Handle tickets in Gorgias: WhatsAppUpdated an hour ago
Who can use this feature?
• The account owner and admins can connect the WhatsApp numbers that create these tickets
Once your brand's WhatsApp number is connected to your helpdesk, your team can reply to your customers' WhatsApp messages from Gorgias. Each message arrives in Gorgias as a helpdesk ticket, so that you or AI Agent can respond in real time.
Messaging windows
Meta enforces messaging windows to protect your customers from spam and unwanted replies. Every time a customer messages you on WhatsApp, a 24-hour messaging window opens. While it's open, you can send them as many free-form replies as you like. Once it expires, you can only reach that customer by sending a message template that's been pre-approved by Meta. The 24-hour messaging window restarts when the customer replies.
Understand WhatsApp tickets
Gorgias creates a ticket in your helpdesk for messages (including quick replies to your templates), images, videos, audio, documents, and stickers sent via WhatsApp. WhatsApp tickets are titled Conversation with [customer name] using the name from the sender's WhatsApp profile. If Gorgias can't retrieve the name from their profile, the ticket title will show a Customer #[ID] instead.
As long as the conversation is active, Gorgias will update the ticket with follow-up messages from the customer. If a customer replies within three days of the most recent message in the ticket, the conversation continues in the same ticket. After three days — or once a ticket passes 800 messages — Gorgias creates a new ticket, and you can review the earlier WhatsApp conversation in the customer timeline. This three-day window is separate from Meta's 24-hour messaging window.
Reply to a WhatsApp ticket
When a customer sends you a message via WhatsApp, the conversation appears as a ticket in your Inbox. WhatsApp limits your replies to 4,096 characters. If your reply is longer, Gorgias will split it into several messages and send them in order.
- From your helpdesk, open a WhatsApp ticket.
- Type your reply in the composer.
- Click Send.
Check the delivery status on each message in the ticket to confirm it reached your customer:
- One checkmark means WhatsApp delivered the message.
- Two checkmarks mean the customer opened it.
- An × means the message failed. Click Retry to resend your message.
Send attachments
You can send documents, audio, video, images, and stickers in your WhatsApp messages. You can attach only one file per message, and a message that contains a file can't also contain text.
Files larger than these limits will fail to send:
- Documents: 100 MB
- Audio: 16 MB
- Video: 16 MB
- Images: 5 MB
- Stickers: 500 KB
Start a new WhatsApp conversation
You can initiate a conversation with your customer on WhatsApp, but only by sending a pre-approved message template.
- From your helpdesk, click the dropdown menu in the top-left corner, then select Inbox.
- Click + New ticket.
- In the composer, click the channel icon, then select WhatsApp.
- The composer switches to the template picker. Search for the template you want by name, then select it.
- Fill in the values for each variable in the template.
- Click Send.
FAQ
Do WhatsApp tickets count toward my ticket usage?
Yes. A WhatsApp ticket becomes billable once an agent sends a public reply.
Why did my WhatsApp message fail to send?
Gorgias shows WhatsApp's reason directly on the failed message in the ticket, along with a Retry option. The most common reasons are:
• The 24-hour messaging window has closed. Send an approved message template instead.
• The message can't be delivered. The number may not be registered on WhatsApp, the recipient may be running an outdated version of WhatsApp, or they may not have accepted WhatsApp's updated terms of service.
• The template can't be used. Templates that are paused, disabled, rejected, or still under review can't be sent. Pick a template with the Active status.
• The message combined text and a file. A message can contain either text or one file, not both, and not more than one file.
• There's a payment problem on the WhatsApp account. Retry in a few minutes, and contact [email protected] if it continues to fail.
Can I send a voice message on WhatsApp?
Voice messages from your customers arrive as audio attachments on the ticket. To send audio back, attach an audio file up to 16 MB to your reply. There's no voice recorder in the composer, so record the file first and upload it as an attachment.
Can I receive calls on WhatsApp?
Your customers can't call your WhatsApp number from the WhatsApp app. However, if you subscribe to the Voice add-on, you can set up your WhatsApp number to receive phone calls, and your customers can call the number from a regular phone line.
Can I send GIFs?
WhatsApp handles animated images as stickers rather than GIFs. You can send an animated .webp file of 500 KB or less.
Why can't I see a customer's reaction to my message?
Shared locations, contact cards, and message reactions won't create or update helpdesk tickets.
Why did a long conversation split into a second ticket?
Gorgias adds new WhatsApp messages to the existing ticket while the conversation is active, but starts a fresh one if the last message is more than three days old or if there are more than 800 messages in the conversation. You can follow the whole history from the customer timeline.
Where do I find all my WhatsApp tickets?
Gorgias creates a view named WhatsApp - [integration name] for each connected number, listing that number's open tickets. You can also filter by the WhatsApp channel in advanced search.
