Connecting WhatsApp to Chat
Connect your WhatsApp Business number and messages sent to it arrive in your chat inbox. The AI agent answers them first, just as it does on your website, and your team can step in and reply from the inbox. Customers see everything in WhatsApp.
HelpGuides uses your own Meta app and Meta's WhatsApp Cloud API. Meta bills your WhatsApp Business account directly for any messages that cost money. Replies within 24 hours of a customer's message are currently free.
Before you start
- Chat is set up and the messenger is switched on. See Getting started and setting up chat.
- You're an admin on your HelpGuides account, so you can change Messenger settings.
- You have a Meta Business portfolio (business.facebook.com) and access to Meta for Developers.
- In Meta for Developers, click Create app and choose the Business type, or the Connect with customers through WhatsApp use case.
- Pick your business portfolio when asked. Meta creates a WhatsApp Business account and a free test phone number for you.
- Open Use cases, then Customize on the WhatsApp use case.
To try it with the test number first, open Step 1. Try it out and add your own mobile number as a Recipient. Meta sends a code to your WhatsApp to confirm it. The test number can only exchange messages with numbers on this list. To use your real business number, add it under Step 2. Production setup, then Register your WhatsApp phone number.
2. Collect the four details
| Detail | Where to find it |
|---|
| Phone number ID | Next to the phone number in the WhatsApp use case. It's a long number, not the phone number itself. |
| WhatsApp Business account ID | Next to the phone number ID, sometimes labelled Messaging account ID. |
| Access token | For a quick test, click Generate token. It expires within a day. For everyday use, create a permanent token (see below). |
| App secret | App settings, then Basic. Click Show next to App secret and copy the 32 letters and numbers. |
Creating a permanent access token
- In Meta Business settings, open Users, then System users, and add a system user.
- Click Assign assets and give it your app and your WhatsApp account, with full control.
- Click Generate token, choose your app, set the token to never expire, and tick whatsapp_business_messaging and whatsapp_business_management.
- Copy the token straight away. Meta won't show it again.
3. Connect it in HelpGuides
- Open your project, then Inbox, then Messenger settings, and choose the WhatsApp tab.
- Paste the phone number ID, the WhatsApp Business account ID, the access token and the app secret.
- Click Connect.
HelpGuides checks the details with Meta before saving them. With the business account ID, it also subscribes your app to the account's messages for you. The token and app secret are encrypted and never shown again; the tab shows only the token's last four characters.
Once connected, the WhatsApp tab shows a Callback URL and a Verify token, each with a Copy button.
- In the Meta app, open the WhatsApp use case, then Step 2. Production setup, then Configure Webhooks. In some versions of the dashboard this is under Configuration.
- Paste the Callback URL and the Verify token, then click Verify and save.
- Under Webhook fields, find messages and click Subscribe. Without this, Meta verifies the address but never sends messages.
- Publish your app. While a Meta app is unpublished, Meta only sends the sample webhooks from its dashboard, not real messages. Fill in the privacy policy URL, icon and category under App settings, then Basic, and click Publish. Publishing doesn't make anything public, and an app that only uses your own WhatsApp account doesn't need App Review.
Send a WhatsApp message to your number. It appears in the inbox within a few seconds and the AI replies on WhatsApp. Reload the WhatsApp tab and it shows when Meta last called.
How WhatsApp conversations work
- The AI answers first, from the same knowledge sources, rules and guidance as on your website. See Configuring the Chat AI Agent.
- Buttons work. That helped, Not helpful and Talk to a person appear as WhatsApp reply buttons, and a closed conversation asks for a 1 to 5 star rating from a list.
- Answers are formatted for WhatsApp, with the articles they came from listed as links.
- Photos and documents can be sent both ways, up to 10 MB. Voice notes and videos are noted in the conversation but not stored.
- One thread per customer. A customer's messages continue their latest conversation while it's open, or closed less than 24 hours ago. After that, a new conversation starts with the AI.
- No email needed. Replies reach customers on WhatsApp, so the AI never asks them for an email address and no follow-up emails are sent.
- Translation, teams and alerts work as they do for the website. See Translating Chat Conversations and Chat Notifications and Teams.
Replying from the inbox
WhatsApp conversations show a green WhatsApp mark in the inbox list and header. Reply, take over, assign, snooze and close them as usual. See Using the Chat Inbox.
- Delivery. Under each message your team or the AI sends, the inbox shows Sent, Delivered or Read on WhatsApp. If WhatsApp refused it, Not delivered on WhatsApp says why.
- The 24-hour window. WhatsApp only lets a business reply freely within 24 hours of the customer's last message. The composer shows when the window closes. After that, a banner explains it and you can add notes until the customer writes again.
- Contact details. The details panel shows the customer's WhatsApp number and profile name.
- You can't start a WhatsApp conversation from the inbox. The customer writes first.
What isn't available on WhatsApp yet
- Template messages, for writing to a customer first or after the 24-hour window.
- Proactive messages, check-ins, Visitors online and page context, which depend on your website.
- Blocking a number, and sending WhatsApp customers to DailyStory as leads.
Troubleshooting
Messages don't arrive in the inbox
- Check the app is published, and that messages is subscribed under Webhook fields.
- Check the app secret. It must be the 32-character secret of the same app that issued the token. If in doubt, click Reset in Meta and reconnect with the new one.
- Check the messenger is switched on in Project settings, then General.
- With the test number, check your phone is on the Recipient list.
Replies show "Not delivered on WhatsApp"
The reason is shown under the message. The usual causes are an expired access token (reconnect with a permanent one) and the 24-hour window. For other chat problems, see Troubleshooting Chat.