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Communication autonomy and channel controls
Autonomy is not one all-or-nothing switch. Clinics can keep the master control on while enabling only the external sources they actually want Menaela to handle.
Autonomy controls
| Control | What it governs |
|---|---|
| Master autonomy | Global gate for autonomous external execution. Turning it off blocks external autonomy while preserving the individual source settings. Staff Chat remains available. |
| WhatsApp — all inbound | Allows supported incoming WhatsApp conversations, including unknown senders that may enter the lead flow. |
| WhatsApp — known patients only | Allows autonomous WhatsApp only after the sender is matched to an existing patient. |
| Email leads | Allows eligible incoming lead events from connected email sources to trigger autonomous lead handling. |
| Meta lead forms | Allows eligible leads from connected Meta forms to trigger autonomous lead handling. |
| Patient Chat Test | Allows the built-in test conversation environment independently of production communication sources. |
Using a personal or mixed-use WhatsApp number safely
A connected WhatsApp number does not need to become an AI answering service for everyone who writes to it. In known-patients-only mode, sender identity is checked before the autonomous agent or model is invoked.
If the sender is not an existing patient, Menaela does not start an autonomous conversation and does not automatically create a lead from that WhatsApp message. Staff can still use the connected account manually.
This is what makes it practical for a solo practitioner to connect an existing WhatsApp account without handing unrelated private conversations to the clinic AI.
WhatsApp modes are mutually exclusive
All-inbound and known-patients-only are two different operating policies, not overlapping checkboxes. Selecting one defines how inbound WhatsApp is gated.
New-clinic defaults are intentionally conservative
A new clinic starts with the master autonomy control and Patient Chat Test available, while production communication sources remain off until the clinic deliberately enables them. This lets the team test Menaela before exposing live external channels.