables, such as the customer's name or order ID, before sending the message.

When a template message is sent to a new or unassigned contact, Wati automatically assigns the resulting conversation to the operator who sent the template message.

The conversation remains available in the Team Inbox, allowing the operator to continue the conversation without manually assigning the chat.

Only Admins can manually delete chats from the Team Inbox. Operators cannot manually delete chats.

Yes. Wati provides an auto-deletion feature available on the Business Plan. You can configure Wati to automatically delete the following data after a specified number of days:

You can enable auto-deletion for each data type, specify the number of days, and click Save.

To manually delete messages, select Text or Media from the message-type dropdown, enter the number of days, and click Find. Wati displays the number of matching messages and their total size. You can then delete the messages from the Actions column.

Deleted messages and contacts cannot be recovered, so review your deletion settings carefully before saving or deleting data.