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Start and take over conversations

Contact a customer directly from their profile, or step into an ongoing conversation as a human operator when it needs a personal touch.

Start a new outbound conversation

You can reach out to a customer directly from their profile — on WhatsApp, email, or Telegram — without creating a campaign. The conversation starts in Copilot mode: you control every message while the AI assists.

For a channel to be offered:

  • The channel is connected and running in Settings > Channels, and at least one agent attached to it is running.
  • The customer is reachable in that channel:
    • WhatsApp — the customer has a phone or WhatsApp number on record.
    • Email — the customer has an email address from earlier communications.
    • Telegram — the customer has previously messaged your Telegram agent. Telegram does not allow a bot to message a user first.

To start the conversation:

  1. Open the customer profile and click Start conversation in the top-right corner.
  2. In Select channel, pick the channel. Channels are grouped by type, and only running channels with running agents are listed; turn on Show unavailable to see the rest (disabled entries say No running agents).
  3. If several agents can use the channel, choose the Agent.
  4. Click Next.
  5. Compose the first message — the step depends on the channel:
    • WhatsApp — choose a pre-approved Meta template in Select template and fill in any template variables. The preview shows the template text. You cannot send free-form text as the first WhatsApp message.
    • Email — enter the subject (required) and write the message in the rich-text editor under Your message.
    • Telegram — type the opening message under Your message.
  6. Click Start.

Flametree creates a new session in Copilot mode, sends your message (or template), and opens the conversation in Human Agents in a new browser tab, where you continue the dialog.

WhatsApp constraints

WhatsApp allows business-initiated messages only through approved templates. If you sent a template within the last 24 hours and the customer has not replied, you cannot send another one — the portal shows "You submitted WhatsApp template less than 24 hours ago. Please wait before resubmitting." and opens the existing conversation instead. If the customer already has an active WhatsApp session with the selected agent, the portal also opens that conversation instead of starting a new one.

Take over an active conversation

When an ongoing conversation needs a human — a complaint, a stuck dialog, a VIP customer — you can join it as an operator.

  1. Open the customer profile and switch to the Communications tab.
  2. Scroll the chat to the active conversation — active conversations show a pulsing dot next to the agent name in the Details panel.
  3. In the Details header, click Continue in Human Agent.

What happens:

  • The session switches to Copilot mode: the AI agent stops answering on its own and instead suggests replies that you can edit and send.
  • If the conversation has no operator yet, you are assigned as its operator. If an operator already handles it, the button opens the conversation without reassigning it.
  • The portal shows "Continue communication at Human Agents tab" and opens the conversation in Human Agents in a new browser tab.

The customer keeps writing in the same channel and notices nothing except, possibly, a change in the tone of replies. The full history stays in the session log, including the moment control changed hands.

For finished conversations the button is disabled — use Start a new outbound conversation instead.

  • 360 View — overview of the customer database
  • Customer profile — open the profile and the Communications tab you start from
  • Human Agents — the workspace where outbound and taken-over conversations continue
  • Settings > Channels — connect and run WhatsApp, email, and Telegram channels

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