WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging platforms around the world, with its number of users expected to reach 3.14 billion by 2025. For businesses, this presents a massive opportunity to engage with customers on a platform they already use daily.
Recognizing this, WhatsApp introduced WhatsApp Business in 2018 to help small businesses connect with customers efficiently. It launched the WhatsApp Business API for larger enterprises, enabling advanced automation and scalability.
However, there’s a catch—the WhatsApp Business app allows only five users at a time. This limitation poses a challenge for companies that need multiple agents handling customer interactions.
Fortunately, businesses can overcome this challenge by leveraging multi-agent solutions. This guide covers setting up multiple agents on WhatsApp Business, its benefits, best practices, website integration, and real-world success strategies. Let's dive in!
Understanding WhatsApp Business multiple agents
To manage multiple agents on WhatsApp, you need to use the WhatsApp Business API Software with a third-party platform. This allows businesses to integrate WhatsApp messaging functionalities into their software, with added features for smarter operations.
With third-party, multi-agent integration, you get capabilities such as:
- Centralized inbox: For unified access to a single inbox that holds all customer chats and is available to all your agents
- Real-time monitoring: Allows team leaders to monitor and track agent activity, to be aware of response times and overall performance
- Messaging features: Additional collaboration features such as note-taking, chat sharing, internal messaging, and a central dashboard
- Agent assignment: Ability to assign specific chats to agents based on their skill level, experience, availability, etc.
- Lead collection: Access to WhatsApp widgets that drive traffic straight from your website to your WhatsApp inbox
- AI chatbots: No-code AI chatbots that can answer basic customer questions, collect lead info, and route the prospect to the right agent or department
This multi-agent system streamlines customer support, boosts efficiency, and enhances customer satisfaction.
Here are the key benefits of this setup:
Efficiency and scalability
By allowing multiple agents to work together, you can field a larger number of customer queries simultaneously. You can also scale it up when your team members increase.
Multi-agent WhatsApp ensures faster response times, improved resolution rates, improved customer experience, and higher flexibility in operations. This boosts your business's overall efficiency in customer experience.
Better collaboration
Multi-agent platforms facilitate better collaboration between team members, as they have access to a centralized platform for smoother data sharing. This improves workflows, promotes transparency within the team, boosts the collaborative spirit, and ensures seamless knowledge transfer.
Agents can view all conversations and take action quickly, reducing pressure on a single resource while speeding up customers' response time.
Analytics and reporting
Many multi-agent platforms offer analytics and monitoring tools for robust reporting on business metrics. With this, you can track agent performance, identify bottlenecks, set measurable goals, and optimize your customer-centric strategies.
Analytical features provide valuable insight into your essential metrics, enabling you to drive better conversions and increase your business's overall profitability.
Platforms like Gallabox enable small—and medium-sized businesses to boost their sales and marketing efforts through a smooth communication channel on WhatsApp. They aim to capture more high-quality leads, qualify and convert them, and provide customer support more effectively through a host of AI-powered features.
Setting up multi-agent operations
To set up multi-agent operations in your WhatsApp Business account, you need to follow a few process steps. The first and simplest process is to use the multiple users feature in WhatsApp Business via the app.
Follow these steps to get started:
Using multiple agents in the WhatsApp business app
To operate WhatsApp with multiple devices or through WhatsApp business multiple users, you need to join their Beta program.
- Go to your WhatsApp Business app.
- Tap on "More Options."
- Select "Linked Devices" and press "Multi-device Beta."
- Press "Join Beta."
This adds you to the Beta program, where you can link other devices to your phone through the "Linked Devices" option. Now, multiple agents can access the same WhatsApp Business account on different devices.
However, this is not an ideal solution for a larger team. The next best option is to use the WhatsApp Business API.
Using WhatsApp Business API for multiple agents
For a bigger team that has to deal with a higher volume of incoming WhatsApp Business chats, manual distribution becomes tedious and time-consuming. In this scenario, you can automate the customer service process with the WhatsApp Business API Tool.
This enables equal distribution of chats among your agents, internal communication, and tagging capabilities to highlight issues. The shared team inbox centralizes all communication and removes the need to switch between other apps for business messaging needs.
To enable WhatsApp Business API with multiple agents, you need to first create a shared account through the following steps:
- Create a new phone number dedicated to your customer support team.
- Register this number with a new WhatsApp Business account.
- Share the login credentials with your team to help them set up the account on their own devices.
This completes the setup of a shared account for your agents. The thing to note here is that your agents won't be able to access this account on multiple devices without a third-party multi-agent tool like Gallabox.
Setting up multiple agents on WhatsApp business through Gallabox
Gallabox is a conversational commerce platform that helps you unlock the full potential of WhatsApp Business through multiple users.
After you register your business as a WhatsApp Business API, you need to follow these steps to set up a multi-agent through Gallabox.
Sign up to 360 Dialog
Before you can start using WhatsApp Business, you need to sign up for a 360 Dialog account using your business email ID or Facebook credentials.
If you sign up with a Facebook account, follow the prompts that 360 Dialog provides. In a few steps, you will be able to complete the registration process.
Perform Gallabox integration with WhatsApp
- Sign in to your Gallabox account by navigating to the Integrations section.
- Click the "Connect by Yourself" button to connect your WhatsApp Business channel with Gallabox.
- Fill in your business information.
- Select your already created WhatsApp Business account or create a new account in this step. The information provided here is visible to WhatsApp users under your profile.
- Add and verify your phone number.
- Once your WhatsApp Business API is ready, authorize Gallabox for integration. Doing this will ensure Gallabox can access your WhatsApp account and enable seamless communication between the channels.
- When this is done, your account will be created in a few minutes.
Set up your new multi-agent account
Before you start using the integration, you can set up a few AI-powered and automated features.
- You can use Gallabox's no-code WhatsApp chatbot builder to create a chatbot for your WhatsApp Business account.
- You can also automate customer conversations, send Whatsapp broadcasts messages , add chat routing, create smart replies, and more through this platform.
- Integrate Gallabox with other tools like Shopify, Zoho CRM, etc., for a more holistic customer experience.
Before launching the multi-agent WhatsApp Business operations, you can also perform the following tasks:
- Add agents: Add your team members as agents within the platform so they can access and take action on chats.
- Assign roles and permissions: You can also regulate roles and related permissions for each agent to control access and ensure security.
- Configure chat routing: Chat routing is an effective way to ensure quicker and more productive conversations. Set up routing rules so that incoming messages are directed to the right agent or team for address.
- Enable tracking: You can track agent performance and chat history to improve productivity and boost customer satisfaction.
Best practices for multi-agent management
Multi-agent management on WhatsApp Business may get complicated if you do not have best practices to guide you.
From feature selection to optimization, internal communication to customer segmentation, there is a right way to manage these things for maximum productivity and efficiency.
Choose the right tool
Since multiple agents can only be set up through third-party tools, selecting a tool that best fits your business needs is first.
While choosing your multi-agent tool, you should look at the following aspects:
- Budget: Make sure your multi-agent platform fits your budget. Look for one with flexible pricing and advanced features at a lower price range.
- User-friendliness: Your tool must be easy to adopt for your team. A steep learning curve and complicated features may be counterproductive.
- Appropriate features: You should evaluate all the platform's features and match them with your needs and expectations. It is not a good idea to settle for fewer features only because they come at lower rates.
- Scalability: Every business aims to scale up over time. Make sure your tool can also grow with you and accommodate higher volumes of incoming messages without too many updates or changes.
- Integration: It is important that the new tool integrates well with your existing systems, or it can jeopardize the entire business infrastructure.
Use a centralized API integration
If your business has more than five agents, you have to use WhatsApp Business API integration for multiple user access. Make sure you have a centralized dashboard for all your agents.
This lets them address customer queries simultaneously, monitor chat statuses, assign conversations to specific agents, and reduce response time. It also helps business owners maintain transparency and collaboration within the team.
Define clear roles and responsibilities
If you have a large team, it is crucial to define roles and responsibilities among agents to ensure efficient workflow. Set clear goals, outline dedicated tasks, and assign specific responsibilities to agents or teams so that they don't get confused when new tasks arrive.
This can be done smoothly through regular internal communication, which can be carried out on the same platform.
Optimize your WhatsApp profile
Ensure your WhatsApp Business profile is complete and has detailed contact information. This is essential to building trust with customers. Another proactive way to direct traffic is to place a WhatsApp widget on your website.
This way, users are directed to your platform at one click and can input their queries to receive instant responses. This works wonders to build a positive customer experience that promotes conversions.
Set up a robust ticketing system
Integrating a WhatsApp ticketing system within your WhatsApp Business API allows you to track customer queries, measure their progress, and ensure quick resolution. It is also easier for agents to manage these queries if they are logged in the form of tickets.
Agents can also use this system to assign messages and tasks based on expertise and availability.
Set automated features like auto replies
Chatbots and automated replies are great ways to keep customers engaged even when you don't have live agents to help them immediately. With WhatsApp auto reply, your customers will receive a response outside of business hours, making them feel heard and boosting satisfaction.
Similarly, chatbots help customers address simple queries and find solutions on their own. This eliminates the need to create a ticket for basic issues or wait hours for a resolution.
Leverage metrics for platform optimization
Any competent multi-agent tool offers performance metric tracking, such as response time, resolution rate, customer satisfaction score, and so on. This helps identify key areas of improvement and build strategies to optimize them.
Using this data, you can improve your WhatsApp Business system, ensure better customer service, and reduce delays and downtimes that harm profits.
Use customer segmentation and broadcast lists
Building customer segments for different demographics helps you identify your ideal customer base and tailor your services accordingly. For instance, you can optimize your messaging and promote offers based on customer segments.
Similarly, broadcast lists are a great way to reach customers with tailored offers and promotions. You can deliver important messages to several customers in your contacts at one go.
Customize messages based on customer data
This is a subset of tracking customer metrics and using customer segments. Using this data and information from past conversation history, you can tailor messages for prospects and existing customers.
These messages can be engaging, with images, GIFs, videos, and more to promote customer interest in your content. You can strengthen customer bonds, simplify communication, and boost sales with customized messages for your target audience.
Case Studies for WhatsApp Business multiple agents
The following companies used multi-agent WhatsApp Business to revolutionize their customer service operations and create a huge difference.
Thread Bucket Studio
The Indian clothing brand Thread Bucket Studio used Gallabox as the multi-agent integration tool for WhatsApp Business. This helped them transform their retail customer service operations and team collaboration, leading to 68% higher business growth, a 50% increase in employee productivity, and a 30% growth in customer base.
With features such as WhatsApp Flows Builder, WhatsApp Chatbot Builder, Bulk WhatsApp Marketing Software, Whatsapp Team Inbox Software, etc., Gallabox helped this brand address concerns like:
- Limited visibility into employee conversations with customers
- Inefficient channels of internal communication
- Lack of oversight and centralization of customer interactions
- Risk of messages getting deleted
We were unable to see the chats of the employees, and due to the ‘delete’ feature, many of the chats and messages would be deleted, resulting in poor transparency and accountability," explains Rahul Rawal, Sales and Marketing Manager from Thread Bucket Studio.
Gallabox came to their rescue with features like:
- Comprehensive chat monitoring and analysis capabilities
- Shared inbox for better team collaboration
- Gen AI capability to create and translate messages
- AI-powered chatbots to boost customer satisfaction
- Message broadcast templates to share news and offers with the customer base
- Seamless integration with existing systems
This led to more efficient marketing efforts, better return on ad spends, and an overall increased WhatsApp Marketing ROI.
GoIreland
Another multi-agent success story is of the education company GoIreland. This company improved conversions by 39% with the use of personalized WhatsApp Business communication through Gallabox integration.
Initially, GoIreland faced issues regarding:
- Following up on high-intent leads from their events
- Revamping their lead engagement process
- Keeping track of conversions
- Unification of the support team phone number
With a scattered support team using different phone numbers for customer service, this company was losing out on high-quality leads due to a lack of collaboration and efficiency.
Gallabox helped solve these issues through multiple features.
- The WhatsApp Team Inbox Software helped build transparency in the team, by establishing a clear communication channel, standardized layout, and transparent team collaboration.
- The WhatsApp chatbot builder and gen AI features helped team members craft quick and engaging responses to user queries.
- It centralized chat activity across platforms to analyze and report on them. This highlighted areas of improvement and helped the business improve overall performance.
- They could also re-engage dormant customers through the bulk Whatsapp marketing software feature that helped them reach customer segments with targeted messaging.
- The WhatsApp chat botton further attracted customers to contact GoIreland's agents directly through a click on their website. This replaced the tedious process of filling out forms and entering lengthy details.
Streamline WhatsApp Business with multi-agent support using Gallabox
Managing multiple agents, devices, and conversations on WhatsApp Business API has never been easier. Though the platform has user limitations, you can utilize all its capabilities and more with third-party tools like Gallabox.
With Gallabox, you can enhance your support team with a centralized dashboard, shared inbox, multi-device integration, and role-based access. Sign up for free now!
FAQs about WhatsApp Multiple Agent
How many agents can manage a single WhatsApp Business account?
The WhatsApp Business app lets you connect to five devices with one account, of which one can be a phone, and the other four can be companion devices. So, apart from your phone, you can link the account to four additional devices, including tablets and computers.
With the WhatsApp Business API, large teams can enable features like multiple users, automation capabilities, and insights with multi-agent tool integration.
How do I prevent confusion or duplicate responses from multiple agents?
WhatsApp Business multi-agents provide a clear and unified view of all customer communication within one inbox and dashboard. This ensures agents know what others are doing and which tickets have already been addressed, so they don't respond to the same customer differently.
How do I manage internal communication between multiple agents on WhatsApp?
You can manage internal communication between multiple agents on WhatsApp Business by the integration of a third-party communication tool. This way, you can create group chats with agents, assign specific chats or tasks, divide roles and responsibilities, and provide structure to your workflows.
