With TimelinesAI’s Close CRM integration, you can:

• Auto-Create Chat as new Lead in Close CRM when new WhatsApp chat appears
• Sync WhatsApp messages as "WhatsApp" activities in Close CRM

This guide will walk you through simple steps to successfully use all the features of the TimelinesAI and Pipedrive CRM integration.

✅ How the integration works

✅ How to connect Close CRM Organization to TimelinesAI

✅ Phone number-matching logic

✅ How Auto-Create Chat as new Lead works

✅ How TimelinesAI picks the right lead for message sync

✅ How messages are synced

✅ Locations

✅ Attachments

✅ Replies

Let’s get started 🚀

How Integration Works

When the Close CRM Organization is connected to TimelinesAI and a new WhatsApp message is sent or received in a direct chat, the TimelinesAI integration:

1. First checks its database to see if this chat was synced before.
2. If found – syncs the message to the same Close CRM lead
3. If not found – searches Close CRM for a contact with the same phone number.
4. If no contact exists and if Auto-create lead ON – creates a new lead at Close CRM and syncs the message there. If Auto-create lead OFF – skips the message
5. Stores the link so future messages from this chat go to the same place automatically.

How to connect Close CRM Organization to TimelinesAI

Prerequisites:

✅ You’re the owner or admin of the TimelinesAI workspace

✅ You have an active Close CRM account

✅ Your Close CRM user’s Lead Visibility is set to All Leads

Learn more about connection in Close CRM Integration: managing connection article.

Got all three? You’re ready to connect Close CRM to TimelinesAI.

1. Login as workspace owner or administrator and open Close CRM from main navigation menu
2. Click Connect

3. On the Oauth screen select the desired Close CRM organization and click Allow
4. After the Close CRM organization is connected, TimelinesAI shows the connection details allowing to configure settings or run a test sync.

Phone-number matching logic

WhatsApp messages are synced to Close CRM leads by matching WhatsApp contact's number with contact numbers in Close CRM.

Example: a WhatsApp contact with +111111111111 sends a message. TimelinesAI must decide which Close CRM contact to attach it to. It does this as follows:

1. TimelinesAI takes the WhatsApp contact's WhatsApp number (always international format, e.g. +12345678900).
2. Finds an exact match in Close CRM. It checks every phone field in Close CRM—mobile, direct, office, etc.—for the same number, digit for digit.
3. Match found → sync. The message is added to that contact’s lead as a WhatsApp activity.
4. No match → follow settings
5. Auto-create lead ON: a new lead is made and the message is logged there5 Auto-create lead ON: a new lead is made and the message is logged there.
6. Auto-create lead OFF: nothing is synced.

How Auto-Create Chat as new Lead works?

Turn this switch ON or OFF in TimelinesAI → Close CRM Integration Settings.

When OFF: only messages that already have a matching Close CRM contact are synced. No new leads or contacts are created.

When ON: if no Close CRM contact matches the WhatsApp number, TimelinesAI automatically creates the contact and a lead.

What TimelinesAI adds when it auto-creates a lead:

• Lead name: WhatsApp contact’s name
• Contact: WhatsApp contact’s name, phone number in international format of "Other" type
• Link: direct link to the WhatsApp chat in TimelinesAI
• Owner: the chat’s owner in TimelinesAI, or (if none) the user who connected Close CRM. See this section for more information on how ownership is assigned.
• Lead source: “WhatsApp”

How TimelinesAI chooses the Lead Owner

When a lead is auto-created, TimelinesAI assigns the owner based on Chat Responsible, WhatsApp Account owner or Close CRM connection owner.:

1. Chat responsible. If the WhatsApp chat in TimelinesAI has a responsible assigned and their email matches ( exactly) the email of a member in Close CRM organization, then this Close CRM organization member becomes the Lead Owner
2. WhatsApp account owner. Used when the chat has no responsible person assigned in TimelinesAI. TimelinesAI matches the owner of the WhatsApp number with members of Close CRM organization by email. If matching member is found, then this Close CRM organization member becomes the Lead Owner
3. Connection owner (fallback). If no email matches in steps 1–2, the user who connected Close CRM to TimelinesAI is set as Lead Owner. A lead is never auto-created without an owner because the connection owner is always available as the last resort.

How to filter leads auto-created by TimelinesAI integration

1. Open Leads in Close CRM.
2. Add a filter: Lead Source = “WhatsApp”.
3. Apply the filter. You now see every lead that was auto-created by the TimelinesAI integration.

How TimelinesAI picks the right lead for message sync

When a WhatsApp message arrives, TimelinesAI follows a clear path to decide exactly where that message should go in Close CRM.

1. First the integration checks its database to see if this chat was synced before. If found – syncs the message to the same Close CRM lead
2. If nothing found in database or the lead saved in database no longer exists in Close CRM , integration will search for a Contact in Close CRM matching the WhatsApp contact by their phone number. More on how matching by phone number works in this section.
3. If matching contacts are found in Close CRM, integration gets all the leads associated with this contact. If there is only single lead - message is synced to that lead.
4. If there are multiple leads associated with an existing contact, integration compares opportunities of the matching leads. If there are no opportunities in the leads - integration syncs the message to the latest updated lead. If leads have opportunities, integration syncs the message to the lead with the latest updated opportunity
5. If matching contacts are not found in Close CRM and Auto-Create Chat as new Lead is ON, integration creates a contact and a lead ans syncs the message to that new lead

How messages are synced?

• Every WhatsApp message = one “WhatsApp” activity

TimelinesAI logs each message as its own activity in Close CRM.

• One lead per contact

If several TimelinesAI numbers chat with the same Close CRM contact, all messages go to that single lead—no duplicates.

• Direction & colourGreen bubble = sent by you or your teamGrey bubble = received from the contact
• Sender label for outgoing messages

Outgoing messages show the sender’s name (the owner of that WhatsApp number in TimelinesAI), e.g. Jane: Hi there.

This helps you tell which teammate replied when multiple teammates chat with the same contact.

• Content supported

Text, locations, and attachments all sync.

• Quick actions (hover over a message)Open the chat in TimelinesAIOpen the message in WhatsApp WebCopy a link to this activity in Close CRM

How Locations are synced?

When a WhatsApp chat contains a location:

• Live Location – the activity shows the text “Live Location”. Clicking it opens the map. Any caption attached to the share is ignored.
• Regular Location – the activity shows the place name (e.g., Central Park) as blue, clickable text that opens the map.

Apart from those details, the entry behaves like any other synced message: it keeps its timestamp, sender label, and green/grey direction colour.

How attachments are synced?

1. Size limit (25 MB). Close CRM can only store files up to 25 MB. TimelinesAI follows that rule.
2. Files within 25 MB. The file is linked to the activity; click it to view full-screen in Close CRM.
3. Files over 25 MB. The activity shows a note like:“You’ve received an attachment Sample-jpg-image-30mb-16.jpg but it can’t be displayed here due to Close CRM limits. View the attachment in TimelinesAI.”

Everything else—timestamps, sender labels, green/grey bubbles—works the same as with regular text messages.

How reply-to messages are synced?

When you use WhatsApp’s Reply feature, TimelinesAI still sends the message to Close CRM, but because Close CRM doesn’t yet show threads, the reply and its quoted text are combined into one “WhatsApp” activity. Format inside Close CRM

Reply to message: <quoted text>
<reply text>

This keeps the context of the conversation until Close CRM adds full threading support.

How to view only WhatsApp activities with a particular lead?

1. Open the lead in Close CRM.
2. Hover over any “WhatsApp” activity.
3. When the Full-Screen icon appears, click it. The modal window will appear with only WhatsApp activities.

Messages that never sync

• Group-chat messages — the integration only covers 1-to-1 chats.
• Unsupported formats — polls, business cards, or any other content Close CRM can’t store.
• Emoji reactions — 👍❤️ etc. are ignored.

Troubleshooting

If you have any issues with Close CRM integration:

1. Check the troubleshooting article
2. Contact TimelinesAI Support in live chat

Updated on: 17/08/2025