WhatsApp

Overview

The WhatsApp channel connects your ChatSpark AI agent to a WhatsApp Business phone number. Once connected, your agent responds to every incoming WhatsApp message automatically. Customers get instant answers and the full conversation history syncs to your ChatSpark dashboard.

WhatsApp reaches over 2 billion people worldwide. For businesses with a mobile-first customer base or international audience, it is often the highest-engagement channel available.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have all of the following in place.

Meta Business Account (Verified)

This is the most common blocker. To access the WhatsApp Business API, your Meta Business account must be verified by Meta. Verification is a separate process from creating the account and can take several days.

To check your verification status, go to Meta Business Settings and look for the Business Verification section. If your account is not yet verified, start that process before continuing. You cannot connect WhatsApp without it.

WhatsApp Business API Access (Cloud API)

ChatSpark connects via the WhatsApp Cloud API, which is different from the standard WhatsApp Business mobile app. These are two separate products.

• The WhatsApp Business app is the free mobile app for small businesses. It does not support third-party API connections like ChatSpark.
• The WhatsApp Cloud API is accessed through your Meta Business account and supports integrations. This is what ChatSpark uses.

If you have not set up WhatsApp Cloud API access yet, go to Meta Business Suite and follow the WhatsApp setup flow under your business account. Your phone number must be registered with the Cloud API, not just the WhatsApp Business app.

Approved Phone Number

You need a phone number registered and approved in your WhatsApp Business Account inside Meta Business Suite. A few things to know:

• The number cannot already be registered on the standard WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app. If it is, you need to delete it from that app first.
• The number must be capable of receiving a verification code via SMS or voice call.
• The number must be registered with the WhatsApp Cloud API specifically, not just the WhatsApp Business app.

The number must also have a status of Connected inside your WhatsApp Business Account. A number that was added but whose setup was not fully completed will show as Pending in Meta Business Manager. ChatSpark only recognizes numbers in Connected status. If your number is Pending, complete the remaining steps in Meta to activate it before connecting to ChatSpark.

Personal Facebook Account with Business Admin Access

The connection process uses Meta's Embedded Signup, which opens a guided popup where you authorize ChatSpark to access your WhatsApp Business Account. You log in during this popup with your personal Facebook account, not a business email address.

That personal account must have admin access to the Meta Business account that owns your WhatsApp setup. If you log in with the wrong account, the popup will complete but no phone numbers will be found.

Setup Instructions

Step 1: Create Your Agent

1. Go to AI Agents in your ChatSpark dashboard
2. Click Create Agent
3. In the Settings tab, find the AI Agent Type dropdown
4. Select Whatsapp
5. Fill in your agent name, personality, and any other settings you want to configure

Step 2: Connect Your WhatsApp Business Account

1. Scroll down in the Settings tab to find the WhatsApp Integration section
2. Click Connect WhatsApp
3. Meta's Business Integration popup opens. Log in with your personal Facebook account that has admin access to your Meta Business account
4. Inside the popup, Meta's guided setup walks you through:
   • Selecting your Meta Business account
   • Choosing or confirming your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA)
   • Granting ChatSpark permission to send and receive messages
5. Complete the steps Meta shows and then close the popup when prompted

Step 3: Select Your Phone Number

1. After the popup closes, a Phone Number dropdown will appear showing the phone number(s) connected to your WhatsApp Business Account
2. Select the number you want this agent to use

Step 4: Train and Save

1. Add training data on the Training tab so your agent knows how to respond
2. Click Save to activate the agent

Your agent is now live on WhatsApp. Send a message to the connected phone number to test it.

How It Works

When a customer sends a WhatsApp message to your connected number, Meta forwards it to ChatSpark through the WhatsApp Cloud API. ChatSpark processes the message through your agent and sends the response back through the same channel. The customer sees the reply directly in WhatsApp.

All conversations are visible in your ChatSpark Conversations dashboard with full transcript history.

Connection and Token Expiry

When you complete the connection, ChatSpark stores an access token from Meta that allows it to send and receive messages on your behalf. The lifetime of this token depends on how ChatSpark's Meta integration is configured:

• System User Token — does not expire. This is the recommended configuration for production use. If ChatSpark is set up with a System User Token configuration, your connection stays active indefinitely.
• User Access Token — expires after 60 days. If your token expires, the agent will stop responding on WhatsApp. You can reconnect by clicking Connect WhatsApp again and completing the popup.

If you are unsure which configuration is in use, contact ChatSpark support.

Troubleshooting

The connection popup fails or shows an error

Make sure you are logging in with your personal Facebook account, not a business email. Also confirm your Meta Business account is verified. Both of these are required before the connection can succeed.

No phone numbers appear after connecting

This usually means your phone number is registered with the WhatsApp Business app rather than the WhatsApp Cloud API, which is a separate registration. Open Meta Business Suite, navigate to your WhatsApp setup, and confirm the number is registered under the Cloud API. Once confirmed, click Connect WhatsApp again. If the number is registered under the Cloud API but its status is not Connected, see the next section.

Phone number shows in Meta but does not appear in ChatSpark

Your number may be in Pending status. This can happen when a number was added to your WhatsApp Business Account but the setup was not fully completed in Meta Business Manager. Open your WhatsApp setup in Meta Business Manager, find the phone number, and look for a Verify button or a pending status indicator. Complete any remaining steps to move the number to Connected status, then click Connect WhatsApp in ChatSpark again.

If the number shows Connected in Meta but still does not appear in ChatSpark, confirm it is registered under the WhatsApp Cloud API and not just the WhatsApp Business app. See the section above for details.

Agent is connected but messages are not getting responses

Check that your agent has training data added and has been saved. An agent with no training data will not respond. Also confirm the phone number selected in the dropdown matches the number your customers are messaging.

Connected to the wrong Meta Business account

Click Connect WhatsApp again to re-authorize. During the popup, select the correct Meta Business account. If you are logged into multiple Facebook accounts in your browser, log out of all of them first, then log back in with the correct personal account before connecting.

Agent stopped responding after some time

Your connection token may have expired. Click Connect WhatsApp again to complete the authorization and restore the connection. If this keeps happening, contact support to confirm whether your account uses a non-expiring System User Token.