WhatsApp CRM questions, answered

A WhatsApp CRM is a customer-relationship tool built around WhatsApp conversations. Instead of copying leads into a spreadsheet, you track each chat's sales stage, notes, tags, follow-ups and orders alongside the conversation itself. InboxCRM is a WhatsApp CRM that runs inside WhatsApp Web as a Chrome extension.

After you add the extension to Chrome, open WhatsApp Web and log in as usual. An InboxCRM sidebar appears on the left of the page, and a chat-tools panel slides in next to the open conversation with context, pipeline, notes, replies and pinned views. Larger tools such as the CRM board, flow builder, reports and orders open as full pages.

No. InboxCRM works with the account you already use in WhatsApp Web. There is no API account to set up, no phone-number migration and no separate shared inbox.

Yes. InboxCRM is a Chrome extension (Manifest V3) for web.whatsapp.com. It works in the desktop Chrome browser, not in the WhatsApp mobile app.

Your CRM records (pipelines, notes, tags, templates, schedules, orders and settings) are stored in Chrome's local extension storage on your own device. InboxCRM doesn't keep a server-side copy of your CRM records. Data leaves your device only when you use a feature that needs it, such as an AI request to the provider you configured, a webhook to a URL you entered, or the optional cloud chat backup, which encrypts chats on your device before upload. You can export backups and restore them at any time.

Yes. Pick a chat, write the message and choose a date and time. InboxCRM also has an appointment centre and scheduled status posts. Keep Chrome running with WhatsApp Web open so scheduled messages can be sent on time.

Yes. You can set timed reminders and follow-up sequences based on how long a chat has waited, and get notified about who to contact next.

Yes. Save templates with text, images, video, audio or documents, reuse files from a shared media library, and use text macros that expand as you type. Insert any template into a chat with one click.

Yes, optionally. Connect your own AI provider key and InboxCRM can draft a reply or improve one you wrote, using the conversation as context and a tone such as friendly, professional, short, apologetic or persuasive. When you use an AI feature, recent message text and your draft are sent to the provider you chose. If you never use AI, no message content is sent to an AI provider.

OpenRouter, OpenAI, Google Gemini and Groq. You bring your own API key, so you choose the provider, the model and the cost.

Yes. Create drag-and-drop kanban boards with your own stages, for example Lead, Qualified, Proposal, Won and Lost, and add deal values. The boards feed the sales funnel report automatically, so you can see where deals stall.

Yes. You can record orders and delivery status next to the customer's chat and send tracking updates from saved templates, so post-sale conversations stay in one place.

No. No third-party tool can guarantee that. WhatsApp's Terms restrict automated and bulk messaging, and unsolicited or high-volume messages can lead to a number being restricted or banned. InboxCRM paces campaigns with randomised delays, hourly and daily caps, quiet hours, per-contact cooldowns, warm-up mode and an automatic stop after repeated failures, and auto-replies wait a random delay before answering. These controls are designed to reduce risk, not remove it. Only message people who have agreed to hear from you.

Yes. InboxCRM has an AI connector (an MCP server). Add https://bridge.extino.net/mcp as a custom connector in your AI app, sign in with your InboxCRM account, and you can ask the AI to read chats, send messages, create orders, schedule campaigns, build automations and more. The work happens in your own WhatsApp Web through the extension.

Yes. The AI app talks to the InboxCRM extension in your browser, so your computer must be on, with Chrome open and WhatsApp Web logged in. If it is off, the AI is told that InboxCRM is offline and nothing is sent.

Reading and changing each have their own switch in InboxCRM, and both start off. Deletes, bulk sends, status posts and courier bookings first return a preview, and nothing happens until you agree. Passwords, API keys, backups and your plan are never available to the AI, and InboxCRM lists every change the AI made.

No. Requests pass through InboxCRM's relay, which stores no messages, chats, contacts or orders. What the AI reads goes to the AI app you connected, under that app's own terms.