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A text agent replies to written inbox conversations. WhatsApp Business is currently the connectable messaging channel. Configure the agent under Agents → Text; it handles conversations assigned through a channel. Availability depends on your organization configuration. Contact support if the option is missing.

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Where it works

  • WhatsApp Business channels. Instagram and Facebook Messenger are marked as coming soon in the new-channel dialog.
  • agents.read allows viewing; agents.update allows editing; agents.delete allows deletion.
  • Text agents do not make or receive voice calls. Use voice agents for those interactions.

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Create the agent

1

Open the creation dialog

In Agents, click New agent or press Shift+N.
2

Choose the type

Select Text agent. If text agents are disabled for the organization, the type step is unavailable and only voice agents are created.
3

Choose a starting point

Start from scratch or select a template. Search templates by name or description.
4

Complete the details

From scratch, enter a name and description; both are required. Defaults are GPT-4o mini, temperature 0.7 and follow-ups off. For a template, review its configuration and prompt. Click Create agent.
5

Configure the agent

The editor opens on General. Continue with instructions, tools and advanced settings.
ContactShip publishes the templates. The app does not provide custom template creation. Agents created from templates can be edited normally.

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The agent editor

Click the header name to rename the agent; this saves immediately. Test agent opens the sandbox. Tabs are General, Instructions, Tools, Advanced and Knowledge.

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Saving

Each configuration tab has its own Save button, also accessible with Ctrl+Enter. Saving sends that tab’s fields only. The bottom bar reports unsaved, saving, saved or failed states. Knowledge saves its changes immediately and does not have a separate Save button. Text agents do not have drafts or a publication step. Saved settings are used in conversations.

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General settings

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Available models

The selector groups models by provider: This reflects the ContactShip selector, not each provider’s complete model catalog.
Compare the same scenarios in the sandbox after changing models. Identical instructions can produce different results.

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Assign the agent to a channel

Assignment is configured in the channel:
  1. Open Messages, select a channel and open its settings.
  2. In Assignment, automatic rules run in order. The first matching rule wins.
  3. Choose when the rule applies, always or during a schedule, and choose AI, a person or a team. For AI, select the text agent.
Several channels can use the same agent. To transfer between AI agents during a conversation, use the transfer tool. See Channel settings and Tools.

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Read-only access

Without agents.update, the editor displays read-only access. Fields are disabled and Save is unavailable. Ask an administrator to review Roles and permissions.

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Duplicate and delete

  • Duplicate creates a Name (Copy) agent with its configuration and tools. Check the result for any tool-copy failures.
  • Delete, from the list or the Advanced danger zone, removes the agent, tools and configuration. It requires agents.delete and cannot be undone.

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Not yet available

  • Instagram and Facebook Messenger are marked as coming soon.
  • Drafts, versions and publication are features of voice agents, not text agents.
  • The app does not offer custom template creation.
  • Channel assignment is configured in channel settings, not in the agent editor.
  • The documented inbox handles individual conversations; there is no group or community agent configuration.

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Common problems

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Frequently asked questions

Yes. Each channel has its own assignment rules. Use separate agents when you need different behavior; see Channel settings.
Text agents handle written inbox messages and save by tab without publication. Voice agents handle calls with voices, languages and published versions. Both can use organization knowledge.
Either is supported. Specify the response language and verify behavior through tests. See Instructions.
Yes. Saving a tab updates the agent’s configuration. Use the sandbox with saved settings to review behavior.
GPT-4o mini is the default when starting from scratch. Compare replies and tools against your own sandbox scenarios before selecting another model.
The ContactShip inbox documented here handles individual conversations. It does not offer group or community agent configuration.

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See also