How to use First Time Message Webhook
Know the moment a brand new customer reaches out — and respond before anyone else does
Every customer relationship starts with a first message. That moment — when someone reaches out to your business on WhatsApp for the very first time — is one of the most important opportunities you have. Respond quickly and you make a strong first impression. Respond late and they have already moved on to a competitor.
The First Time Message Webhook captures that moment precisely. The instant a brand new customer — someone your business has never interacted with before on WhatsApp — sends their very first message, this webhook fires and sends their details to your connected system immediately.
What Is the First Time Message Webhook?
The First Time Message webhook fires the moment DoubleTick detects that an incoming message is from a contact your business has never spoken to before on WhatsApp. It does not fire for returning customers or existing contacts — only for genuinely new ones, sending their very first message.
Think of it like a sensor at the entrance of your business that only activates when it sees a completely new face — and immediately alerts your team the moment that person walks in.
When Does This Webhook Trigger?
This webhook activates when:
A customer messages your WhatsApp Business number for the very first time
DoubleTick has no previous conversation history with that contact
It fires only once per customer — at the moment of their very first message. If that same customer messages again in the future, this webhook will not fire for them again.
Step-by-Step Setup Guide
Step 1: Open Webhooks in DoubleTick
Log in to your DoubleTick account
Go to Settings
Click on Webhooks
Step 2: Create a New Webhook
Click New Webhook
Give it a clear name — for example:
First Time Message Tracker
Step 3: Get Your Webhook URL
You need a destination URL — this is where DoubleTick will send the new customer's details the moment their first message arrives.
You can connect it to:
A CRM like Zoho, HubSpot, or Salesforce
An automation tool like Zapier or Pabbly
A spreadsheet like Google Sheets
Your own backend or internal system
For testing purposes, you can use DoubleTick's Bot Studio to capture and preview the data first:
Open a new tab and go to Bot Studio
Click Create New Bot
Set the trigger to On Webhook
Copy the webhook URL that appears
Step 4: Fill in Webhook Details
Go back to the Webhooks page
Paste the webhook URL
Select your API Number (your WABA/WhatsApp Business number)
Click Continue
Step 5: Choose the Event
Select First Time Message from the event list
Click Create Webhook
Your webhook is now live.
How to Test It
Send a WhatsApp message to your business number from a phone number that has never messaged your business before
Go to Bot Studio → Capture Response → View Response Data
You will see the new customer's details captured at the exact moment their first message arrived.
What Data Do You Receive?
When this webhook fires, it sends the following information to your system:
To
Your WhatsApp Business number that received the message
From
The customer's WhatsApp number
Is CTWA
Whether the customer came through a Click to WhatsApp ad — true or false
New Lead
Confirms this is a brand new contact — will always be true for this webhook
WABA Number
The WhatsApp Business number associated with your DoubleTick account
DT Message ID
DoubleTick's unique identifier for this message
Customer Name
The name of the new customer as saved or shared on WhatsApp
Customer Phone
The customer's WhatsApp number
The isCTWA field is particularly useful — it tells you whether this new customer came through a Click to WhatsApp ad or reached out organically. This helps your team understand which channel brought in the lead and attribute it to the right campaign. The newLead field will always be true for this webhook, confirming that this is a first-time contact with no previous conversation history.
Sample payload:
Real-Life Business Use Case: A Furniture Brand Automatically Creating CRM Leads From WhatsApp Enquiries
The Situation
A furniture brand runs regular campaigns on Instagram and Facebook promoting new collections and seasonal offers. Every ad has a WhatsApp CTA — interested customers click it and send a message directly to the brand's WhatsApp Business number. Several new customers message in every day as a result of these campaigns.
The Problem
Every new customer who messaged through a campaign was a potential lead. But the process of getting that lead into the CRM was entirely manual. An agent would see the message, note down the customer's details, and then separately open the CRM to create a new lead record. This took time, happened inconsistently, and was frequently skipped during busy periods.
By the time a lead was created in the CRM and assigned to a sales agent, the customer had sometimes already stopped waiting and gone to browse a competitor's store. The brand was running paid campaigns to drive WhatsApp enquiries, but losing a significant number of those leads to slow manual handling.
How the First Time Message Webhook Solves This
The brand connects this webhook directly to their CRM.
The moment a new customer sends their first WhatsApp message, the webhook fires and a new lead record is automatically created in the CRM with the customer's name, phone number, their opening message, and the timestamp. The lead is immediately assigned to an available sales agent, who receives a notification and can follow up within minutes — while the customer is still actively engaged.
The Result
Every new WhatsApp enquiry is automatically recorded in the CRM the moment it arrives — with zero manual effort from any agent
Sales agents are notified immediately and can follow up while the customer's interest is at its peak
No new lead is ever lost because someone forgot to create a CRM record
The brand gets full value from their paid campaigns because every enquiry they generate is captured and followed up on without exception
Summary
The First Time Message Webhook ensures that the most important moment in any customer relationship — the very first message — is never missed, never delayed, and never handled inconsistently. The moment a new customer reaches out, your systems are updated and your team is notified automatically. Set it up once, and every new customer gets the fast, informed response they deserve from the very first word.
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