Manage chat lines, defaults and line guidance
A channel is a way customers contact you, such as WhatsApp or Telegram. A line is one connection on that channel, such as a particular WhatsApp number. A conversation is the exchange with a customer on that line.
For example, two WhatsApp numbers are two lines on the same channel. Changing the default line does not move existing conversations to the other number.
How it works
Section titled “How it works”| Channel | What the customer writes to | Setup guide |
|---|---|---|
| A business phone number. | Connect WhatsApp. | |
| Telegram | Your customer-facing Telegram bot. | Connect Telegram. |
| Your connected Instagram account. Availability restrictions are explained in the setup guide. | Connect Instagram. | |
| Website | The chat on your website. | Set up website chat. |
Imported chat history is a read-only archive, not another live connection. You cannot send replies from an imported conversation. See importing knowledge and past conversations.
The Add line list and individual line-management screens described below are currently a WhatsApp feature. Do not expect the Telegram, Instagram or Website screens to offer the same multiple-line editor. Their connection and disconnection steps are in their own guides.
The WhatsApp overview shows active lines first. Lines that have been released appear separately under Disconnected lines at the bottom. It also shows WhatsApp template information when you have permission to view it.
Where to find it
Section titled “Where to find it”Open Settings → Chat services → WhatsApp → Connection. For guidance, use Settings → Bot → Handbook → Where [bot name] communicates → With customers.
You need permission to manage chat connections. If this area is missing, ask your workspace owner to check your permissions. Editing guidance can require additional bot or Handbook editing permissions.
Set it up
Section titled “Set it up”- Find the line by its label or phone number.
- Select its underlined label to open it.
To connect another number:
- Choose Add line.
- Enter a Line label, such as “Main shop” or “Online orders”.
- Start the connection offered in the dialog.
- Follow the WhatsApp connection guide, including the choice about keeping the WhatsApp Business phone app.
- Return to the line and check its setup status.
Keeping the WhatsApp Business app alongside omotto is supported (Coexistence). For everyday bot work, we strongly recommend directives in the internal channel or connected Telegram/Slack team channel instead of manually replying in that app. This lets the bot carry work forward autonomously according to your decision; supported app replies can pause it through human control. See the suggested workflow.
The label starts blank. Use a distinct name: labels must be unique within the same channel, ignoring capital letters, and can contain up to 60 characters. A label helps your team distinguish lines; renaming it does not change the connected phone number.
If the normal connection button is unavailable, the dialog explains this. Advanced — use your own credentials is a separate setup route, not an extra line allowance. Use the advanced instructions in the connection guide or contact support.
Settings
Section titled “Settings”| Setting or action | What it does | Starting value or rule |
|---|---|---|
| Line label | Names the line for management. | Blank in the Add line dialog; enter a distinct name. |
| Rename → Rename line | Saves a different label without changing the number. | Keeps the current label until you save the new one. |
| Default / Make default | Chooses the fallback line for this channel when no specific line or suitable customer conversation supplies one. | The first line becomes the default. You can select another connected line. |
| Bot on this line → The bot answers on this line | Allows ordinary bot replies on this particular line. | On for a new line. The business-wide bot must also be on. |
| Guidance for this line / Line guidance | Adds instructions only for conversations on this WhatsApp line. | Blank: no additional line-specific instructions. |
Rename a line
Section titled “Rename a line”- Open the line.
- Choose Rename.
- Edit Line label.
- Choose Rename line.
Choose a default without moving conversations
Section titled “Choose a default without moving conversations”- Open the connected WhatsApp line you want to use.
- Choose Make default.
- Check that it now carries the Default badge.
The default is a fallback, not an instruction to move every send. Existing conversations remain attached to their original line. When omotto needs a line for a customer without an existing conversation already selected, it can use that customer’s most recent conversation on a connected line of the same channel before falling back to the default. An explicitly selected line takes priority.
If a default stops being connected and another usable connected line exists, omotto can promote that other line automatically. This still does not move old conversations. In the Inbox, starting a WhatsApp conversation also lets you choose the line explicitly.
Turn ordinary bot replies off for one line
Section titled “Turn ordinary bot replies off for one line”- Open the line’s Bot on this line card.
- Turn off The bot answers on this line.
The change saves automatically.
- Customer messages still arrive in the Inbox.
- Your team can still reply.
- Reminders and confirmations still go out. This is not a stop-all-sending switch.
- Other lines keep their own setting.
Turning the switch on does not override the business-wide pause, a staff takeover, or a manual timeout or Pause on suspected misuse. See going live and the different pause controls.
On Website and Instagram, a control for pausing incoming messages is different: paused incoming messages are discarded, not kept waiting for the bot. Use bot-off when you want messages to keep arriving for your team.
Line guidance and channel guidance
Section titled “Line guidance and channel guidance”Keep shared operating instructions in the Handbook. Keep business-wide identity and behaviour in the shared settings, described in bot personality and language. Use channel guidance for differences such as reply length or formatting on WhatsApp versus website chat. Use line guidance for differences between two WhatsApp numbers.
For example, a line used for collection enquiries might need a different opening explanation from a line used for online orders. Put that difference on the relevant line rather than copying all the business guidance into both.
Add or change guidance
Section titled “Add or change guidance”- Open the guidance area listed above.
- Find the WhatsApp line by name.
- Click its guidance value to open Guidance for this line.
- Edit the text.
- Wait for the automatic save and choose Done to close the editor.
Connected lines appear even without guidance. A disconnected line stays visible if it has saved line guidance. Clear the guidance to remove only that line’s extra instructions; this does not erase channel-wide guidance. Line guidance can contain up to 10,000 characters.
Line-specific guidance is added after channel guidance, as the more specific instruction for that line. It does not create another business-wide configuration. Test important changes in a rehearsal.
Guidance for every line on a channel
Section titled “Guidance for every line on a channel”The Handbook’s Show advanced options reveals channel-wide guidance above the relevant lines, including Every WhatsApp line, Every Telegram bot, Every Instagram account and Every website chat, where available. A channel row appears when that channel has a connected line or saved guidance. Its starting value is blank: no extra channel guidance.
Individual WhatsApp line guidance is editable here. The other channels currently use their channel-wide guidance; seeing a channel name does not mean there is a separate per-line editor for it.
If the chat-service page links to the guidance area, follow that link. If your permissions do not offer that route, the WhatsApp line page can instead show Guidance for this line with Line guidance. Channel pages can show Bot guidance on this channel with a Guidance field, under Show advanced options or when guidance already exists. These fallback fields save automatically and allow up to 10,000 characters. Blank means no extra guidance at that level. Chat-service advanced options start hidden; showing them only changes your view, not whether the bot is on.
During setup, the line page also explains whether it is set to answer customers. This is availability, not proof of a delivered reply. If the bot is off on one line, Turn on for this line leads to that line’s switch, not the business-wide switch. The launch banner shows each non-answering connected line’s reason and keeps earlier unanswered customers visible after launch, including after the main setup checklist closes while waiting customers or selected follow-through remain. Read the line verdict and both bot switches before changing a control. On WhatsApp, resolve any provider connection blocker shown first.
Read the line’s status, not just its connection badge
Section titled “Read the line’s status, not just its connection badge”On WhatsApp, the overview and line page explain whether the line is Working, Waiting for Meta, Needs you, Stopped or Disconnected. Meta is the company behind WhatsApp.
- Working describes the connection. It does not turn the bot on.
- Waiting for Meta means read the explanation and any retry time. The page updates while you are there.
- Needs you points to an action such as finishing registration, checking again or reconnecting.
- Stopped means there is a connection or sending problem. Follow the explanation rather than repeatedly adding another line.
- Disconnected means this line has been taken out of service; its retained history remains readable.
Setup separates four checks: Linked to Meta, Number registered, Receiving messages and Sending messages. A check marked Not confirmed yet is not confirmation that the step works.
When available, Health displays status information, not editable plan settings:
| Information | How to read it |
|---|---|
| Quality | Meta rates the phone number using customer reactions, such as blocks and reports—not the quality of the bot’s answers. The rating is High, Medium, Low or No current rating. Low quality can prevent the messaging limit from growing. No current rating can also mean omotto’s stored rating is too old to show. Read any accompanying warning. |
| Messaging limit | Meta’s limit on different customers reached outside the period allowed for ordinary replies, within a moving 24 hours. See when a WhatsApp template is required. |
| Templates | Counts templates that are ready, waiting for Meta or need your attention. Open templates opens their management page. |
Meta’s messaging limit is shared across the phone numbers in its business portfolio—the group of business assets managed together at Meta. It is not a separate allowance for each omotto line and is not your omotto plan’s line limit. See Meta’s explanation of messaging limits.
Reveal the saved PIN
Section titled “Reveal the saved PIN”The PIN is the number’s six-digit registration security code. Reveal PIN is available only to the workspace owner with permission to manage chat connections, and only when omotto has a usable PIN saved for this line’s current number and WhatsApp account. It is not available on a disconnected, released line.
- Open the line.
- Expand Details for support.
- Choose Reveal PIN.
- Choose Hide PIN when you finish.
Keep the PIN private. If the button is missing, check the owner and saved-PIN requirements above. If revealing it fails, try again; contact support if it still fails.
What happens when…
Section titled “What happens when…”Before changing or removing a line
Section titled “Before changing or removing a line”The WhatsApp line page’s Where it’s used section shows references when present, including:
- Template-trigger destinations and connected automation sources.
- Template purposes, meaning which templates were selected for particular uses.
- Experts and selected relay templates.
- Website follow-ups answered through this line.
An empty list says No references yet. This section is a reference checklist, not the full conversation history and not a guarantee that deletion is allowed. The deletion area separately lists what blocks removal, including conversations.
Change the number on an existing line
Section titled “Change the number on an existing line”Changing connection details to a different number or WhatsApp account is not the same as renaming. When the confirmation Change the number on this line? appears, omotto warns that it changes the line identity and clears the line’s template-purpose selections.
- Cancel if you only meant to rename the line.
- Review Where it’s used and the line’s conversation history.
- Check which template selections and automations will need review.
- Choose Confirm change only when the replacement is intentional.
- Recheck the connection and template selections afterwards.
Do not use a number change as a way to move or merge conversations. If you want a separate number to have a separate line, use Add line instead, subject to your allowance.
Stop using a WhatsApp line: three different actions
Section titled “Stop using a WhatsApp line: three different actions”Open the line and expand Stop using this line.
| Action | What it means |
|---|---|
| Disconnect from omotto… | Stops messages arriving in this workspace on that line, releases the number so another workspace can connect it, and frees its plan place. The line and past conversations stay. |
| Delete line | Permanently removes an empty, unreferenced line. It is not a way to erase its conversation history. |
| Remove omotto’s access at Meta. | Separately removes the provider-side permission. Local disconnection is not the same as fully revoking access at Meta. |
Disconnect but keep history
Section titled “Disconnect but keep history”- Choose Disconnect from omotto….
- Read the confirmation.
- Choose Disconnect from omotto to confirm.
- Find the retained line under Disconnected lines at the bottom of the WhatsApp overview.
Past conversations stay readable in the Inbox. The retained row offers Reconnect. Reconnecting can need a free plan place; see Troubleshooting below. Releasing the line does not move its conversations onto another line.
Revoke provider access completely
Section titled “Revoke provider access completely”For a number used alongside the WhatsApp Business phone app, Meta’s documented disconnection route is in that app: Settings → Account → Business Platform → Disconnect Account. See Meta’s official guidance.
For other setups, the line’s removal section gives the appropriate access-removal guidance. Open Meta Business Settings ↗ opens Meta’s settings. See Meta’s help on removing partner access. If the account or access controls do not match what you see, contact support before changing permissions. Deleting your WhatsApp account is not a routine line-management step.
These release, retained-history and capacity details describe WhatsApp. Use Telegram, Instagram or Website instructions for their disconnect controls rather than assuming the lifecycle is identical.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”Why is Add line disabled or missing?
Section titled “Why is Add line disabled or missing?”Your plan determines the permitted number of lines per channel. A line still being set up can reserve a place, just like a connected line. Turning its bot off does not free that place.
When the additional-line allowance is full, Add line is disabled and the page displays the plan’s line allowance. Additional-line creation can also be unavailable for your workspace. Do not assume a missing button means the connection itself is broken.
A released WhatsApp line under Disconnected lines no longer uses a plan place. It can keep its past conversations without consuming that capacity. An error or an unfinished setup is not, by itself, proof that a line has been released.
Reconnecting a released line needs a free place under your current plan. If another line has taken that place, review the allowance or disconnect a line you no longer use. Keeping an existing reservation during a reconnect is different from reclaiming a released line.
Why can’t I delete the line?
Section titled “Why can’t I delete the line?”Delete line is disabled while conversations or other references still use it. The screen identifies the blockers. These can include conversations, template-trigger destinations, Experts, website follow-ups and automation sources. Disconnecting is enough if your goal is simply to stop using the line.
Review editable references at their source. Do not remove customer history just to free a plan place: disconnecting already frees it. An eligible disconnected line can also be removed with Delete… in Disconnected lines. Deletion requires confirmation and cannot be undone.
The line is not working
Section titled “The line is not working”For connection actions, use WhatsApp connection troubleshooting. If you need support, open Details for support and report the displayed problem privately. Do not post connection secrets publicly.
Related
Section titled “Related”-
Use the Handbook.
-
Check your plan and usage.