WhatsApp

oyehello puts AI agents on your own WhatsApp Business number. Customers message you and an agent answers them, any time of day, with the same flow builder, knowledge base and tools as your call agents. Your team takes over from the inbox whenever they want. You can also send approved templates: from a call (“I’ve just sent that to your WhatsApp”), from automations after a call or chat, from campaigns, and from your own systems through the API.

This page covers what WhatsApp needs and how to connect it. The rest of the WhatsApp guide:

Page	What it covers
Numbers	Add, verify, register, make live, stop and release numbers - several can be live at once, each with its own agent; quality, messaging limit and display name
Templates	Creating templates, variables, approval and statuses, marketing opt-in
WhatsApp agents	Building an agent that answers on WhatsApp, its settings, templates as tools, testing
Inbox and handoff	Taking over, the 24-hour window, media, Unassigned, your helpdesk, opt-outs
Campaigns and follow-ups	Messaging a list, follow-ups after a conversation, team alerts
Analytics, evals and billing	What you can measure, and what WhatsApp costs
Troubleshooting	Every error and status in plain words, and what to do

Where WhatsApp lives in the console

WhatsApp has its own section in the sidebar:

Item	What it is
Inbox	WhatsApp conversations only - live chats, the Unassigned queue and history (website and API chats stay in Chat → Chat inbox)
Campaigns	WhatsApp campaigns only (voice campaigns stay in Telephony → Campaigns)
Templates	Your message templates
Messages	Every WhatsApp message sent or received, with its status
Analytics	Delivery, replies, handoffs, ads and Meta fees
Settings	Connect with Meta, numbers, opt-out keywords and the account’s health

WhatsApp agents are built with every other agent, under Create → Agents.

The three rules WhatsApp sets

These are WhatsApp’s rules, not ours, and everything in the product follows them:

1. Your own account. Messages go out from your verified business number on your WhatsApp Business Account. Your brand, your number and your customer relationship stay yours.
2. Free replies only inside 24 hours. For 24 hours after a customer’s last message you (and your agent) can reply with any text, buttons, images or documents. Outside that window, and for any message you start, you can only send a template that Meta has approved in advance.
3. Two separate bills. Meta charges its message fees (per delivered template) to the payment method on your WhatsApp Business Account. oyehello charges each AI conversation from your wallet, at the same price as web chat. See What WhatsApp costs.

Connect WhatsApp

Go to WhatsApp → Settings. You need admin access to connect or change anything; other teammates see the status and a note saying only admins can change it.

Connect with Meta (recommended)

Click Connect with Meta. Meta’s own window opens: log in with Facebook, pick or create your business portfolio and WhatsApp Business Account, add or choose your number, and confirm it with the code Meta sends. Click Finish and come back - the card finishes the rest and ticks each step:

Step	What happens
WhatsApp account shared	Meta confirmed which WhatsApp Business Account you shared with us.
Number registered	Your number is registered with a two-step verification PIN we create (an admin can see it with Show PIN, for example to move the number later; every view is recorded). Where Meta allows it, the number’s messages are stored in India.
Linked to oyehello	Customer messages and delivery receipts start reaching oyehello. There is nothing to paste.
Payment method	Meta bills its message fees to a payment method on your WhatsApp account. Add one in WhatsApp Manager and click Check again, or Continue without it and add it later (Meta won’t deliver paid templates until it’s there).
Ready to send	Done.

If a step needs you, it says what to do in plain words and offers the button: enter the number’s existing PIN, verify the number by text or voice call, choose the number this workspace starts with (add more later on the Numbers card), add a number in WhatsApp Manager, or retry. The full list is on Troubleshooting.

When the connection is done, the card shows Next steps: create a template, give an agent this number, and test it on your phone.

Using the WhatsApp Business app on this number? Choose that option. Your phone keeps working: we import your contacts and up to 6 months of chat history (Meta gives us 24 hours - keep the app open and online; the account card shows the progress), the number is limited to 20 messages per second, and when you reply from the app, the AI steps back on that chat until someone hands it back in the inbox.

If Connect with Meta isn’t offered for your workspace, the card says why (not switched on yet, or Meta’s weekly limit on new businesses for a platform is reached) and the token form below opens instead.

Connect with a token (for developers)

Open Advanced: connect with a token. The box at the top lists what your developer needs: a Meta app with WhatsApp, a permanent system-user access token with the whatsapp_business_messaging and whatsapp_business_management permissions, the app secret, and the number’s phone number ID and WhatsApp Business Account ID (Meta App Dashboard → WhatsApp → API Setup).

• The access token and app secret are stored encrypted and never shown again; leave the field empty on later edits to keep the saved one.
• oyehello checks the token and phone number ID with Meta when you save.
• If saving says WhatsApp connection is temporarily unavailable on our side, nothing was saved and the problem is ours - contact support.

With a token connection you also set up the webhook yourself, so replies and delivery receipts arrive:

1. Enter your Meta App secret in the connection form and save.
2. Copy the Callback URL and Verify token from the Receive messages and delivery receipts card.
3. In the Meta App Dashboard, open WhatsApp → Configuration → Webhook, paste both, click Verify and save, then subscribe to the messages field.
4. oyehello also subscribes your WhatsApp Business Account to your app. If the card shows not subscribed, check that the token has whatsapp_business_management and click Re-subscribe.

Prove it works

Use Send a test message on the same page: pick an approved template, enter a WhatsApp number you control (country code first, like +919812345678) and a sample value for each variable. If it lands, the connection is marked verified.

Keep the connection healthy

The WhatsApp account card shows how you’re connected, whether Meta still accepts our access and when it expires, your payment method, billing currency, messaging limit (as “Up to 1,000 new customers a day”, shared by all your numbers), the last activity from WhatsApp, and each number’s quality, display name and India storage.

• Reconnect with Meta - Meta’s access can expire (typically after 60 days). We email owners and admins 14, 7 and 1 days before, and the button turns prominent. Reconnecting keeps your numbers, agents and history.
• Billing currency - an Indian business billed in another currency must move WhatsApp billing to INR before 31 December 2026; the card warns you.
• Disconnected by Meta - if your account was removed or deleted in Meta, the card says why and offers Reconnect.
• Disconnect - stops sending and receiving and deletes our access. Tick Also release the number if you’re moving it to another provider or the WhatsApp app (you’ll need its PIN).

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Next: Numbers →