Customer groups: related people and shared information
A customer group connects different people who have a relationship, such as a household or colleagues. Each person keeps their own customer profile, contact details and conversations.
This is different from linking several profiles for the same person. It is also different from groups of team members, which organize your team and notifications. A customer group is not a shared messaging room.
How it works
Section titled “How it works”Important: by default, a sufficiently established group relationship permits the enabled kinds of sharing. Not every member has personally approved. You can instead require each person’s permission. Shared group memories are a separate, always-on part of an established group.
How groups are created and people are linked
Section titled “How groups are created and people are linked”Groups can come from relationship requests in customer conversations, reviewed relationships in imported knowledge, a shared verified store account, or identity review. Some relationships can be established automatically. Others wait for a member or your team to confirm them.
A group can also start with just one person. When omotto saves a shared household or group fact and there is no eligible existing group, it creates a group containing only the current customer. This gives the shared fact a home; it does not mean anyone else has been added or linked.
Group memory: facts about everyone in the group
Section titled “Group memory: facts about everyone in the group”Group memory contains short shared facts, such as a household’s delivery preference. It is not a combined transcript. Put a private fact about one person in their own customer profile, not in group memory.
Established, identified members can receive group memories independently of the member-data permission mode and capability switches, subject to each memory’s own audience. Requiring consent for past conversations does not turn group memory off. Withdrawal of member-data sharing does not remove the person from the group or erase these shared facts. To end group membership, use Remove; to stop using a shared fact, edit or remove that memory.
Each group memory has its own Who is this for audience. Its editor has no Required verification line. Choose labels to limit it; a hidden group memory needs at least one label. This does not change the group’s membership or sharing permissions.
Group tickets
Section titled “Group tickets”The Tickets tab gathers tickets belonging to the group’s current members. It does not turn them into one shared ticket or move the conversations into a group chat. This is a staff view governed by staff permissions, not a promise that customers can read each other’s tickets. Removing a member removes their tickets from this group view. This tab does not offer a group-ticket export.
The list’s Sharing column shows Default when the group has no individual sharing exceptions, or Custom when it does. This is not a consent status.
Customer groups depend on your plan. Changing the sharing rules also requires the customer identity settings permission. If the tab or settings icon is missing, ask your workspace owner to check your access and plan. Losing the plan feature stops group-based access without deleting the stored groups.
Where to find it
Section titled “Where to find it”Customers → Customer groups opens the directory. Open a group for Overview, Group memory and Tickets. Business-wide rules are under the Customer settings icon → Related customers; the same controls are available through Related customers in the Handbook’s advanced policy options. Identity reviews are under Customers → Identity matches.
The Handbook’s Related customers panel also lists Groups with their own sharing rules. Choose a group name to open its sharing controls. Edit the exception there; the business-wide panel does not overwrite that group’s choices.
Set it up
Section titled “Set it up”Choose your sharing rules
Section titled “Choose your sharing rules”- Open the related-customer settings described above.
- Review Sharing between related customers.
- Choose a mode under When is permission required?.
- If you require personal approval, review the request channels.
- If you enable WhatsApp template requests, choose a suitable template as described below.
Changes save automatically. Check the save indicator at the top before leaving.
Link people through an existing identity review
Section titled “Link people through an existing identity review”For an existing identity review about two people sharing contact details:
- Open the identity reviews described above.
- Open the relevant review and compare the profiles.
- Choose Different people, one phone, Different people, one email or Different people, one account, as appropriate.
- Click the corresponding confirmation button, such as Confirm: different people, one phone.
This groups the people rather than declaring that they are one person. Only choose it when the relationship is real. See identity linking for reviewing automatic suggestions and undoing an incorrect connection.
The current Customer groups directory has no standalone new-group form. If there is no suitable group or review to start from, contact support; do not join two different people as the same customer just to connect them.
Add or remove a member
Section titled “Add or remove a member”To add someone to an existing group:
- Open the group’s Overview.
- Use the customer picker below Group members to find an existing customer.
- Select the customer.
- Click Add member.
To remove someone, click Remove beside their name. Their customer profile and conversations are not deleted. Their membership in this group stops being used. If they belong to another active group with the same people, that other relationship can still allow sharing.
Adding someone manually does not itself send an invitation. In Ask each person before sharing mode, an approval request opens when a permitted kind of sharing is first needed. A relationship request made during a customer conversation can have a separate invitation to establish the relationship, even when your sharing mode says a verified link is enough.
Choose a WhatsApp approval template
Section titled “Choose a WhatsApp approval template”- Connect the relevant WhatsApp line.
- In the request-channel settings, turn on WhatsApp — approved template (outside the service window).
- Choose a template from the list. Use Manage templates to manage your approved templates.
- Use a template with exactly one message-body variable for the approval link, without other required header or button values.
The picker can show approved templates that are not suitable for this particular request. If the chosen template cannot carry the link, this step is skipped and the next enabled channel is tried. An unavailable selected template is kept and flagged; reconnect its WhatsApp account or choose a usable template.
WhatsApp allows ordinary replies during the 24-hour service window after a customer’s message. Outside it, an approved template is required. See WhatsApp templates and the official WhatsApp messaging policy.
Add a shared group memory
Section titled “Add a shared group memory”To add a fact:
- Open the group’s Group memory tab.
- Click New memory.
- Enter the Fact.
- Optionally set Valid until.
- Click Save.
Settings
Section titled “Settings”Sharing between related customers: every capability and default
Section titled “Sharing between related customers: every capability and default”The Allowed switch permits a kind of sharing; it does not bypass relationship checks, consent, identification or the normal approvals for an action.
These are the starting defaults, before your business or a specific group changes them:
| Setting | What it permits | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Use the group’s shared memories | Use facts recorded for the group, rather than facts belonging only to one person. | Always on; the switch cannot be changed. |
| Recall group members’ past conversations | Recall information from another eligible member’s earlier conversations with the business. | On |
| See group members’ order and shipment status | Look up another eligible member’s store orders and shipping progress. | On |
| Reveal a group member’s discount code or credit balance | Reveal another eligible member’s existing discount codes or store credit balance. A revealed code may be usable, so treat this as sensitive. | Off |
| Have a related customer’s order payment request sent to your email | Send a related person’s order payment request to the requesting member’s own verified email address, not an arbitrary third person’s address. | On; Identity verified required. |
| See group members’ appointments and bookings | View another eligible member’s appointments and bookings. | On |
| Book an appointment for a group member | Allow booking on another eligible member’s behalf, including supported group-class operations. The ordinary booking rules still apply. | Off; Identity verified required. |
Order, discount and invoice rows appear when the relevant Shopify connection is available. The invoice row also needs the invoice action to be allowed in your business’s service-action settings. Calendar rows depend on the connected calendar; booking for members also depends on the available booking or class functions. A stored switch cannot make a disconnected service available.
Sharing a discount code or balance does not authorize issuing new discounts, granting new credit or spending credit. Those remain subject to the separate Shopify action rules. The invoice capability concerns a payment invoice for an eligible unpaid or partially paid order, not a receipt for a fully paid order.
Who is this for: audience and verification
Section titled “Who is this for: audience and verification”Open the Who is this for line for a switchable capability. Leave the audience as Everyone, or choose labels and whether any or all must match. Required verification keeps the existing proof choices below. These checks apply to the customer currently asking for someone else’s information, not the person whose information is being shared.
The line stays visible when its audience or proof differs from the default, even with Show advanced options off. In short explains the combined setting. Hidden until they qualify hides the capability until both its audience and proof requirements are met; the default keeps it visible but still restricts its use. The Allowed switch, group exceptions and member permission checks remain separate.
| Choice | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Default (no floor) | No extra assurance requirement for this capability. The basic group identification and relationship checks still apply. This is the starting requirement for conversation recall, order status, discount/credit information and viewing appointments. |
| Default (Identity verified) | Follow the built-in identity requirement. This is the starting requirement for invoice delivery and booking for another member. |
| No assurance | Remove the extra requirement for this capability. It does not remove group consent or relationship checks, and it does not give an unidentified website chat visitor access to a group. |
| Verified against a resource | Require proof tied to a specific item, such as an order, or stronger identity proof. For group sharing, an order-only proof currently does not by itself unlock access; identity verification satisfies this choice. |
| Identity verified | Require identity proof, such as verifying control of a phone number or email. Merely typing a name or address is not enough. |
A changed requirement shows Custom and Reset. Reset restores that capability’s built-in requirement. Customized requirements remain visible even after you choose Hide advanced options. See User identification for the difference between a claim and proof.
When is permission required?
Section titled “When is permission required?”Under Sharing permission, choose one mode:
A verified group link is enough (recommended) — default
Section titled “A verified group link is enough (recommended) — default”An established, active relationship is enough for the enabled capabilities. This is not limited to links your team added manually. A relationship that is still Pending, Held, removed or archived does not qualify.
This mode does not silently override a person’s explicit withdrawal of sharing. A fresh approval is needed to reopen their member-data sharing after withdrawal.
Ask each person before sharing
Section titled “Ask each person before sharing”The person whose information would be shared must have an applicable approval. A relationship alone is not enough. When sharing is first needed, omotto opens a request if the other checks pass. Until permission is available, that person’s information is not added to the permitted result.
The request explains who is involved and what sharing covers. Customers can approve or decline using the available buttons or approval page. Opening an approval link alone is not consent. Requests expire after seven days; an expired or already-used link cannot be approved again.
An approval applies within the group, whose membership can change later. It is not a permanent restriction to only the names present on the day of approval. Review the roster when your business changes a group.
How the approval request is sent
Section titled “How the approval request is sent”These controls appear only in Ask each person before sharing mode. Turning that mode off hides them without erasing your choices. Those choices can still be used if a new request is needed after an explicit withdrawal.
omotto tries the enabled, usable channels in this order, rather than sending on all of them:
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| A message in the customer’s existing chat thread | Try an eligible existing customer conversation with approval controls. An anonymous website chat is not an invitation destination. | On |
| WhatsApp — approved template (outside the service window) | Try the selected approved template when an eligible WhatsApp line and recipient are available. | On, but No template set until you choose one. |
| SMS | Send the approval link to a verified number, subject to your business’s message quotas. | On |
| Send the approval link to a verified email address. | Off |
Requests use verified contact routes. A phone or email shared with the requester is not used to let them approve their own request.
If none of the enabled channels can be used, the request goes to your team as a decision in the internal channel. In Ask each person before sharing mode, staff approval confirms the relationship only. It does not invent personal permission. Turning all channels off therefore does not grant sharing automatically.
Override sharing for one group
Section titled “Override sharing for one group”- Open the group’s Overview.
- Find Sharing in this group.
- For each capability, choose Default, On or Off.
- Default: follow the current business-wide switch.
- On: enable the capability for this group, subject to all the other checks.
- Off: disable it for this group.
Changes save immediately. A choice matching the business-wide value is treated as Default, not a permanently pinned exception. If you later change the business default, that group follows it. The group’s overrides do not change the business-wide consent mode or assurance requirements. Shared group memories have no per-group off switch.
Group-memory fields
Section titled “Group-memory fields”| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Scope | Fixed to One customer group here. |
| Customer group | The group receiving the fact; fixed on this screen. |
| Fact | Required short text, up to 280 characters. |
| Valid until | Optional expiry date; blank means no expiry. After expiry, it is no longer used as an active group fact; it is not deleted. |
| Advanced → Status | Available when editing. Active facts can be used; Archived facts are retained but not used. New facts start Active. Draft or Removed may appear for facts already in those states. |
| Advanced → Confidence | Optional certainty from 0 to 1; blank leaves it unset. It records confidence in the fact, not identity proof or sharing consent. |
Open a row to edit it; edits save automatically. Delete asks for confirmation and stops the fact being used, while retaining a removed record to help prevent relearning. Source information is read-only. Editing memories requires the appropriate memory permission.
If the audience says Can’t be read — choose who this is for again, it has not become Everyone. With permission to edit, choose Choose again, review the fresh Everyone/visible draft and save the intended audience. Until the repair is saved, the bot keeps refusing that unreadable setting.
If the audience changed elsewhere while you were editing, the current saved audience replaces your rejected choice. Review it and make a new choice if needed; retrying does not replay the discarded edit.
What happens when…
Section titled “What happens when…”Understand member and approval statuses
Section titled “Understand member and approval statuses”| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | The relationship has been claimed but is not established enough to grant group access. |
| Linked | The relationship is established enough for the sharing rules to be evaluated. This does not mean personal consent was given. |
| Confirmed by member | The relationship has a stronger confirmation from the approval process. The sharing rules still apply. |
| Pending approval / waiting for approval | A group approval request is waiting. These labels appear beside groups in the Inbox and customer details. They do not mean the request was delivered. |
| Held | The link is set aside for staff review. It grants no group access and its usual relationship invitation has not been sent. |
Held can appear when a link was requested while an outside Expert was involved in the conversation. Review it on the group’s Overview:
- Approve link releases the hold and lets the normal relationship-approval process continue. It is not the other person’s sharing consent, and it does not guarantee an invitation was delivered.
- Remove discards the held membership.
If Approve link fails, reload the page and try again. The group or contact details may have changed, or an earlier request may still be pending. If it continues to fail, contact support rather than repeatedly removing and re-adding people.
You switch permission modes
Section titled “You switch permission modes”- Verified link → Ask each person: sharing stops for people who relied only on their relationship, without an applicable recorded approval. The page shows an up to… people warning when relevant.
- The next time sharing is needed, a request can open. Switching modes does not send everyone an invitation immediately.
- Existing applicable approvals stay valid until revoked.
- A staff approval already waiting in the internal channel now confirms the relationship only; it does not replace the member’s consent.
- Ask each person → Verified link: eligible relationships can permit the enabled sharing without waiting for personal approval. Explicit withdrawals still take precedence.
An approval request needs another language
Section titled “An approval request needs another language”Approval requests do not adapt to every known customer language:
- Existing chat: the request uses the language recorded for that chat contact when supported. If none is recorded, it uses the business’s default language.
- Email: the request uses the most recently seen customer contact with a recorded language. If none has one, it uses the business’s default language.
- SMS: the request uses the business’s default language, not the recipient’s recorded language.
- WhatsApp template: the message uses the selected template’s own language. It is not automatically translated for the recipient.
The standard request text for chat, email and SMS is available in English and Hebrew. An unsupported language falls back to the platform’s default, normally English. This limitation concerns the approval request, not the languages the bot can use in ordinary conversation.
Merge two groups
Section titled “Merge two groups”- Open the group you want to keep.
- Under Merge a group, select the other group in Group to merge.
- Click Merge.
- Check both group names in the confirmation and confirm Merge.
The selected group’s members and memories move into the group you kept. Its approval records move too, but pending requests from the removed group are retired; their old links should not be treated as valid invitations. The kept group’s sharing exceptions remain the rules for the combined group. The other group is deleted. This cannot be undone.
The merge section appears only when another active group is available. Check the combined audience before merging: more people may become eligible for sharing and group memories.
Archive a group
Section titled “Archive a group”Click Archive group on Overview. The group leaves the active directory and stops providing group access or group memories. Its stored membership is retained; the customers and their own conversations are not deleted. Do not archive a group when you only mean to remove one member.
A customer wants to stop sharing
Section titled “A customer wants to stop sharing”A customer can ask to withdraw group sharing in their own words or contact your business. Withdrawal takes precedence over the verified-link mode and stops future access to that person’s member data through the affected group memberships. It does not retract information already shared, erase group memories or delete the customer. Group sharing permission is separate from permission to send marketing messages.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”Information is not shared
Section titled “Information is not shared”Check these separately:
- Is the group active, with both people still members?
- Is either membership Pending or Held?
- Is the capability allowed business-wide and in this group?
- Is the relevant integration connected and the action available?
- Has the person asking met Required assurance? An unidentified website chat visitor does not receive group information.
- In personal-approval mode, is the needed approval present? Was permission later withdrawn?
- If a request is pending, is a usable channel enabled and is the selected template suitable?
Do not loosen privacy settings just to clear a pending badge. If the expected relationship or approval still does not work, contact support with the group name and what you expected to happen, without forwarding private customer information unnecessarily.