# Smart Links and QR Codes

> Short links and QR codes that open a WhatsApp chat with your number, message already typed: creating, drafts, addresses, what a link sends, how chats are recognised, dates, conversions, sharing, folders, limits and fixes.

Source: https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links

A **smart link** is a short link, with its own QR code, that opens a WhatsApp chat with one of your
numbers. The message is already typed in for the customer, so all they do is press Send. Put the
link in a bio, an ad or an email, and the QR code on a poster, a menu or a parcel, and Avox counts
every scan, every click and every chat it starts.

Open **Smart links** in the dashboard sidebar to see your links, make a new one, and see how each is
doing.

- [QR codes](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/qr-codes): 20 starting designs, frames, a centre logo, the scan meter and downloads.

- [Saved designs and brand kit](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/qr-designs): Keep your favourite QR designs and your brand's colours, logo and font for the whole team.

- [Website chat button](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/website-button): A button for your own website that opens the link, with your colours and icon.

- [Link analytics](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/analytics): Scans, clicks, chats started and conversions, and what counts as a visit.

- [Limits and extra links](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/limits): What counts towards your plan, drafts, and buying extra links.

- [Automations](https://docs.theavoxai.com/automation/triggers#chat-started-from-a-link): Start an automation when a chat comes from a link.

## Before you start

- You need a connected WhatsApp number. Without one, **Smart links** asks you to connect a number
  first ([AVX-3809](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3809)). See [Connections](https://docs.theavoxai.com/connections).
- Making and changing links needs the **Create and edit smart links** permission. Seeing them needs
  **See smart links**. Admins and Managers have both unless an Admin changes it. See
  [Who can do what](#who-can-do-what).
- Your plan sets how many smart links a Switchboard can have. See [Smart link limits and extra links](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/limits).

## How a smart link works

**1. Someone taps the link or scans the code**

On a phone or tablet, WhatsApp opens straight away. On a computer, a short "Opening WhatsApp"
page shows for about half a second, then WhatsApp Desktop or WhatsApp Web opens.

**2. The chat opens with your message typed in**

The chat is with the number you picked for the link, and the message box already holds the text
you wrote, with a short reference at the end.

**3. They press Send**

The message arrives in your [Inbox](https://docs.theavoxai.com/inbox) like any other. Avox matches it to the link, counts
the chat, and does whatever the link is set to do next.

> **Note**
>
> Every smart link opens a WhatsApp chat with your number. It never sends people to an outside website,
> so nobody can turn it into a trick link.

## Create a smart link

Click **Create smart link** on the **Smart links** page. You can also start one from a published Flow,
an approved template or a table row: their pages have a **Create a link or QR** button that fills in what
the link sends. The wizard has seven steps, and a preview of the link, its QR code and the WhatsApp chat
sits beside them.

**1. Name**

**Name** is for you and your team only ("Shop window poster"). Pick the **WhatsApp number it opens**
(with one connected number, it's picked for you) and, if you like, a **Folder**.

**2. Address**

What people type, tap or scan. Pick one of the [three address forms](#addresses). The full address
is shown as you type, with a live check that it's free.

**3. Sends**

Just the chat, or the chat plus a Flow, a template or details from a table. See
[What a link can send](#what-a-link-can-send).

**4. Message**

The message they start with, and optional [campaign labels](#campaign-labels).

**5. Extras**

Optional [start and end dates](#start-and-end-dates) and [conversion counting](#conversions).

**6. QR code**

Design the QR code: a starting design, one of your team's [saved designs](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/qr-designs) or
your brand kit, then anything you like. Downloads open on the link's **QR code** tab once the link
is live. See [QR codes](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/qr-codes).

**7. Review**

Check each part (**Change** jumps back to its step), then **Save as draft** or **Create and go
live**. With a start date in the future, the button reads **Create and schedule**.

### Your link is live

Straight after **Create and go live**, a window shows **Your smart link is live** with the QR code and
the address, ready to use:

- **Download QR code** downloads it as a PNG, 1024 pixels wide, in your design.
- **Copy link** copies the address.
- **Share** opens your phone's or computer's share menu. Where there isn't one, it opens WhatsApp with
  "Chat with us on WhatsApp" and the link, ready to send.

The same window opens when you **Switch on** a draft or **Resume** a paused link from its page. For a
link with a start date in the future it reads **Your smart link is scheduled** and says when it goes
live: you can download and share the QR code already, and it opens WhatsApp once the link is live.

## Drafts

You don't have to finish a link in one go. Once it has a name and a WhatsApp number, the wizard saves it
as a draft as you type: the heading shows **Saving...**, then **Saved as draft**. If a save doesn't go
through ("Not saved yet"), what you typed is kept in this browser and saves with your next change, or
when you press **Save as draft**.

- **Carry on later.** Drafts are in the list with the **Draft** state (filter by **Draft** to see them
  all). Click one to open the wizard where you left off, at the furthest step you reached. If an earlier
  step now needs a fix (say, its address was taken meanwhile), it opens there instead.
- **Up to 5 drafts.** Each Switchboard keeps up to 5 smart link drafts at a time
  ([AVX-3835](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3835)). The list shows "Drafts 3 of 5" under **Smart links used**. While
  you're at 5, a new link isn't saved as a draft as you type (it's kept in this browser only), but you
  can still create it and switch it on.
- **Delete a draft** with the bin button on its row. It's deleted for good and its place on your plan
  frees up. A draft never opened WhatsApp, so there are no visits or chats to lose.
- **Drafts count towards your plan**, like every link that isn't archived. See
  [Smart link limits](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/limits).

## Addresses

Every link gets a **code**: six random letters and numbers, picked when you save. The code never
changes. Characters that are easy to mix up (0 and o, 1, l and i) are never used, so a code is easy
to read off a poster. The address can take one of three forms:

| Form | Example | Good for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Six characters** | `chat.theavoxai.com/ab3x9k` | Short and random. Nobody can guess your other links. |
| **Six characters plus your ending** | `chat.theavoxai.com/ab3x9k-summer-sale` | Random, with words people can read. |
| **Your ending only** | `chat.theavoxai.com/summer-sale` | The easiest to say out loud, if it's free. |

An ending is 3 to 40 lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens, starting and ending with a letter or
number, one hyphen at a time ([AVX-3807](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3807)). Every address is unique across
Avox, so a popular ending may already be taken ([AVX-3805](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3805)). A few words are
kept for Avox, like `api`, `admin`, `help` or `whatsapp`, and so is anything containing `avox`, so no
link can look like an official page ([AVX-3806](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3806)).

The addresses above show the link domain Avox uses. Your dashboard always shows the exact address of
each link, with a copy button.

## What a link can send

Every link opens the chat. Under **What it does**, you can also have Avox send something as soon as the
chat starts:

| Option | What happens | You pick |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Your chat** | Their message arrives in your Inbox. You (or your automations) reply. | Nothing more |
| **A Flow** | Avox sends one of your [Flows](https://docs.theavoxai.com/flows) as soon as the chat starts. | A published Flow, the **Button text** that opens it (up to 20 characters) and an optional message with it |
| **A template** | Avox sends an approved [template](https://docs.theavoxai.com/templates) as soon as the chat starts. | An approved template, and fixed values for its variables (the same for everyone) |
| **Details from a table** | Avox sends chosen columns of one row, like a price or opening hours, as one message with a line per column. | A [table](https://docs.theavoxai.com/tables), the row, up to 20 columns and an optional first line |

- What a link sends goes out **once**, right after the customer's first message, inside WhatsApp's
  [24-hour reply window](https://docs.theavoxai.com/whatsapp/messaging-window) that their message opens.
- These sends use no [automation credits](https://docs.theavoxai.com/automation/credits): they aren't automations.
- A template that needs a picture, video or file in its header can't be used here: pick one with a
  text header or none.
- If what a link sends stops being ready (a Flow is unpublished, a template loses its approval, or the
  row is deleted), the link page says so ([AVX-3811](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3811)). The chat still opens, but
  nothing extra is sent until you pick it again in **Edit**.

Each chat on the [Chats tab](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/analytics#the-chats-tab) shows whether its follow-up was sent.

## The message and its reference

**Message they start with** is the text the customer's WhatsApp opens with, up to 500 characters. It
starts as "Hi! I'd like to know more." and you can change it to anything. Avox adds a reference at the
end so it knows which link, and which visit, a chat came from, whatever the address looks like and
however the customer reached it.

### Three ways Avox recognises a chat

Avox looks for these in order, and uses the first one it finds:

**1. The visible reference**

A short reference at the end of the message, like `(ref AB3X9K)`, built from the link's code.
Avox finds it anywhere in the message, in upper or lower case, with or without the brackets or the
word "ref", so a changed greeting still counts.

**2. The hidden reference**

A few invisible characters after the last letter of the message. They carry the link's code and a
one-off number for that exact visit, so Avox also knows which click or scan led to the chat: how long
they took to send it, whether they scanned or tapped, their device, country and campaign labels.
The characters can't be seen, and Avox removes them before the message shows in your Inbox.

**3. The message text**

If no reference made it, Avox compares the message with your links' texts, ignoring case, spacing,
punctuation and emoji. It counts only when exactly one of your links on that number has the same
text and was opened in the 24 hours before the message. A chat found this way is a
**potential** match.

### How we recognise chats

On the **Message** step (and in **Edit**), **How we recognise chats** picks which references the
message carries:

| Choice | What the customer sees | Good for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Visible and hidden reference** (recommended) | `Hi! I saw your poster. (ref AB3X9K)` | The most reliable: if one reference is lost, the other still works. |
| **Hidden reference only** | `Hi! I saw your poster.` | A message that reads exactly as you wrote it. |
| **Visible reference only** | `Hi! I saw your poster. (ref AB3X9K)` | If hidden characters cause trouble for your customers. |

A hidden-only link with no text of its own starts with "Hi!", so the invisible characters have somewhere
to sit. A few apps and keyboards may drop invisible characters. If a hidden-only link gets plenty of
visits but no chats come back with its hidden reference, its page says so: switch it to **Visible and
hidden reference** or **Visible reference only**.

### Sure and potential matches

A chat is a **sure** match when its message carries a reference and someone opened the link shortly
before (within 7 days, or the exact visit for a hidden reference). It's a **potential** match when:

- it was found by the message text alone;
- it carries a reference, but nobody opened the link in the 7 days before (someone copied or passed the
  message on);
- WhatsApp marked the message as forwarded.

Potential matches are counted apart and tagged **Potential** on the [Chats tab](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/analytics#the-chats-tab).
By default they get no follow-up and don't start automations. Turn on **Act on potential matches too**
(next to what the link sends) to treat them like sure ones.

### Make each link's text unique

If two links use the same message, Avox can't tell their chats apart by the text when a reference goes
missing. While you type, Avox warns you when another link already uses the same text, or when the text
is too short or common (like "Hi" or "Good morning") to be recognised on its own.

> **Tip**
>
> Write the message as the customer would say it, and name the offer or the place you shared it ("Hi, I'd
> like to book a table for Friday. I saw your poster at the station."). It tells you what they want before
> you've said a word, it's more likely to be sent unchanged, and it can still be recognised if the
> reference is lost.

### Good to know

- **Timing** is taken from when the customer sent the message, not when Avox got to it.
- **The same person again:** another message from the same contact to the same link within 24 hours is
  the same chat. After 24 hours it counts again, marked **Returning**. A chat from a different link counts
  for that link.
- **Existing contacts** who had messaged you before opening the link still count, marked **Existing contact**.
- **The right number:** a chat counts only when it arrives on the number the link opens, in the same
  Switchboard.
- **Replies:** a reference in a message that replies to an earlier message is ignored.
- **Unsubscribed contacts** are still counted, but get no follow-up.
- **Ended or archived links:** a chat from a visit made while the link was live still counts after the
  link ends or is archived. An archived link sends no follow-up.
- **Old addresses:** a visit through an [old address](#changing-the-address) isn't counted as a visit,
  but a chat from it is still recognised.

## Campaign labels

**Campaign labels** (on the **Message** step, closed until you open it) are optional UTM values:
**Source**, **Medium**, **Campaign**, **Term** and **Content**, like `instagram`, `poster` or
`summer-sale`. Every visit gets them, so you can group visits by where you shared the link. Values are
saved in lowercase.

You can also put campaign values on the address itself wherever you share it. A visit through an
address that has its own `utm_` values keeps those, and the link's labels fill in the rest:

```text
https://chat.theavoxai.com/summer-sale?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=story
```

The values show on the link's [Analytics tab](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/analytics#campaign-labels-in-analytics),
travel with each chat it starts, and can be used in automations as `{{link.utm_source}}` and friends.

## Start and end dates

Under **When it works** on the **Extras** step, a link can have a **Starts** and an **Ends** date and
time, in your own time zone. Leave them empty to start straight away and never end. The end has to be
after the start ([AVX-3823](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3823)).

Before the start and after the end, the link shows a short, friendly page instead of opening WhatsApp.

## Link states

Each link shows its state next to its name, and the list can be filtered by it.

| State | What it means | What a visitor sees |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Draft** | Saved but not switched on. Open it from the list to carry on in the wizard; **Switch on** on its page makes it live (or scheduled). | "This link isn't open yet" |
| **Live** | Opens WhatsApp and counts visits. | WhatsApp opens |
| **Scheduled** | Switched on, waiting for its start date. | "This link isn't open yet" |
| **Paused** | Paused by you, or paused because the Switchboard is paused, or paused by Avox. **Resume** brings back a link you paused. | "This link is paused" |
| **Ended** | Past its end date, or ended with **End now**. **Switch on again** brings it back (and clears an end date that has passed). | "This link has ended" |
| **Archived** | Put away. It doesn't count towards your plan and can't be changed. **Restore** brings it back. | "This link has ended" |

### End or archive?

Both stop the link opening WhatsApp, and both keep its numbers.

- **End now** (in the link's **...** menu) is for a link you might switch on again, like a seasonal
  offer. An ended link still counts towards your plan.
- **Archive** is for a link you're done with. It no longer counts towards your plan, so it frees a
  place for a new link. Archived links can't be changed ([AVX-3816](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3816)).
  **Restore** brings one back while your plan has room.

> **Warning**
>
> Printed QR codes keep pointing at their link for good. Ending or archiving a link stops every printed
> code for it opening WhatsApp, so think about where it's printed before you do.

## Conversions

A chat is only the start. Turn on **Count conversions** on the **Extras** step to count the chats that
got where you wanted: pick a **Tag**, like Paid or Booked, and **Within (days)**, 1 to 90 (30 to start
with). A chat from this link counts as converted when its contact gets that tag within that many days
of the chat, whether a teammate adds it in the [Inbox](https://docs.theavoxai.com/inbox) or an automation does.

Conversions show on the link's [Analytics tab](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/analytics) and each converted chat is marked
on the [Chats tab](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/analytics#the-chats-tab). See [Contacts](https://docs.theavoxai.com/contacts) for how tags work.

## Editing a link

On a link's page, **Edit** opens every setting in a panel beside the page: name and number, address,
what it does, first message and campaign labels, when it works, and conversions. Only what you change is
saved. Changes to what it sends, the message or the dates apply to the next visit; the link's QR code
keeps working, since it always points at the link.

The **...** menu also has **Duplicate**, which makes a copy with a new code (the six-character form)
and the same number, folder, message, sends, campaign labels, conversion rule and QR design. A draft
copies as a draft, anything else as a live link. Dates aren't copied, and the copy counts towards your
plan.

### Changing the address

Changing the address of a link that's in use asks first. The old address keeps opening WhatsApp, but
its visits **stop counting**, and printed QR codes and shared links still carry it. Print new codes
and share the new link wherever the old one was.

Old addresses are listed under **Old addresses** on the [Analytics tab](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/analytics#old-addresses),
with when they changed and whether they still open WhatsApp. An old address opens WhatsApp only while
the link is live. A draft's address can change freely.

## Sharing a link

The link's **Share** tab has everything for putting the link in front of people.

### The link and the QR code

- **Copy link** and **Open**. Opening the link yourself counts as a click, like anyone else's.
- **Download PNG** downloads the QR code at 1024 pixels, in your design. More sizes, SVG and PDF are on
  the **QR code** tab ([QR codes](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/qr-codes#downloads)).
- **Copy the QR code's address** copies the address the QR code holds. It ends in `?q=1`, which is how
  scans are counted apart from clicks. Use it if you make a QR code somewhere else.

QR code downloads open only while the link is **Live**, so nobody prints a code that shows a "not open"
page. For a draft, scheduled, paused, ended or archived link, the button stays greyed out and says why.
A link that isn't live or scheduled also shows a note at the top of the tab: people who use it see a
friendly page instead of WhatsApp.

### Website chat button

**Website chat button** makes a button for your own website that opens the smart link: pick the words,
the colours (or your own) and an icon, check the preview on a light or dark page, and **Copy code**. See
[Website chat button](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/website-button).

### Send in a chat

**Send in a chat** puts the link into one of your WhatsApp conversations. Check or change the **Text**
("Chat with us on WhatsApp:" and the link, to start with), search for a conversation and pick it. The
conversation opens in the [Inbox](https://docs.theavoxai.com/inbox#text-from-send-in-a-chat) with the text in the reply box.

Nothing is sent until you press Send there, and the usual Inbox rules apply, including WhatsApp's
24-hour reply window. **Send in a chat** needs the **Reply in the Inbox** permission.

## Folders

Folders keep links for one campaign, shop or event together. The row above the list shows **All**,
**No folder** and each folder with how many links it holds.

- **New folder** makes one. Names are unique in a Switchboard, whatever their capitals
  ([AVX-3814](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3814)), and a Switchboard can have up to 100 folders
  ([AVX-3815](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3815)).
- Open a folder to **Rename folder** or **Delete folder**. Deleting a folder keeps its links: they move
  out of any folder.
- Pick a link's folder when you create it, or move it later in its **Edit** panel.

The list can also be searched by name or address and filtered by state.

## Limits and extra links

Your plan sets how many smart links each Switchboard can have, and a plan can allow unlimited links.
The **Smart links** page shows how many you've used ("Smart links used"), and so does
**Settings > Usage**.

- **Every link that isn't archived counts**: live, scheduled, paused, ended and draft links alike.
  Archiving a link (or deleting a draft) is what frees a place.
- When every link is in use, you can't make a new one until there's room
  ([AVX-1170](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-1170)). Links you already made keep working.
- To make room, archive a link you no longer use, **Buy more links**, or move to a plan with more.
- Separately, a Switchboard keeps up to 5 [drafts](#drafts) at a time.

The full rules, extra link packs and links added by Avox: [Smart link limits and extra links](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/limits).

## Who can do what

| To | You need |
| --- | --- |
| See links, their QR codes, analytics and the chats they started | **See smart links** |
| Create, edit, pause, end, duplicate and archive links, design their QR codes, save designs and the brand kit, and manage folders | **Create and edit smart links** |
| See the contact's name on the Chats tab | **See contacts** (without it, chats show without names) |
| Use **Send in a chat** | **Reply in the Inbox** |
| Buy extra links | **Manage billing** |
| Pick a link in an automation's trigger | **See smart links** (without it, only **Any smart link** can be picked) |

Admins and Managers have both smart link permissions by default. An Admin can change them per person:
see [Members and roles](https://docs.theavoxai.com/switchboard/members). Someone who can see links but not change them gets the
QR code downloads, without the designer's controls.

## Troubleshooting

**The link shows Paused by Avox**

The Avox team paused this link, for example after a report that it was misused. The reason is shown on
the link's page. Visitors see "This link is paused", and you can't switch it on again yourself
([AVX-3817](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3817)). Email hello@theavoxai.com with the link's reference (like
`LNK-000123`, under its name).

**The link says the number isn't connected**

The WhatsApp number the link opens isn't connected now ([AVX-3810](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3810)). Until it
is, visitors see "This chat isn't available right now". Reconnect the number on
[Connections](https://docs.theavoxai.com/connections), or pick another number in **Edit**.

**Visits or chats aren't counting**

Check these, in order:

- **Is it live?** Drafts, scheduled, paused, ended and archived links don't open WhatsApp, so nothing
  is counted.
- **Is it the current address?** An [old address](#changing-the-address) opens WhatsApp but isn't
  counted.
- **Was it a robot or a preview?** Link previews (the card a chat app draws when you paste a link),
  search engines and browser prefetches are never counted. See
  [What counts as a visit](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/analytics#what-counts-as-a-visit).
- **Was a reference sent?** A sure chat needs the link's visible or hidden reference. If the customer
  deleted the visible one and their app dropped the hidden one, the chat reaches your Inbox and may still
  show as a **potential** match by its text. See [Three ways Avox recognises a chat](#three-ways-avox-recognises-a-chat).
- **Was there a visit in the last 7 days?** A reference without a recent visit is only a potential match.
- **Same person within 24 hours?** That's the same chat, counted once.
- **Did it arrive on the link's number?** Chats on another number never count for the link.

**Every link shows a short break page**

Smart links are paused across Avox for a short while. Visitors see "Smart links are taking a short break",
and changes wait until they're back ([AVX-4016](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-4016)). Your links and their counts
are kept. The [status page](https://docs.theavoxai.com/status-page) shows when smart links are back.

**I can't create a link**

Hover the disabled button to see why. Usually it's a full plan ([AVX-1170](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-1170)), no
plan ([AVX-1171](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-1171)), or a missing permission. If **Save as draft** is the one
greyed out, you already have 5 drafts ([AVX-3835](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3835)): finish or delete one. If creating smart links was turned off
for your account, the message says so ([AVX-3819](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-3819)): contact hello@theavoxai.com.

**I can't download the QR code**

Downloads open only while the link is **Live**. Hover the greyed-out button to see the link's state,
then switch it on, resume it or wait for its start date. See
[The link and the QR code](#the-link-and-the-qr-code).

**The Flow, template or table details weren't sent**

Open the link's **Chats** tab: each chat shows **Follow-up sent**, **Follow-up failed** or **Follow-up
skipped**. A follow-up is skipped when the 24-hour window closed before it could go, the number was
disconnected, the Switchboard was paused, or what it sends wasn't ready (see
[What a link can send](#what-a-link-can-send)).

## Related

- [QR codes](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/qr-codes): Design, check and download a smart link's QR code

- [Smart link limits](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/limits): What counts, drafts and extra links

- [Link analytics](https://docs.theavoxai.com/chat-links/analytics): Scans, clicks, chats started and conversions