Social Intents integrates with WhatsApp Business through the Meta Cloud API. Customers message your WhatsApp Business number, and conversations are routed to your team in Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Chat, or the Social Intents web inbox. This guide covers connecting your WhatsApp account and sending your first test message.
Pré-requisitos
- A Meta Business account (business.facebook.com)
- A phone number to register with WhatsApp Business (new or existing)
- A Social Intents account (Pro plan or higher recommended)
- At least one chat widget already created and connected to a team platform
Connecting WhatsApp
Open Outbound Settings
Go to Settings > Outbound Settings and click Connect WhatsApp. This opens Meta's embedded signup flow in a popup window.
Authorize with Facebook
Sign in to your Meta Business account and authorize Social Intents. Select the WhatsApp Business Account you want to use. If you do not have one, the signup flow creates one for you.
Register Your Phone Number
Select the phone number you want customers to message. This can be a new number or a number you already use with WhatsApp Business. Meta verifies the number during this step.
Automatic Configuration
Social Intents automatically registers your number with the Cloud API, subscribes to webhook events, and saves your credentials (Account ID, Phone Number ID, and access token). No manual API setup is needed.
Route to a Widget
In Outbound Settings, use the Route Inbound to Chat App dropdown to select which widget handles WhatsApp conversations. The widget you choose determines which team platform (Teams channel, Slack channel, or Google Chat space) receives the messages.
Test
Open WhatsApp on your personal phone and send a message to your business number. The message should appear in your team platform within seconds.
How WhatsApp Conversations Work
- A customer sends a WhatsApp message to your business number
- Meta delivers the message to Social Intents via webhook
- Social Intents routes it to your connected platform (Teams, Slack, Google Chat, or web inbox) as a new conversation
- Agents reply from their platform, and the response goes back to the customer via WhatsApp
- The full transcript is stored in your chat history and reports
Agents do not need a WhatsApp account or phone to respond. The experience is identical to handling a website chat - the only difference is a label indicating the conversation came from WhatsApp.
AI Chatbot with WhatsApp
When the widget handling WhatsApp has an AI chatbot enabled, the chatbot automatically responds to incoming WhatsApp messages. All chatbot features work the same as website chat - custom training data, AI actions, escalation to human agents, and conversation context. Configure your chatbot on the widget's Chatbot tab. See Connecting AI Engines.
Webhooks and Zapier
WhatsApp conversations trigger the same webhooks and Zapier integrations as website chats. When a WhatsApp conversation closes, the full transcript and visitor data are sent to your configured webhook URLs.
Perguntas frequentes
Does this cost extra beyond my Social Intents plan?
The Social Intents integration is included in your plan. However, Meta charges per-conversation fees for WhatsApp Business API usage. Check Meta's current pricing for WhatsApp Business conversations.
Can I use an existing WhatsApp Business number?
Yes. During Meta's embedded signup, you can select a number already registered with WhatsApp Business. If you want to keep using the WhatsApp Business App on your phone at the same time, enable coexistence mode.
What happens to messages when agents are offline?
If an AI chatbot is enabled, it responds immediately regardless of agent availability. If no chatbot is configured, messages wait until an agent comes online. Unlike website chat, there is no offline form for WhatsApp - messages queue until handled.