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Connect a WhatsApp Business Account
Connect a WhatsApp Business account so your AI sales assistant can handle customer messages through one of the world's most popular messaging platforms — meeting customers where they're already comfortable.
At a glance
| You need | Where | Result |
|---|---|---|
| An assistant to connect | Channels → your assistant → WhatsApp | Assistant selected for WhatsApp |
| A WhatsApp Business account | WhatsApp's embedded signup | Account authorized to MyChatBot |
| Reply delay, voice replies, templates | The WhatsApp settings panel | Natural, tuned responses |
| The bot switched on | Happens by itself for a new number; otherwise the Connect agent to this channel toggle | Assistant starts replying |
Connect in 4 steps:
- Open Channels and select your assistant.
- Open the WhatsApp channel and click Connect WhatsApp.
- Complete WhatsApp's embedded signup (select or create a WhatsApp Business account, then authorize).
- Confirm the connected business (WABA) and phone number appear. A new number switches itself on; if Connect agent to this channel is still off, turn it on.
In the app
Everything on this page lives under Channels → your assistant → WhatsApp. App URL: https://app.mychatbot.app/channels
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No WhatsApp Business account yet? You can create one inline during the embedded signup flow — no need to set it up beforehand.
Which WhatsApp channel?
MyChatBot offers two different WhatsApp channels. Pick the one that matches your setup.
| Channel | What it is | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Official WhatsApp Business Platform, connected through WhatsApp's embedded signup. A number already on the WhatsApp Business app can be connected and keep working in the app | Businesses that want an official Business account, templates, and voice replies | |
| Personal WhatsApp | Links your own phone's WhatsApp by scanning a QR code (like adding a linked device) | Quick start with an existing personal number |
This page covers the official WhatsApp channel. For the QR-code option, open the Personal WhatsApp channel instead.
Start the connection
- Go to Channels and select the assistant you want to connect.
- Open the WhatsApp channel.
- Click Connect WhatsApp.
Authorize your WhatsApp Business account
Clicking Connect WhatsApp opens WhatsApp's embedded signup:
- Sign in and select your existing WhatsApp Business account, or follow the prompts to create one.
- Complete the authorization steps.
- You're returned to the MyChatBot dashboard.
Once authorized, the panel shows your connected business account (WABA) name and its phone number, and the button changes to Revoke token.
Finish the connection in the same browser where you pressed Connect WhatsApp. Otherwise you see "We couldn't confirm this WhatsApp connection was started here. Start it again from the WhatsApp tab in this browser."
If the number is live in another MyChatBot account, connecting it here switches it off there; its earlier chats stay in that account.
Connecting from a phone
On some phones Facebook's app takes over this step and doesn't bring you back. MyChatBot then shows a note above Connect WhatsApp (for example "Facebook opened its app instead") with a Try again button. It's usually quickest to open app.mychatbot.app on a computer and connect from there.
Configure settings
After connecting, tune how your assistant behaves in WhatsApp.
| Setting | What it does | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Reply Delay (s) | Waits this many seconds after a customer message before the assistant replies. A new number starts at 2 seconds | Makes conversations feel more human and lets customers finish a multi-message thought |
| Voice reply to voice message | When on, the assistant answers voice notes with a voice reply | Customers who prefer talking over typing |
| Voice (Select voice) | Picks the voice used for voice replies | Match your brand's tone; preview before choosing |
| Connect agent to this channel | Switches the assistant on or off for WhatsApp | Turn on to go live; turn off to pause without disconnecting |
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The Voice dropdown is only active when Voice reply to voice message is turned on.
Message templates
MyChatBot doesn't send approved WhatsApp message templates yet; they're coming. The channel's Saved texts (not WhatsApp templates) section stores named texts for this channel. They are saved in MyChatBot only — they are not submitted to Meta for approval, so they can't be used to message a customer outside WhatsApp's 24-hour window (see below).
| Action | Where |
|---|---|
| Add a saved text | Add saved text → enter a Name and Message Content |
| Edit a saved text | Select it from the list → Edit |
| Delete a saved text | Select it → Delete |
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Give each saved text a clear name so your team can tell them apart at a glance.
The 24-hour messaging window
WhatsApp only allows a free-form message within 24 hours of the customer's last message. After that only an approved template reaches the customer, until they write again.
- The chat shows the time left above the message box: "WhatsApp allows replies here for another …". It turns amber in the last 6 hours, and red once the window has closed.
- Past the window, MyChatBot doesn't send the message. Follow-ups, trigger outreach, immediate outreach and messages sent through Claude are stopped with the reason on the chat, and a reply typed in the dashboard is refused with the same reason. Claude is told "WhatsApp only allows a free-form message within 24 hours of the customer's last message; this needs a WhatsApp template (coming soon)".
- If WhatsApp refuses a message anyway, it's marked in the chat with "More than 24 hours have passed since the customer's last message — WhatsApp only allows a free-form reply after the customer writes again", and the account owner gets an email about it, at most one a day.
The conversation continues as soon as the customer writes again.
Activate the integration
A new number switches itself on when the connection finishes: "WhatsApp is connected. Your assistant now answers your WhatsApp messages." If that step fails, you see "WhatsApp is connected, but your assistant isn't answering yet. Turn on “Connect agent to this channel” to start." Then turn Connect agent to this channel on yourself. A number that was already connected keeps its on or off state when you connect it again.
While a connected number is switched off, the tab shows "Your assistant isn't answering on WhatsApp yet." with a Switch it on button.
Once it is on, your assistant handles customer messages through WhatsApp. To pause it, switch the toggle off. To fully disconnect, click Revoke token.
Revoking requires a new embedded signup
Revoke token disconnects the WhatsApp Business account from MyChatBot. You'll need to run the embedded signup again to reconnect.
Already using the WhatsApp Business app on this number?
You can keep the WhatsApp Business app on your phone and connect the same number. Your team keeps answering from the app, and the assistant answers through MyChatBot on the same number.
- Click Connect WhatsApp. In WhatsApp's signup, choose Connect your existing WhatsApp Business app instead of adding a new number, and enter the number.
- On your phone, open the message from the Facebook Business Account and tap Connect (or open WhatsApp Business → Settings → Account → Business Platform). WhatsApp asks whether to share your chat history and contacts; MyChatBot does not import them yet, so either answer is fine.
- Back in MyChatBot, confirm the number appears. A new number switches on by itself; if Connect agent to this channel is off, turn it on.
Replies your team types in the app show up in the MyChatBot chat as the manager's messages, so the assistant sees them.
Some customers use a WhatsApp username and reach you without a phone number. See Customers with a WhatsApp username.
A reply from the app also pauses the assistant in a chat it is answering, so it doesn't answer over you. The app's own greeting and away messages, notices a store system sends from your number to many customers (sign-in codes, cart reminders, order updates), and reactions don't pause it. The assistant takes the chat back after 10 minutes without a reply from you. If the customer wrote in the meantime, it answers them; if it has nothing to add, it stays quiet. Every reply you send from the app starts the 10 minutes again, and so does every new message from the customer. The chat stays with you if the assistant or the channel is switched off by then. To change the minutes, or to keep these chats with you, go to Agents → your assistant → Settings → Handoff Control → Replies from the WhatsApp Business app. If the assistant uses a stop word, the stop word decides instead.
A chat that is already with a person stays that way when you reply from the app: the assistant or a stop word handed it over, a manager took it in the dashboard, someone switched its AI off, or it is marked as spam. Your reply starts no 10 minutes there. Auto return from handoff brings it back as before, if it's on. Your reply also takes the chat out of Needs attention and counts as a person's answer, as a reply from the dashboard does (a spam chat is left as it is). From then on, as after a dashboard reply, Switch back to AI, a funnel stage set to Automatically enable agent on this status, or a follow-up scheduled for the chat can hand it back to the assistant.
What WhatsApp changes in the app when a number is shared with a platform: disappearing and view-once messages are turned off in one-to-one chats, broadcast lists become read-only, and linked companion devices are unlinked (link them again). Groups, calls, the catalog, labels and quick replies keep working in the app but are not visible to the assistant.
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The app must be a recent version of WhatsApp Business (2.24.17 or later), and the number must not already be connected to another platform.
Customers with a WhatsApp username
WhatsApp lets people use a username instead of showing their phone number. When such a customer writes to you, Meta includes their phone number only if your WhatsApp number messaged them, or heard from them, in the last 30 days, or if they are in your business's contact book (see below). Otherwise MyChatBot gets the customer's name, username and a WhatsApp ID, but no phone number.
| Situation | What you see in MyChatBot |
|---|---|
| You already have a chat with the customer, and Meta has sent their number and their ID together at least once | Their messages keep arriving in that chat, also when Meta later leaves the number out |
| Their first message comes without a phone number | A new chat with their WhatsApp name and username and no phone number. The conversation continues in this chat |
| Meta shares their number later | The number is added to that customer's card and to the chat, and replies go to the number. The conversation stays in the same chat |
| The customer changes their phone number | The chat follows them. Their next messages arrive in the same chat, and replies go to their new number, or to their new WhatsApp ID when Meta can't share the number. The chat's phone number changes to the new one when Meta shares it |
The assistant's replies, your team's replies, follow-ups and outreach reach a customer in a chat without a phone number, on the same WhatsApp number and under WhatsApp's usual 24-hour rule.
Until the number is known, anything that looks customers up by phone number doesn't find this chat: matching with your CRM, lead forms, and outreach to a phone number.
Ask customers for their phone number
If you rely on phone numbers, switch on Ask customers without a phone number to share it in the WhatsApp channel settings. It is off unless you switch it on.
When it's on and a customer reaches you without a phone number, the assistant answers them as usual and then sends one message that asks them to share their number. WhatsApp adds a button to it, and one tap shares the number. The customer can also ignore it.
- Each customer is asked at most once, right after the assistant's reply, while WhatsApp's 24-hour window is open.
- Customers whose number you already have are never asked.
- When the customer taps the button, the number is added to their card and to the chat, and replies go to it. The chat shows that they shared it.
- The request doesn't use one of your replies.
A customer who already had a chat with you and then switches to a username can end up with a second chat, if their first message after the switch comes without a phone number.
Messages missed from 20 to 31 October 2026
Until 31 October 2026, MyChatBot didn't read WhatsApp messages that came without a phone number. Messages from customers with a username, and your replies to them from the WhatsApp Business app, never reached MyChatBot, so the assistant didn't answer them. Meta doesn't send these messages again, but they are still in your WhatsApp Business app.
Keep Meta's contact book switched on
Meta keeps a contact book for your business. It remembers the phone numbers of the customers your WhatsApp numbers talk with, from April 2026 on, and while it is on Meta keeps sending those customers' numbers after they switch to a username. It is on by default and needs no setup. Don't switch it off in Meta Business Suite → Business settings → Business info: switching it off deletes what Meta stored, and Meta then sends fewer phone numbers.
Buttons and lists in replies
Your assistant can show a customer a few options to tap instead of type, such as Pickup, Delivery and Book a table. Switch it on per assistant in Settings → Reply & Tools → Channel Representation → Tappable options on WhatsApp. It is off unless you switch it on.
When it's on and the customer is to pick one of a few clear options, the assistant shows them under its reply:
| Options | How they look |
|---|---|
| 1 to 3, each up to 20 characters | Buttons under the message |
| 4 to 10, or with a short description | A list the customer opens with one button |
| More than 10 | A numbered list in the text |
- A tap reaches the assistant as the option's name, as if the customer had typed it.
- In the chat history, the reply shows its options as a numbered list.
- Buttons and lists are ordinary replies: they go out only within WhatsApp's 24-hour window, need no template approval and cost nothing extra.
- When buttons can't go out (the window is closed, or you switched the setting off since), the reply goes out with its numbered list instead.
- The assistant chooses when to offer options. To steer it, say so in its instructions, for example: "When a guest says hello, offer Pickup, Delivery and Book a table."
- Buttons appear only on this WhatsApp channel, in replies to a customer's message. Follow-ups, the test chat and Personal WhatsApp get plain text.
Personal WhatsApp (QR-code channel)
The separate Personal WhatsApp channel links your own phone's WhatsApp as a linked device — no Business account needed.
Connect it:
- Open Channels → your assistant → Personal WhatsApp.
- In the Phone Number field, enter your number in international format (e.g.,
+1 212 555 0123) and click Get QR code. Generating the code may take up to 2 minutes or more. - On your phone, open WhatsApp → Settings → Linked devices → Link a device → Link with QR code, and scan the QR shown in MyChatBot. If the code looks stale, click Refresh QR.
- Can't scan (for example, you're on the same phone)? Click Link with phone number instead to get a code. On the phone, go to Settings → Linked devices → Link a device, tap Link with phone number instead under the camera, and enter the code. The code expires — use Get a new code if it does; the page updates by itself once the phone is linked.
- While a QR code or a code is on screen, the card reminds you: "Once it's linked, keep WhatsApp open on your phone for about 2 minutes, and don't remove the linked device." WhatsApp sometimes logs a number out in the first minutes after linking, so keep the app open.
- Watch the status block. While the status isn't Authorized, the Connect agent toggle stays disabled.
- Once Authorized, turn on Connect agent to this channel (webhook setup runs automatically). Use Revoke channel to remove the connection at any time.
Status meanings:
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Not authorized | Scan the QR code shown below the form in WhatsApp. |
| Authorized | Connected — the assistant can go live. |
| Starting service… | The connection is booting; wait up to ~5 minutes. |
| Phone is offline / sleep mode | Your phone lost connectivity. After turning it on, the status may update within ~5 minutes. |
| Account is blocked | WhatsApp has blocked the account — the channel can't send or receive. |
| Sending is temporarily restricted due to spam | Outgoing messages queue for 24h. Try revoking and reconnecting the channel. |
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Like the official channel, Personal WhatsApp has its own Reply Delay (s) setting next to the Connect agent to this channel toggle. A new number starts at 2 seconds.
Groups and reactions:
- The assistant does not answer in WhatsApp groups your number is in. Group messages are saved in the group's chat, but the assistant stays quiet there and no follow-ups are sent into a group.
- An emoji reaction is not a new message. It shows on the message it was added to and in the chat's activity. The assistant answers a reaction only when it was added to one of the assistant's own replies, and at most once until the customer writes again. Reactions you add from your own phone are not saved in the chat.
If WhatsApp logs your number out:
- The assistant stops answering on that number right away.
- About 10 minutes later, if the number is still logged out, you get an alert: "WhatsApp number disconnected: scan the code again". It comes in the app's Notifications, by email, as a push notification (if you turned those on) and in the assistant's Flight Control group. If you link the number again within those 10 minutes, no alert is sent.
- The alert's link opens this assistant's Personal WhatsApp card, where you scan the QR code again. Your setup is kept for 7 days.
- Removing a number yourself with Revoke channel sends no alert.
Instructions from your own phone
Both WhatsApp channels can take instructions from the people who run the business. Add the owner's or a manager's phone as a control number under Agents → your assistant → Settings → Flight Control: when that phone writes or sends a voice note to the assistant's number ("The burger is sold out today"), the assistant confirms it and applies it in every customer chat until it is cancelled or ends. Replies your team types in the WhatsApp Business app on the business number stay replies to that customer. Pro plan and above; see Control numbers.
See also
- Build an agent
- Control numbers — give the assistant instructions from your own phone.