WeCom Integration in Instant Messaging
This guide explains how to connect your WeCom account with Zoho IM so your support team can manage customer conversations from WeChat directly within the Desk IM interface.
You’ll learn how to authorize Zoho IM as a third-party app in WeCom, create or link Customer Service Accounts (CSAs), and configure the WeCom channel in Zoho Desk.
By following these steps, your agents will be able to handle WeChat chats seamlessly alongside other support channels, ensuring a unified and efficient customer service experience.
Understanding WeChat vs. WeCom
It's important to know the difference between WeChat and WeCom before starting:
- WeChat: China’s leading consumer messaging app, used by millions of individuals. Customers use it to reach out to businesses or chat with friends and family.
- WeCom (formerly WeChat Work): The enterprise version of WeChat, designed for businesses to communicate internally and securely with WeChat users.
By integrating WeCom with Zoho Desk, your WeCom account acts as a bridge between Zoho Desk support team and customers on WeChat. This allows Desk agents to handle customer conversations in a single, unified interface.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, make sure you have the following in place:
A valid WeCom account: Your organization needs an active WeCom account. If you don’t have one yet, sign up on the WeCom website.
Admin privileges: You must be an Organization Owner or Admin in WeCom. This is required to authorize Zoho Desk to connect.
Permission to authorize Zoho: You may have to approve Zoho Desk’s access in your WeCom account during setup, and have to give Zoho permission to connect as a third-party app.
If any of these are missing, the integration will fail.
Integration of WeCom and Zoho Desk IM
This integration allows you authorize Zoho IM as a third-party app in your WeCom admin panel.
Steps:
1. In Zoho Desk, navigate to Setup > Instant Messaging > WeCom.
2. Click Integrate WeCom.
3. If your WeCom account is not signed in, a QR code popup will appear. Use your WeCom app to scan the QR code and log in to WeCom authorization page.
If the authorization window doesn’t appear, your browser may be blocking pop-ups. To continue with WeCom authorization, make sure to allow pop-ups.
4. A new browser window opens to WeCom’s authorization page.
5. Check Provide Exclusive CSR.
6. Read and Agree. Then click Agree to the above authorization and add.
7. Once you agree, WeCom links your account with Zoho Desk. You’ll be redirected to a page with a confirmation message.
8. Zoho Desk is now successfully connected to your WeCom organization.
9. You can also verify the established connection in your WeCom admin panel.
Once Zoho IM is listed and authorized as a third-party app in your WeCom admin panel, you can proceed to add a Customer Service Account in WeCom (CSA).
This linking is essential because the CSA will serve as the bridge between your WeCom organization and Zoho IM.
You can either select your existing CSA or create a new one, which will then be linked to Zoho IM to handle WeChat messages.
Create a Customer Service Account in WeCom
1. Navigate to your WeCom admin panel > App Management > Apps.
2. Click WeChat Customer Service.
3. Under the Customer Service Account section, click Create Account.
If you already have a CSA account, skip to step 6.
4. Enter the required details to create your Customer Service Account.
5. Click Create to save it.
6. After the account is created, scroll down and click Authorize Third-Party Apps at the bottom of the Customer Service Account page.
7. On the Authorize Third-Party Apps page, find Zoho IM in the list. Click the More (…) button next to it, then select Authorize Customer Service Account.
8. A pop-up will list your available Customer Service Accounts.
9. Select one or all the accounts you created, and click OK. This links your new Customer Service Account(s) to Zoho Desk.
10. Once the authorization is successful, the linked accounts will appear in the list of successfully authorized accounts.
Configure the WeCom channel in Zoho IM
With your WeCom side ready, switch back to Zoho Desk to finish the setup:
1. In Zoho Desk, navigate Setup > Instant Messaging > WeCom.
2. Click Create Channel.
3. (Alternatively) After the WeCom and Zoho IM integration completes, you’ll be redirected to the WeCom section under Instant Messaging, where you can configure the channel.
4. Enter a Channel Name and select your WeCom Organization Name.
5. From the Customer Service Account dropdown, select a CSA account that you've authorized in WeCom.
6. Choose the Department that will handle incoming WeCom messages and click Save. This creates the channel.
7. Once the channel is created, assign Agents who should handle these chats, just like any other channel.
8. After saving, Zoho Desk will give you a WeCom chat link, QR code, and message button. You can put these on your website or Help Center so customers can easily reach you via WeChat.
Message and attachment guidelines
When your agents start chatting with customers through the WeCom channel, they can send text, images, videos, audio, and files directly from Zoho IM. However, WeCom enforces strict limits on file types and sizes.
Supported file formats and attachment limits for WeCom
Direction | Media Type | Supported formats | Maximum size | Minimum size | Notes |
Incoming | Images | JPG / PNG | Up to 2 MB | Larger than 5 bytes | - |
Videos | MP4 | Up to 10 MB | Larger than 5 bytes | - | |
Audio | AMR | Up to 2 MB | Larger than 5 bytes | - | |
Other Files | PDF, DOC, EXCEL | Up to 20 MB | Larger than 5 bytes | - | |
Outgoing | Images | JPG / PNG | Up to 2 MB | Larger than 5 bytes | - |
Videos | MP4 | Up to 10 MB | Larger than 5 bytes | - | |
Audio | AMR | Up to 2 MB | Larger than 5 bytes | - | |
Other Files | PDF, DOC, EXCEL | Up to 20 MB | Larger than 5 bytes | - |
Messaging restrictions and compliance
WeCom’s customer service APIs must comply with WeChat’s user protection policies. Zoho Desk enforces these rules automatically.
Here are a few important rules to keep in mind when chatting through Zoho Desk IM:
Customer-initiated chats
Agents cannot start a new chat with WeChat users. The conversation must always begin with a message from the customer.
48-hour reply window
Once a customer sends a message, your agents have 48 hours to respond.
- Within this window, agents can send up to 5 consecutive messages per customer message.
- After those replies are sent, or once the 48 hours expire, the chat session is automatically locked.
- The agent can resume the conversation only when the customer sends another message.
No messages outside the window
Proactive or promotional messages outside the 48-hour window are blocked automatically by the system.
These restrictions ensure compliance with WeChat’s spam and privacy policies.
WeCom licensing and IM credits
A valid WeCom license is required to send and receive customer messages via Zoho Desk. Zoho Desk automates all license activation and renewal processes using your available IM credits.
How license scheduling works
When your admin purchases IM credits for WeCom:
1. If you are still on the free trial
- The system checks the remaining trial duration.
- The purchased license is automatically scheduled to activate after the trial ends and will be valid for one year from that date.
2. If you already have an active paid license
- Any newly purchased credits are scheduled to activate once your trial or current license expires, extending the license by another year.
Note: Having additional IM credits alone does not automatically extend licenses year after year. Auto-scheduling for multi-year renewals will be introduced in a future update.
What is a WeCom license?
A WeCom license allows Zoho Desk send and receive messages through WeCom. Without it, your agents won’t be able to chat with customers on WeChat using Zoho Desk.
Free trial period
- New integrations get a 90-day free trial from the date of first authorisation.
- During this trial, WeCom can be used without payment.
- The trial period begins on the date of the first authorization and continues even if you uninstall or reauthorize the integration later.
Example:
- Day 1: Customer authorizes WeCom and the trial starts.
- Day 50: Customer removes the integration.
- Day 70: Customer re-authorizes.
- The trial does not reset. It continues counting from Day 1, so only 20 days remain.
Once the trial ends, the system must have a valid paid license to continue using the integration.
License cost and IM credits
After the trial, Zoho Desk automatically manages the license purchase using IM credits:
- Price: ¥50 CNY (approximately 4 Zoho IM credits) per user per year.
- Zoho Desk handles all license validation, purchase, and renewal on the backend.
- Customers simply need to maintain sufficient IM credits; no manual license management is required.
Purchasing IM credits for WeCom
IM credits are required to pay for licenses and enable WeCom messaging. Credits are billed annually (not monthly or quarterly).
Steps to purchase credits
1. Click the Setup icon in the top bar.
2. Under Channels, select Instant Messaging.
3. On the IM page, click Buy Credits.
4. Enter the number of credits you wish to purchase (minimum: 4 credits = ¥50 CNY).
5. Click Make Payment and complete the transaction.
Once payment is processed, your credits will appear in the Available Credits section, and you can continue sending messages without interruption.
Checking license status
You can monitor your license or trial status directly within Zoho IM:
- Trial Expired
- License Expired
When a license expires:
1. A warning message appears on the channel configuration page.
2. A notice also appears in the chat window indicating that the integration is inactive until renewal.
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