Create and Configure an Open Channel in Bitrix24

Last updated: 3 June 2026

For a complete description of all Bitrix24 features, refer to the service documentation. helpdesk.bitrix24.com

Create an open channel

1. Log in to Bitrix24 and go to CRM → Customers → Contact Center.

   bitrix24.com

2. Select Edna.io WhatsApp and click Create open channel.

   

3. In the API key field, paste the key copied from the Integration → Settings → Main Profile of your edna Pulse account.

   Managing API keys for integration with the edna Pulse API

4. In the Subject ID field, enter the WhatsApp channel ID copied from the Subject ID column in the Channels section of your edna Pulse account.

   tip

   WhatsApp

   Only one WhatsApp channel can be connected to a single open channel. If you want to use multiple WhatsApp channels, create different open channels.

   The number of open channels depends on your Bitrix24 flat rate. bitrix24.com

5. Click Connect.

   

Configure the open channel

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To ensure the open channel functions properly, configure the Queue, Auto actions, and Access permissions sections.

1. In the Open channel and permissions → Open channel section, click Configure.
2. Configure the settings in the Queue and Auto actions sections.

Queue

Agent queue

Specify which employees will be responsible for responding to incoming inquiries. These may be specific employees or an entire department.

Distribute submissions among employees

Specify which employees will be responsible for responding to incoming inquiries. These may be specific employees or an entire department.

Select a method for distributing incoming requests among employees:

• Evenly — requests will be distributed evenly among employees in the queue.
• Exactly as enqueued — requests are assigned to the first employee on the list, and if they do not respond, they are assigned to the next one.
• To everybody — inquiries will be distributed immediately to all agents in the queue. Any of them can take the inquiry.

For the Evenly and Exactly as enqueued distribution methods, you can enable additional settings:

• Idle time before forwarding to next agent in queue — specify how long to wait for a response from the agent before forwarding the chat to the next agent.

• Limit simultaneous enquiries submitted to an agent — limit the number of active conversations per agent. Additionally, you can specify which requests to exclude from the count:

  • Replied to — requests to which the agent has replied at least once.
  • Waiting for user reaction — conversations where the agent is waiting for a response from the customer.
  • Closed — only completed requests and those awaiting evaluation.

Check that an agent is online when routing enquiries

Enable this option to prevent unavailable agents from receiving incoming calls. The following conditions will be taken into account when routing calls:

• the agent has not been terminated;
• the agent is not on leave;
• the agent has started their workday.

Agent information

Select which employee details the customer will see:

• Use employee user profile — the customer will see the information listed in the employee’s personal profile: first name, last name, and photo.
• Use open channel entries — specify the employee’s name and photo for chats.
• Hide agent information — specify the employee’s name or leave the fields blank.

Verify client in CRM database

Enable this option to avoid duplicate customer data.

Enable chat tracker

Enable this option to automatically identify customers based on their contact information and consolidate their communication history from various channels into a single CRM card.

If client was not found in CRM

Choose how to create a CRM card—automatically or manually. If you choose “automatically,” a lead or deal will be created. If you choose “manually,” a link to create a lead or deal will appear in the chat with the customer. The customer's first and last name and the chat history will be automatically added to the card.

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A lead will be created if the customer provides their contact information—first name, last name, and phone number.

New lead source

Specify where the customer came from. If you select Open channel source, Bitrix24 will automatically determine where the customer came from.

Transfer enquiry to responsible person if client ID is recognized

Enable this option to assign the customer to a designated staff member.

Auto change lead's responsible person when routing enquiry to another agent manually

Enable this option to automatically assign the employee to whom the chat is transferred as the assigned agent for the CRM ticket. If this option is disabled, the employee who first accepted the request will remain the assigned agent.

Auto actions

Send greetings

• Only once on initial contact — when a customer first contacts the company. The auto-reply will be sent only once, when the customer first messages a new channel. If they start a new conversation, the auto-reply will not be sent.
• Every time a customer starts a new conversation — the customer will receive an auto-reply every time they start a new conversation.
• Auto reply text — write the message that the customer will receive.

Use CRM form to ask for contact information in the live chat

• Use CRM form to ask for contact information in the live chat — enable this option to automatically send customers a form to fill out their contact information in the live chat. The data from the form will be saved in the CRM.
• CRM form — select a default form from the list or create your own.
• Show form — choose when the form appears in the chat — after the customer’s first message or before the conversation begins.
• Make the accepting agent a responsible person — enable this option to assign the agent who accepted the conversation as the responsible person for the CRM card. If this option is disabled, the responsible person will be the agent from the queue specified in the CRM form settings.

Mark enquiry as unanswered in

• Mark inquiry as unanswered in — specify the time after which the conversation will be automatically marked as unanswered. The time is counted from the moment the first message is received from the customer.

• If no agent could respond to enquiry — select Send text to send a message to the customer if none of the agents responded within the specified time.

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If the Check that an agent is online when routing enquiries option is enabled in the Queue section — Bitrix24 will automatically check if any agents are available. If no agents are available, the customer will receive a message from the Worktime → Off-hours enquiry processing section. This option is enabled by default, but you can disable it or change the message text.

If enquiry is processed and completed

• If the inquiry is processed and completed — enable an auto-reply that will be sent to the customer after the conversation ends. To do this, select Send text and enter the message text.
• Delay until the inquiry is completely closed (after it was marked as closed by the agent) — specify how long the customer will have to rate the agent’s performance after the conversation ends. Select Close immediately if a rating is not required.
• Conversation timeout — specify the time after which the conversation will close automatically if the customer does not respond to the agent’s message.
• Perform action — select Send text to send a message after the conversation closes automatically.

Canned response list

Canned response list — select a canned response list for this channel or create a new one. Canned responses help managers quickly answer common customer questions. Lists and the responses within them are created using the Lists tool.

Live typing

Live typing — this feature lets you see the text the customer is typing in the chat.

3. Click Save to apply the ope channel settings.

4. In the Open channel and permissions → Access permissions section, click Configure.

5. Assign the necessary roles to employees in the Access permissions section.

   Adding users

   In the Role section, click Add access permission and add the users who will be working with open channels; also assign roles to them.

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   If an employee is assigned multiple roles with different permission levels, they will have the permissions granted by the role with the highest level of access.

   You can add employees in several ways:

   • Users — a specific employee, one or more.
   • Departments — you can assign the same permissions to an entire department.
   • User groups — this option is available only in the boxed version of Bitrix24. Set up a group in the boxed version and select it in the access rights.
   • Social network groups — add all members of a group or project to work with open channels.
   Role list

   The Roles section offers three predefined roles:

   • Admin – has full access to settings, statistics, and chat history
   • Director – has full access to statistics and chat history
   • Manager – has access only to their own chats.

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   If the standard roles don’t suit your needs, create and configure your own role.

   Customizing your role

   In the Access permissions → Roles section, click Add and configure the settings for your own role.

   Open Channels

   This setting controls the visibility of connected open channels and the ability to modify their settings—viewing and editing permissions are specified separately. Available options:

   • personal;
   • personal and department;
   • any.
   • deny access.

   Connect communication channels

   This setting controls the visibility of connected open lines and the creation of new ones. Available options:

   • personal;
   • personal and department;
   • any.
   • deny access.

   Communication statistics

   This setting controls which chats appear in the conversation list and statistics. Available options:

   • personal;
   • personal and department;
   • any.
   • deny access.

   Communication history

   This setting controls access to chat history and the ability to view conversations. Available options:

   • personal;
   • your department's;
   • any chats;
   • deny access.

   Join conversation

   This setting determines which dialogs you can access. Available options:

   • personal;
   • personal and department;
   • any.

   Conversation rating

   This setting controls the ability to rate your own and others' conversations. To open and rate a conversation, you need access to the conversation history. Available options:

   • personal and department;
   • any;
   • deny access.

   Common parameters

   This setting controls the ability to change access rights in open lines. Available options:

   • any;
   • deny access.

   Canned responses

   This setting controls the visibility of canned responses. Available options:

   • any;
   • deny access.

6. Click Save to apply the access permissions settings.

7. (Optional) In the Open channel and permissions section, click Configure, set the settings in the Worktime, Consents, Quality assessment, Chat bots, Response time KPI, and Other sections, and save the changes.