Connect a branch's WhatsApp number through a Meta app so incoming messages become leads.
AvaroAI connects to WhatsApp through Meta’s developer platform. You create a Meta app for your business, add your branch’s phone number to it, and tell it to send incoming messages to AvaroAI, which turns them into leads. Setup takes about 30 minutes.
A Director opens WhatsApp from Organization > Integrations. The setup page has every step in detail, along with the values to copy into Meta.
What you need
- A Facebook account, used to sign in to Meta’s tools.
- A Meta Business portfolio for your company, which you can create for free.
- A phone number for the branch that can receive a text message, so Meta can send it a verification code.
A number can only be used in one place at a time. If the branch’s number is already used in the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app on a phone, you must first delete that WhatsApp account from the app’s account settings. Back up any chats you want to keep before you do this. Alternatively, use a new number for the branch.
Connect a branch
- Create a Meta app in the Meta App Dashboard, choosing the Connect with customers through WhatsApp use case.
- Add the branch’s phone number on the app’s API Setup page, and enter the code Meta sends to that number.
- Copy the app secret from the app’s App settings > Basic page into AvaroAI’s setup page. Treat it like a password: AvaroAI uses it to check that messages really come from Meta.
- Send messages to AvaroAI by entering the webhook values from AvaroAI’s setup page under WhatsApp > Configuration, then subscribing to the messages field.
- Connect the branch in the table on AvaroAI’s setup page, so AvaroAI can recognise its messages.
- Publish the app so its mode changes to Live. A new Meta app starts in development mode, where Meta does not deliver messages from your customers. Meta may first ask you to add a privacy policy link.
Test it
Send a WhatsApp message from your own phone to the branch’s number. About 30 minutes after your last message, a new lead appears for that branch.
Disconnect a branch
After you disconnect a branch, open WhatsApp > Configuration in your Meta app and remove the callback URL, or unsubscribe from the messages field. AvaroAI refuses messages for a disconnected number, and Meta keeps trying to resend them until the webhook is removed. Leads and messages AvaroAI has already received are kept.
