Summary

Routing automations help you decide which operator receives an inbound WhatsApp call and trigger automated actions after a call is received.

Wati checks call routing in a fixed priority order: the active conversation assignee is checked first, then the contact owner when contact owner routing is enabled, and finally your automation rules. You can route calls using options such as round robin, the last assignee, or a specific operator or team.

Routing works across the Wati web app and mobile app. You can also create post-call automations for inbound and outbound calls and use the Answered or Unanswered call status to control when an action runs.

This guide shows you how routing priority works, how to enable contact owner routing, how to build a rule that routes live inbound calls, and how to configure post-call automated actions for both inbound and outbound calls.

Instructions

How call routing priority works

Every inbound call is evaluated in the following order. The call stops at the first layer that produces a result:

Layer 1:

Active assignee: If the conversation has an active assignee who is available for calls, the call is routed only to that operator.
Contact owner: If the active assignee is unavailable and Contact owner routing is enabled, the call is routed to the contact owner.

Layer 2:

Automation rule: If there is no contact owner or contact owner routing is disabled, the call moves to your configured automation rule.

How operator availability is determined

An operator is considered away for calls only when they are unavailable on both web and mobile.

Wati checks the operator's login status and call availability across both platforms:

If an operator is logged in and available to take calls on at least 1 platform, that device can ring.
If an operator is unavailable on both web and mobile, the call moves to the next routing layer.

If a contact owner is available, the call is routed to them. If the contact owner is away, the call goes unanswered and if no contact owner is set or the contact owner routing toggle is off, the call moves to the next layer. and does not fall through to an automation rule.

Whichever operator receives or answers the call becomes the assignee for that conversation.

Enable contact owner routing

Contact owner routing is available on the Pro and Business plans.

Go to Team Inbox > Settings > Routing.

Turn on the Contact owner routing toggle to keep contact owner and assignee in sync.

When enabled, inbound calls route to the contact owner before any automation rule runs.
When disabled, the contact owner layer is skipped and calls move directly to your automation rules.

For more information about contact owner routing, refer to our guide on how contact owner based routing works in Wati.

Create a routing automation rule

Step 1: Open Automations

Open the Automations module from the left navigation bar.
Click Create Rules.

Step 2: Select the call trigger

Select Incoming WhatsApp Call trigger.
Use this trigger when you want to route a live, ringing inbound call to an operator or team.

Step 3: Add filters

Filters are optional. You can use filters such as contact attributes to route calls to different teams.

You can combine multiple filters using AND or OR:

AND: All conditions must match for the rule to apply.
OR: Any 1 condition matching is enough for the rule to apply.

Step 4: Configure the routing action

Routing is the only action type available for the Incoming WhatsApp Call trigger.

Choose 1 of these routing destinations:

An agent: Routes the call to a specific agent.
A team: Routes the call to a team. You can enable round robin to distribute calls among team members. You can also enable Direct lead to the contact owner to automatically change the contact owner to the operator who answers the call for sales accounting.

Assign the last assignee: Routes the call to the previous operator who handled a chat or call for that contact.

Step 5: Save and activate the rule

Enter a name for the automation rule.
Click Save.
Turn on the rule to make it active.

Set up post-call automated actions

You can trigger automated actions after an inbound call is received.

Create a new automation rule.
Select Inbound WhatsApp Call Received trigger.

Add any required filters.
Use the Call Status filter to choose when the automation should run:
- Answered: Runs for calls that an operator answered.
- Unanswered: Runs for missed calls.

For example, you can use Unanswered to automatically send an apology message with a callback promise when an inbound call is missed.

You can also choose from multiple action types, including starting an Astra AI agent to handle the conversation until a human operator takes over and calls back.

Click Save and turn on the automation rule.

Set up automated actions for outbound calls

You can create automated actions for outbound calls using the same process.

Create a new automation rule and select the outbound call trigger - Outbound WhatsApp Call Received, then configure the required filters and actions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Routing Priority

1. Which routing layer takes priority when an inbound call comes in?

Wati checks routing in this order:

The active conversation assignee.
The contact owner, if contact owner routing is enabled.
The configured automation rule.

The call stops at the first layer that produces a result.

2. What happens if the active assignee is away for calls?

The call moves to the contact owner check. If there is no contact owner set or contact owner routing is disabled, the call moves to the configured automation rule.

If the contact owner exists but is away for calls, the call goes unanswered and does not fall through to an automation rule.

3. When is an operator considered away for calls?

An operator is considered away for calls only when they are unavailable on both web and mobile. If the operator is logged in and available to take calls on at least 1 platform, that device can ring.

4. Do call routing rules work across web and mobile?

Yes. Call routing works across both the Wati web app and mobile app. Operator availability is evaluated across both platforms using login status and call availability.

Routing Rules and Actions

5. What is the difference between the call triggers?

Incoming WhatsApp Calls is used to route a live, ringing inbound call to an operator or team.

Inbound WhatsApp Call Received is used to trigger automated actions after an inbound call is received, such as sending a message based on whether the call was answered or missed.

6. Can I send an automated message only when an inbound call is missed?

Yes. Create an automation using Inbound WhatsApp Call Received and set the Call Status filter to Unanswered. The automation will then run only for missed calls.

7. What happens when a call is routed using round robin?

When a call is routed to a team using round robin, Wati checks operators in the team's rotation order and rings the first available operator. Operators who are away for calls are skipped.