WhatsApp Bot — Connect Your Business Number
WhatsApp Bot — Connect Your Business Number
Connect your WhatsApp Business number to Botaura, and your customers can chat with your AI assistant directly on WhatsApp. The bot uses the same knowledge base as your web widget — same intelligence, just on a different channel.
Prerequisites
- A Meta Business Account (create one at business.facebook.com if you don't have one)
- A WhatsApp Business API phone number (or you'll create one during setup)
- Your Botaura account (any plan — WhatsApp Q&A works on all plans including Free)
Connecting Your Number
There are two ways to connect a number — white-glove (our team does it) and self-serve Embedded Signup (you do it in a couple of minutes). Which options you see depends on where you're connecting from.
From the Botaura Dashboard → white-glove
On Dashboard → Connect WhatsApp, connection is white-glove: click the contact button and it opens a WhatsApp chat to our onboarding team, who set up your WhatsApp Business Account and connect your number for you. Once linked, the page shows a green "Connected" status with your number.
Why not self-serve here? The self-serve button is intentionally kept off the dashboard so a client can't accidentally re-run signup and overwrite a number our team already set up manually.
From the WooCommerce / Shopify apps → choose either
Inside the store apps, the Connect WhatsApp screen offers a choice:
- Connect it yourself (Embedded Signup) — the fast option. Launches Meta's secure signup, you pick or create your WhatsApp Business Account and verify your number, and you're done in a couple of minutes. Best if you already have a Meta Business account. (The signup opens in a new top-level browser tab, because Meta's login can't run inside an embedded window — finish it there and the screen updates automatically when you return.)
- Let our team set it up (white-glove) — tell us your number and any details; we handle the Meta setup. Best if you don't have a Meta Business account yet. Your request is tracked and we follow up.
Either way, once connected Botaura automatically registers the required message templates with Meta (order confirmation, status update, COD).
Overwrite Protection
Once a number is connected, self-serve reconnect is disabled everywhere — you'll see the Connected state and a "contact support to change" note instead. This protects a manually (white-glove) set-up number from being clobbered by accident.
Multiple Numbers
You can connect more than one WhatsApp number to the same business. Where it matters (like the inbox and usage), you can filter by number. One number is marked as your primary.
How the WhatsApp Bot Works
Inbound Messages
When a customer messages your WhatsApp number:
- The message is received via Meta's webhook
- Botaura identifies which business the number belongs to
- The customer record is created or updated
- The bot generates a reply using your knowledge base (same RAG pipeline as web)
- The reply is sent back via WhatsApp
Language Handling
The bot replies in the customer's language. If they write in Roman Urdu, it replies in Roman Urdu. If they write in Urdu script, it replies in Roman Urdu (easier to read on mobile). English messages get English replies.
WhatsApp-Specific Behavior
- Plain text only — no markdown, no tables, no JSON blocks. Short, clean messages.
- 2-5 lines max — the bot keeps WhatsApp replies concise
- No product cards — instead of JSON cards, the bot mentions products in plain text: "Lawn Suite — Rs 4,500"
The 24-Hour Service Window
Meta enforces a 24-hour customer service window. This means:
- Within 24 hours of the customer's last message — the bot can send free-form text and interactive messages
- After 24 hours — only pre-approved templates can be sent (e.g., order confirmations, status updates)
Botaura handles this automatically. You never need to worry about window violations — the bot checks the window before every send and uses templates when needed.
Human Handoff (Business+)
When a customer asks to speak to a human (in any language — "agent se baat karao", "I want to talk to someone"), the bot:
- Acknowledges the request
- Marks the conversation as "needs human attention"
- Sends you a notification in the dashboard
- Stops auto-replying to that conversation
You can then reply manually from Dashboard → Conversations. When you're done, set the conversation back to "bot" mode and the AI takes over again.
WhatsApp Features by Plan
| Feature | Free | Pro | Business | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI Q&A Replies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Human Handoff | Static fallback | Static fallback | Full inbox | Full inbox |
| WhatsApp Orders | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| COD Confirmation | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Customer Segments | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Lead Capture | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Broadcast Campaigns | No | No | No | Yes |
| Cart Recovery | No | No | No | Yes |
Message Limits
WhatsApp bot replies count toward your monthly message limit (same pool as web chat). When you hit the limit, the bot stops replying and the customer sees a polite message that the service is temporarily unavailable.
- Free: 500 messages/month
- Pro: 10,000 messages/month
- Business: 20,000 messages/month
- Growth: 30,000 messages/month
In-progress order and COD flows are not limit-gated — if a customer is mid-order, the flow completes even if the message limit is hit.
WhatsApp Usage & Costs
Go to Dashboard → WhatsApp Usage to see:
- Inbound and outbound message counts for the current month
- Message breakdown by category (service, utility, marketing)
- Estimated cost in PKR (indicative — based on Meta's rate card)
- Plan usage percentage
Important: WhatsApp message costs are billed by Meta directly to your Meta Business Account. Botaura never charges for WhatsApp messages — we only charge the platform subscription.
Troubleshooting
Bot not replying
- Check that your number shows "Connected" in Settings → WhatsApp
- Check your message limit in Dashboard → Pricing
- If the conversation is in "Human" mode, set it back to "Bot" in the inbox
Messages not delivering
- Check WhatsApp Usage for failed sends
- The customer may have blocked your number
- Template messages need Meta approval — check template status in Dashboard → Templates
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