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Calling Beta is here: add Voice to your WhatsApp Conversations

Raquel Updated by Raquel

We're excited to introduce a major upgrade to your communication toolbox — Calling Beta is now officially live on Turn.io! 🎉

This new feature allows you to unify voice calls and chat on a single platform, enabling users to reach your organization as easily as they would a friend or family member. All chats and calls are stored in a single conversation thread, ensuring seamless context retention and giving both your team and your customers a complete view of the interaction history.

While voice calls can drive higher engagement and stronger customer trust, they also often lead to quicker responses and improved satisfaction. Calls are especially useful when a problem is too complex for chat alone. With effortless escalation paths, your team can shift from message to voice in seconds for faster, more effective resolutions.

To respect your customers’ time and preferences, always request permission before making an outbound call. Once granted, you have a seven-day window to reconnect. Set clear business hours schedules to manage availability and expectations, ensuring calls happen at the right time. Use template-based call buttons to make it easy for customers to reach out or request a callback, and rely on the Routing of your agents' availability to route calls to the right person.

Another awesome resource is the call transcription. Calls are automatically transcribed, helping your team stay on top of details without needing to take notes during the call. These transcripts can be reviewed or downloaded for accurate follow-up.

By aligning human connection with smart tools, Turn.io's Calling feature helps you deliver a support experience that’s personal, timely, and seamlessly integrated with chat.

The Calling feature is currently in Beta, both on Turn.io and at WhatsApp. That means:
- The feature may have minor bugs or changes during this phase.
- It's available only in select countries (see full list below).
- Your feedback is critical to improving the experience.

How to Enable Calling

Only users with Admin role can enable Calling:

Getting started is quick and simple:

  1. Go to Settings > Calls
  2. Toggle "Enable Voice Calls"
  3. ✅ Done! All team members now have access to calling features.
Important: Calling only works in the New Inbox. Ensure the New Inbox toggle is enabled for your team.
For the duration of the Beta phase, Turn.io Calling will be free. You only pay WhatsApp's standard voice calling rates, which vary by region and are charged per minute.

On your first call, you'll get asked to allow Turn.io to access your microphone. This is required for calling to work:

Inbound Calling (Customers Call You)

Customers can now call your organization directly. Choose one of two methods:

➤ Method 1: Enable Profile Call Buttons:

  • Go to Settings > Calls
  • Enable "Display Call Buttons"
  • A permanent call button appears in your WhatsApp Business profile

➤ Method 2: Create Call Button Templates:

  • Navigate to Content > Templates
  • Create a template and select "Voice call" in the button options

Outbound Calling (You Call Customers)

To comply with WhatsApp guidelines, outbound calling requires permission from the customer.

Go to Settings > Request Permission. Create a permission request template. Once the customer approves, you can call them back anytime within 7 days.

Template Examples

(Remember to select “Voice call” as the button type when creating templates.)

  1. Outbound Calling Permission Request
    Template Name: request_callback_permission
    Message Copy:Hi {{1}}, we’d love to call you to resolve your issue more quickly. Can we call you back?
  2. Outbound Call Follow-Up
    Template Name: follow_up_voice_call
    Message Copy: We tried calling you earlier to help with {{1}}. Would you like us to try again?
  3. Inbound Call Template
    Template Name: get_in_touch
    Message Copy: Need help? You can call us directly by tapping below.

Business Hours Scheduling

Control when your team can take or make calls:

  • Navigate to Settings > Business Hours

Set standard availability times

Calling Rates

During Beta (until December, 31st), Turn.io's Calling feature will be free for the first 1.000 minutes – you only pay WhatsApp's standard voice calling rates, which vary by region.

Detailed WhatsApp pricing for your region is available here, and rates are subject to change by Meta.Turn.io may introduce additional pricing for Calling after the Beta phase.

Please note that before making calls, you must pre-load credits into your account, as the service operates on a prepaid model where each call is immediately charged and deducted from your available balance. To do that, go to Profile > Conversation Billing.

Supported Countries

User-initiated calling is supported for all geographies where Meta business messaging currently operates (country restrictions for the WhatsApp Business Platform include Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and three sanctioned regions in Ukraine, Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk).

Business-initiated calling (based on business number country code) is also supported in all countries where WhatsApp Business Platform operates, with the exception of the U.S., Nigeria, Canada, Egypt, Vietnam and Turkey. Businesses in these 6 countries will not be able leverage the business-initiated calling use case.

Need Help?

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