How to configure multi-agent on the WhatsApp Business API
One WhatsApp Business number, many people answering it — that is what multi-agent gives you. Because the WhatsApp Business API is not the consumer app, you cannot simply hand the phone around: every reply flows through one number, and a shared team inbox decides who sees which chat. This tutorial walks you through configuring a multi-agent shared inbox in InfiQ end to end — inviting agents, setting roles, building routing rules, and testing before you let real customers in. Most teams finish in under 30 minutes, and you never touch a line of code.
What you'll do
Add your agents in InfiQ, assign roles and departments, set routing rules to distribute incoming chats, test with your own number, then go live. All conversations run on one WhatsApp Business API number through a shared inbox — no code, and your WhatsApp Business Account and BSUID stay yours.Before you start: what multi-agent actually is
On the WhatsApp Business API, a single verified number carries every conversation. Multi-agent (sometimes called a shared team inbox or agent routing) is the layer that lets a support, sales, or operations team work that one number together without stepping on each other. Each incoming chat is assigned to exactly one agent at a time so two people never reply to the same customer, and supervisors keep an overview of the whole queue. Make sure these prerequisites are in place first so the setup runs cleanly.
- Your WhatsApp Business API number is live and verified with InfiQ, and its green-tick/display-name review is complete.
- Your Meta Business Manager is verified and your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) is connected to InfiQ.
- You know your team structure — who handles sales, who handles support, and who supervises.
- Each agent has a working email address for their invite.
- You have at least one approved message template if you plan to re-open chats outside the 24-hour service window.
Step 1 — Invite your agents
Start by bringing your team into the workspace. In InfiQ, open Settings, then Team (or Agents), and send an invite to each colleague by email. They accept, set a password, and appear in your agent list — no separate WhatsApp login and no extra phone required, because everyone shares the same underlying API number. Invite in the order you want people to receive chats if you plan to use round-robin later, and keep the list tidy from day one.
- Go to Settings → Team → Invite agent.
- Enter each agent's name and email; they receive a secure link to join.
- Ask agents to accept promptly — pending invites cannot be assigned chats.
- Deactivate anyone who leaves rather than deleting, so past conversation history stays attached to the record.
Step 2 — Assign roles and departments
Roles decide what each person can see and do; departments decide what kind of chats they receive. Give supervisors an admin or manager role so they can reassign chats, view every conversation, and read reports, while frontline staff get an agent role scoped to their own queue. Then group agents into departments — for example Sales, Support, and Billing — so routing has something meaningful to target. Keeping roles least-privilege protects customer data and keeps your audit trail clean.
- Admin/Manager: full inbox visibility, can reassign, edit templates, and pull reports.
- Agent: sees and replies only to chats assigned to them or their department.
- Create departments (Sales, Support, Billing) and add each agent to the right one.
- Set an agent's maximum concurrent chats so no one is buried under 40 open conversations at once.
Step 3 — Build your routing rules
Routing is where multi-agent earns its keep. Instead of chats piling into one queue, you decide automatically who picks up what. In InfiQ's routing (or automation) settings, define how a new inbound message is directed — by keyword, by the WhatsApp entry point the customer used, by business hours, or simply spread evenly across available agents. Layer a fallback so nothing is orphaned when your team is offline.
- Round-robin: distribute chats evenly across all available agents in a department.
- Keyword or menu routing: send 'invoice' or 'payment' to Billing, 'demo' to Sales.
- Business-hours rules: route to a live queue during hours, to an away message or auto-reply after hours.
- Fallback assignment: define a default agent or department so no chat sits unassigned.
- Re-assignment on no-response: bounce a chat to another agent if it is not picked up within a set time.
Step 4 — Test before you go live
Never let customers be your first test. Message your WhatsApp Business number from your own personal WhatsApp and watch the chat flow through your rules — confirm it lands with the right department, that the assigned agent (and only that agent) can reply, and that supervisors can see it in the shared view. Try each routing branch: a sales keyword, a support keyword, and an after-hours message if you set one. Fix any rule that misfires now, while the only person affected is you.
- Send a test message and verify it routes to the expected department and agent.
- Confirm the assigned agent can reply and that unassigned agents cannot answer the same chat.
- Test a reassignment: have a supervisor move a chat to another agent and confirm both sides update.
- Trigger your after-hours or fallback path to make sure customers are never met with silence.
- Check that a template send works if a conversation is re-opened outside the 24-hour service window.
Step 5 — Go live and keep an eye on quality
Once the tests pass, switch routing on for real traffic and let your team work. The first few days are the ones that matter: watch how chats distribute, whether any agent is overloaded, and how fast customers get a first reply. InfiQ's reporting shows assignment volume, response times, and delivery status so you can tune rules without guesswork. Remember that outbound messages are billed per delivered message by category — marketing, utility, or authentication — while replies inside the 24-hour customer service window are free, so most day-to-day agent conversations cost nothing extra.
- Enable routing for live traffic and confirm the first real chats assign correctly.
- Watch per-agent load and first-response time; adjust concurrent-chat limits if someone is swamped.
- Monitor your number's quality rating — slow or unwanted messages can drag it down.
- Review reports weekly and refine keywords, departments, and business-hours rules as your team grows.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to configure multi-agent?+
Can multiple agents use one WhatsApp Business number at the same time?+
Do I need a developer to set this up?+
How are incoming chats assigned to agents?+
Does adding more agents cost more per message?+
What roles should I give my agents?+
What happens to a chat if the assigned agent is offline?+
Do I still own my WhatsApp number and account?+
Ready to put your whole team on one WhatsApp number?
Talk to InfiQ's India-based team and we'll set up your multi-agent shared inbox — roles, routing, and testing — so your customers reach a real person fast.