Start a conversation from a contact

You can talk to a contact without leaving their profile. BluBash opens the ongoing conversation, if there is one, or starts a new one with the contact already selected. Use this feature for follow-ups, proposal check-ins, confirmations, and any outbound contact by your team.

Ways to start

Where	Action	Result
Contact page, header	Conversation (tooltip: Start a conversation)	Opens the contact’s most recent open conversation that you can see. If there is none, starts a new one.
Contact page, Conversations tab	Create a conversation	Opens the Start New Conversation window with the contact selected.
Contact list, Actions menu	Start Conversation	Opens the Start New Conversation window with the contact selected.

Step by step

Open the contact

In the sidebar, click Contacts and then click the contact.

Click Conversation

In the header, click Conversation. If an open conversation already exists, it is shown and you can reply. If not, the Start New Conversation window opens.

Check the contact

The Contact field is already filled in. To change it, click Change contact.

Choose the team

In Team, select the team that will handle the conversation. Only teams where you are allowed to start conversations appear.

Choose the channel

In Channel, select the number or channel to send from. The list shows the channels of the selected team.

Start

Click Start Conversation. The conversation opens in the inbox, ready for the first message.

If a conversation with the contact is already in progress on the same channel, BluBash does not create another one. You are taken to the existing conversation and see the message Redirected to existing conversation.

Channels that allow starting a conversation

Channel	Can start?	Notes
WhatsApp Business API (official)	Yes	Outside the 24-hour window, the first message must be a template approved by Meta.
WhatsApp Lite	Yes	Use it in moderation to avoid blocks on the number.
Instagram	No	Shown as Receptive only. The contact must write first.
Webchat	No	Shown as Receptive only. The contact must start from the website widget.

The official WhatsApp 24-hour window

On the official WhatsApp API, Meta only allows free-form messages up to 24 hours after the contact’s last message. Outside this window:

Send a template approved by Meta to reopen the contact.
When the contact replies, the 24-hour window opens again and you can send free text, audio, and files.

Official API templates have a cost defined by Meta. See Send templates →.

Permissions

You must belong to at least one team with Allow initiating conversations turned on. Without it, the window shows You do not have permission to initiate conversations. Contact your administrator.
The team must have access to at least one channel. Otherwise, No channels available for this team appears.
For WhatsApp conversations, the contact must have a WhatsApp number registered.

See Create and configure teams →.

Hybrid service after the first contact

Once the conversation starts, it follows the normal inbox flow. You can, for example, send the opening message and transfer the conversation to an AI agent to qualify the contact when they reply. See Hand off to the AI agent →.

Common errors

Message	Cause	How to fix
You do not have permission to initiate conversations. Contact your administrator.	None of your teams allows starting conversations.	Ask the Administrator to turn on the option for the team.
No channels available for this team	The team has no linked channels.	Link a channel to the team.
Please select a contact, team and channel	A field was left empty.	Fill in all three fields.
A conversation is already in progress with this contact on this channel	There is already an open conversation.	Use the existing conversation.

Next steps