WhatsApp Business
Feature Release
This is the announcement for an upcoming ASAPP feature. Your ASAPP account team will provide a target release date and can direct you to more detailed information as needed.
Overview
ASAPP is expanding messaging channel support to WhatsApp Business! Enterprises will now be able to direct customers to WhatsApp to interact with their virtual agent and have conversations with live agents.
Use and Impact
Similar to ASAPP’s integrations with Apple Messages for Business and Google Business Messages, support for WhatsApp Business gives enterprises the ability to offer more of their customers robust messaging experiences in their preferred app. This expanded support is intended to create appeal for avid WhatsApp users, encouraging them to select a messaging channel more often and to have more satisfying interactions in a familiar setting.
How It Works
ASAPP’s integration with WhatsApp Business supports similar functionality to what is available in other customer channels. At an overview level, see below for supported and unsupported features: Support included:
- Automated flows
- Deeplinked entry points
- Free-text disambiguation
- Estimated wait time
- Live chat with agents
- Push notifications
- Secure forms
- End-of-chat feedback forms Not currently supported:
- Customer authentication
- Customer history
- Chat Instead entry point
- Customer attributes for routing
- Customer typing preview for agents, typing indicator for customers
- Images sent by customers
- Carousels, attachment, images in automated flows
- New question/welcome back prompts
- Proactive messaging
- Co-browsing
[Integration documentation is published here](./messaging-plat. Reach out to your ASAPP account contact to get started with WhatsApp Business. They can also advise on specific expected behaviors for virtual agent and live chat features in WhatsApp Business as needed.
FAQs
- What are the basic setup steps for WhatsApp Business? Enterprises start by creating a general Business Manager (BM) account with Meta and verify their business. While this happens, ASAPP deploys backend services in support of the integration. After creating a BM account, completing business verification, and registering phone numbers, you can then create an official WhatsApp Business Account via the embedded signup flow in AI-Console. After setup, your ASAPP account team will work with you on modifying automated flows for use in WhatsApp and coordinate lower environment testing once changes are complete. The final step is to create entry point URL links and QR codes in the WhatsApp Business dashboard, and insert entry points as needed in your customer-facing web and social properties.
- How will my current automated flows be displayed in WhatsApp Business? The WhatsApp customer experience is distinct from ASAPP SDKs in several ways - some elements are displayed differently while others are not supported. Elements that are displayed differently use message text with links - this includes buttons for quick replies and external links. Similarly, both (a) forms sent by agents and (b) feedback forms at the end of chat also send messages with links to a separate page to complete the survey, after which time users are redirected back to WhatsApp. Quick replies in WhatsApp also have different limitations from ASAPP SDKs, supporting a maximum of three quick replies per node and 20 characters per quick reply. Your ASAPP account team will work with you to implement intent routing and flows to account for nodes with unsupported elements, such as authentication and attachments.
- Will agents know they are chatting with a customer using WhatsApp? Yes. Agents will see the WhatsApp icon in the left-hand panel of Agent Desk.
- Where can I learn more about WhatsApp Business? Visit business.whatsapp.com for official reference material about this customer channel
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