Add your first inbox

Choose the channel

An inbox is one connected channel, such as a WhatsApp number or email mailbox. Give it a recognizable name, such as Main support or City branch.

Go to Settings → Inboxes → Add Inbox. Choose the channel you actually use:

• WhatsApp Web links an existing WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business App on a phone. Follow the steps below.
• WhatsApp Business Platform / Cloud API uses the business connection flow and its messaging requirements. See channel choices before choosing this route.
• Microsoft 365 email connects a licensed user mailbox. Follow Connect Microsoft 365 email, including its administrator checklist where needed.
• Customer Rooms gives customers a private room. Follow Set up Customer Rooms.

Connect an existing WhatsApp number

1. Select WhatsApp Web, enter an inbox name, and choose Create and pair WhatsApp Web.
2. Select the country code, enter the WhatsApp number, and click Connect.
3. With the phone nearby, open WhatsApp → Linked devices → Link a device and scan the displayed QR code.
4. If Bow Chat presents a pairing code instead, have the phone's owner follow the link-device instructions and enter that code on the phone. Keep the QR or pairing code private.
5. Wait for the connection and initial chat sync. Keep the linked phone/account available for any required reconnect.

Read safe use of WhatsApp Web before using the number for customer work.

Choose who can use this inbox

If setup asks you to select agents, select the people who should work here. You can review or change them later in Settings → Inboxes → your inbox → Collaborators → Update.

A teammate invited after you created this inbox still needs to be added here. See Give an agent inbox access.

Verify the connection

Send a test message from another number you control to the connected number, or a test email to the connected mailbox. Confirm it appears in this inbox and send a reply. Use your agent's own login to check access as well.

If old WhatsApp conversations are not immediately visible, allow sync to finish and review the conversation status and assignment filters. A connected inbox and an agent with permission to see it are separate checks.

Next: Invite your agents.