Manage Instagram and WhatsApp in One Dashboard

What happens when channels are managed separately?

Most businesses thinking about bringing Instagram and WhatsApp into one dashboard start from the same place: WhatsApp Business on one phone, the Instagram app on a tablet, and the site's chat window on a computer. Three screens, three different notification sounds. Even which one to check first each morning becomes a debate.

The problem isn't just fatigue. The same customer asked about prices on Instagram yesterday and asks about order status on WhatsApp today. The agent replying can't see yesterday's conversation and makes the customer explain everything from the start. Some messages get answered by two people, and some are never answered. We see it often.

In short: the more channels you have, the bigger the mess gets. That's why a single dashboard isn't a matter of comfort. It's a matter of order.

What exactly does a single dashboard mean?

A single dashboard is a setup where messages from different channels land in the same inbox and the team answers all of them from the same screen. In Chatopya, this screen is called Conversations. These five channels flow into it:

• WhatsApp Business API
• Instagram DM
• Facebook Messenger
• Telegram
• Web Chat, the chat window you add to your site

The agent sees which channel a message came from, but doesn't switch apps to switch channels. If you have more than one Instagram profile, you move between profiles from the same dashboard too.

How do you connect Instagram and WhatsApp in one dashboard?

Setup is shorter than you'd think. The dashboard side takes about 5 minutes, and the Chatopya team carries out Meta business verification and the WhatsApp application on your behalf, using your tax certificate and brand details. Setup and training are free.

1. Choose your WhatsApp number. You can move your existing number to the API or start with a new one. If you move it, the WhatsApp Business app on your phone closes on that number and old chats don't move over. Know that from the start.
2. Connect your Instagram and Facebook accounts. Instagram DMs and Messenger messages start landing in the same inbox.
3. Add Web Chat to your site. It installs without code through the WordPress plugin and the Shopify theme extension. On other sites, a short code snippet is enough.
4. If you use Telegram, add that too. It isn't required. It makes sense if your customers are there.

If your number has never been registered with Meta before, Meta's own review time is added on top. That part isn't in our hands.

Who answers an incoming message? Chat assignment and handover

You've set up a single inbox and messages are flowing. So what happens? The team starts looking at each other asking "who's taking this?" Assignment closes exactly that gap.

Assignment

Each chat is assigned to an agent. That way two people don't write replies to the same message, and no chat is left without an owner. Because several agents can use the same WhatsApp number, the customer always talks to one number and doesn't even know who is replying behind the scenes.

Handover

Say a conversation that started as a sales question turns into a return. The agent hands the chat over to the right colleague, and the new agent continues with the whole history in view. Web Chat conversations follow the same logic: a chat is assigned to an agent, someone else can take it over, and if needed it's left to the bot again or closed.

Each agent's history and performance is recorded separately. In the analytics dashboard you see response time, resolution rate and satisfaction. Instead of guessing which hours your team gets squeezed, you look and see.

How does handover between the bot and an agent work?

An agent doesn't need to wake up for a "how late are you open" question at midnight. The AI answers frequent questions around the clock from your business's own information. When a question comes in that it can't resolve, it leaves the chat to an agent along with its history, and the agent carries on without asking the customer "what was your question?"

You build the knowledge base in the Bot Center: your business information and your site pages. When a question has no match in the knowledge base, the bot doesn't make up an answer. It leaves it to an agent. You also set business hours and the handover rule here. Don't take the bot live without setting up this split. The pre-launch test option exists for exactly this.

The page where we cover the AI chatbot more broadly: WhatsApp customer service and AI chatbot. If you want to set up an automatic reply specific to Instagram, see the Instagram DM auto reply guide.

What happens when the same customer writes from different channels?

This is the real gain of a single dashboard. When a phone number or channel ID matches, the customer's WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram and Web Chat records are collected in one customer card. You see the history across channels in a single timeline. On the Conversations screen, this card stays open beside the chat.

So when the person who asked about sizes on Instagram yesterday writes on WhatsApp today, the agent sees both conversations in the same place.

Merging: automatic or with approval?

You pick one of two modes in the settings:

• Automatic merging: Matching records are collected into one card on their own.
• Suggestion-only mode: The system suggests a match, and you say "merge" or "not the same person."

If you have cases like a family sharing one phone or a shared account, suggestion mode is safer. If you work with a small number of agents and want speed, automatic mode does the job.

What if a merge is wrong?

Administrators can merge records by hand and undo a merge from the merge history. A pair that has been undone doesn't merge automatically again. This permission belongs to administrators only, so agents can't mix up cards by accident.

What rule differences are there between channels?

You reply from one screen, but each channel has its own rules. The most commonly confused topic is the messaging window. According to Meta's developer documentation, it works like this:

Is it necessary to include Web Chat in this setup?

If your site gets traffic, yes. Web Chat conversations also land on the Conversations screen, so your team doesn't need to watch a separate screen. A greeting message shown before the visitor writes, file sending, "typing/seen" indicators and a satisfaction survey at the end of the conversation all come ready. It also recognizes a member who is logged in to your site.

The details are on the Web Chat and live support page.

Frequently asked questions