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WhatsApp Business API

In one sentence

The WhatsApp Business API is Meta's business access to WhatsApp. It connects a company number to software such as a CRM, helpdesk or phone system, so several people can answer customers and messages sit alongside other channels.

Also known as : WhatsApp Business API · WhatsApp API · WhatsApp Business Platform · WhatsApp Cloud API

What is the WhatsApp Business API?

Plenty of small businesses start with the free WhatsApp Business app on a shop phone. It works while one person answers. Once sales, support and an evening shift all need the same number, the handset by the till becomes the bottleneck, and nobody can see what a colleague already said.

The WhatsApp Business API, which Meta now calls the WhatsApp Business Platform, solves that. It has no screen of its own: it is a programming interface that software uses to send and receive messages for a business number. That software might be a helpdesk, a CRM or a contact centre platform.

How it works

  1. The business sets up a WhatsApp Business account in Meta’s Business Manager, verifies the company and registers a phone number.
  2. A provider, or the business’s own developers, connects that number to their software through the Cloud API hosted by Meta.
  3. When a customer messages first, a 24-hour customer service window opens. Agents can reply freely with text, images or documents.
  4. To start a conversation, or to write after the window closes, you must use a message template approved by Meta and assigned a category: marketing, utility or authentication.

Marketing messages still need the recipient’s consent under PECR in the UK, as with A2P SMS, and conversations that hold personal data fall under GDPR.

Example

An estate agency in Bristol gets most first contacts from tenants on WhatsApp. It connects its office landline to the API: messages land in a shared inbox, lettings staff pick up enquiries about viewings, and property managers handle repair reports with photos attached. When a repair is booked, the maintenance system sends a utility template with the date. Tenants who would rather talk call the same number and reach the phone system.

The WhatsApp Business API at Universal Telecom

Our WhatsApp page explains how a team can share WhatsApp in the same tool as its calls. If you want an automated assistant to handle part of the conversations, that is AI and lives with our sister brand: see AI agents on utio.io. For one-way notifications, A2P SMS remains an option.

Frequently asked questions

Is the WhatsApp Business API free?

Replying to customers inside the 24-hour service window is not charged by Meta. Marketing and authentication templates, and utility templates sent outside that window, are charged per message at rates that depend on the category and the recipient's country. Your software provider may add its own fees.

Can I use my landline number on WhatsApp?

Yes. A landline can be registered if it can receive the verification code by voice call and is not already in use on another WhatsApp account. Customers then message the same number they already call.

Do I still need the WhatsApp Business app?

Not for a team set-up. The app suits a sole trader answering from one phone. The API has no interface of its own and is used through software that gives several agents access to the same number.

Related terms

  • A2P SMS

    A2P (application-to-person) SMS is a text message sent automatically by software to a mobile user, such as a one-time passcode, delivery update, appointment reminder or marketing offer, through a messaging platform connected to mobile networks.

  • CPaaS

    CPaaS (communications platform as a service) is a cloud service that provides communication building blocks, such as voice calls, SMS, WhatsApp, video and phone numbers, as APIs that developers embed in their own applications.

  • CRM integration

    CRM integration connects a business phone system to customer relationship management software, so the caller's record opens when they ring, staff dial with one click and every call is logged automatically.

  • Contact centre

    A contact centre is the team, processes and software that handle customer conversations across several channels, such as phone, email, chat and messaging, using shared queues, agents and reporting.

  • CCaaS

    CCaaS (contact centre as a service) is cloud-hosted contact centre software. It receives calls, emails and messages, routes them to agents, manages queues and gives supervisors live dashboards and reports, on a per-agent subscription.

  • GDPR and telephony

    GDPR applies to business telephony whenever it handles personal data: phone numbers, call logs, recordings and voicemails. It requires a defined purpose and lawful basis, clear information for callers and staff, limited retention and safeguards from suppliers.

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