How to Show Contact Names in WhatsApp in Odoo

When you manage your company's communications through WhatsApp in Odoo, there is something immediately frustrating: the chat channels display phone numbers instead of your contacts' names. Instead of seeing "Mary Johnson" or "Lopez Auto Repair Shop", you see "+34 612 345 678" and you have to make a mental effort to know who you are talking to. The WhatsApp Channel Name module solves exactly this problem, automatically displaying the contact name in each WhatsApp channel within Odoo Discuss, with no additional configuration required.

Solve the problem with Odoo WhatsApp Channel Name

The problem is as everyday as it is irritating. Odoo integrates WhatsApp natively since version 17, allowing customer messages to arrive directly in the Discuss module. However, in the standard implementation, the channels automatically created for each WhatsApp conversation receive the contact's phone number as their name. This works at a technical level, but completely breaks the experience for the agent handling the conversations: who is +34 655 123 456? Is it the supplier or the customer who asked about the order yesterday?

The odoo whatsapp channel name module intervenes at the moment the channel is created and checks whether the phone number corresponds to an existing contact in the Odoo database. If it does, it uses the contact's name — whether an individual or a company — as the visible channel name in Discuss. The result is immediate and requires no action from the user: the conversation list goes from displaying a column of meaningless numbers to showing recognizable names, just like any modern messaging application does.

Beyond convenience, there is a real impact on team efficiency. When a customer service agent needs to find a specific conversation, searching by name is natural and immediate. Searching by phone number requires having the number at hand or remembering it, something that rarely happens in day-to-day work. Teams with a high volume of WhatsApp conversations notice the difference from the very first day of using the module.

How the WhatsApp Channel Name module works

The module's operation is deliberately simple. When Odoo receives a WhatsApp message and creates or updates the corresponding communication channel in Discuss, the module intercepts that process and performs a search in the res.partner model using the phone number associated with the channel. If it finds a match, it replaces the channel name — which by default would be the phone number — with the contact name stored in Odoo. All of this happens automatically and transparently for the user.

The integration relies on Odoo's native discuss.channel model, extending its behavior without replacing any core functionality. This means the rest of the messaging system continues to work exactly the same: messages are synchronized, notifications work, operator assignment is maintained, and any other module that interacts with Discuss does so without interference. The module does not add new tables to the database or modify existing workflows; it simply enriches the visual presentation of the channel.

Since name resolution occurs at the moment the channel is processed, there is no batch process or periodic synchronization to maintain. If the contact already exists in Odoo when the first message arrives, the name appears immediately. If the contact is created later — for example, because the agent registers it manually after the first interaction — the name will be updated the next time the channel is processed by the system.

Key features of the module

The main feature is the automatic resolution of contact names in WhatsApp channels. The module searches Odoo's contacts for the phone number associated with the channel and, if it finds a match, displays the name instead of the number. This applies to both individual and company contacts, respecting the contact hierarchy defined in your system. No special action is required for it to work: it is enough for the contact to exist in Odoo with its phone number correctly registered.

Another important characteristic is that the module requires no configuration after installation. There is no settings menu to explore, no parameters to fine-tune, and no exclusion lists to maintain. Once installed, it acts silently on all WhatsApp channels in the system. This makes it especially suitable for companies that do not want to add complexity to their Odoo instance, but simply want to correct a behavior that should have worked this way from the start. Compatibility with Odoo 18.0 ensures it works with the most recent version of the platform.

The module is also fully compatible with multi-company environments. In installations where several companies share the same Odoo database, each WhatsApp channel will correctly resolve the contact name regardless of which company the channel belongs to. This is relevant for business groups or agencies managing several brands from a single Odoo instance.

Installation and configuration of the module

Installing the WhatsApp Channel Name module follows the standard Odoo process. Access your Odoo 18.0 instance with a user that has administrator permissions. Go to the main menu and select Applications. In the search bar, type "WhatsApp Channel Name" and remove the "Applications" filter if it appears by default, so the search is broader. Locate the module in the results and click Install. Odoo will automatically manage the required dependencies (mail and whatsapp) if they are not already installed.

Once the installation is complete, no additional steps are necessary. There is no configuration menu for this module because it does not need one. You can verify it is working correctly by navigating to Discuss in the main menu and reviewing the list of existing WhatsApp channels. Channels that have a phone number associated with a contact in Odoo will now display that contact's name. For channels that already existed before installation, you may need to wait for a new message to arrive for the system to update the name, or you can do it manually by editing the channel name directly from Discuss.

The fundamental prerequisite is having the Odoo WhatsApp module installed and correctly configured, since WhatsApp Channel Name depends on it to function. If your company already uses WhatsApp through Odoo Discuss and simply suffers from the problem of numbers instead of names, installing this module is the logical and immediate step to solve it without any significant investment of time or resources.

Technical details of the WhatsApp Channel Name module

The main technical parameters of the module are presented below so you can evaluate its compatibility with your Odoo environment before proceeding with the installation.