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Connecting Your Bot to WhatsApp Business API

Connecting Your Bot to WhatsApp Business API

2026-03-05

by Uri Walevski

This guide walks you through setting up the official WhatsApp Business API for your bot. At the end you'll paste a single token into your prompt2bot dashboard and the rest is automatic.

The API can reply freely within WhatsApp's 24-hour customer service window. To send scheduled or proactive messages outside that window, you also need a Meta-approved message template.

Note: Meta changes some menus and texts over time, so there might be slight variations. Talk to us if you have trouble.

Create an App for Your Business

  1. Go to developers.facebook.com/apps
  2. Create a new app. The app name should be the name of your service (we suspect it needs to be unique to avoid closure)
  3. Use case: select "Other"
  4. App type: select "Business"
  5. You can ignore the business portfolio prompt for now

Set a Privacy Policy

  1. In the left panel go to App > App Settings > Basic
  2. Set the Privacy Policy URL (you can use https://prompt2bot.com/privacy if you don't have your own)
  3. Save changes

Connect a WhatsApp Account

  1. In the app screen, set up WhatsApp
  2. You'll be prompted to create a business portfolio (or use an existing one)
  3. Fill in your email and business name, then submit
  4. You might need to wait about an hour if your account is "too new"
  5. In the app screen click on WhatsApp
  6. Select the business portfolio you created and click OK

Add Your Phone Number to the WhatsApp API

  1. Click on API Setup
  2. Under "Send and receive messages", click Add phone number
  3. The business name should match the portfolio
  4. The URL should be a website you created (we suspect it needs to be unique to avoid closure)
  5. Category: Entertainment
  6. Verify your number using a call or SMS
  7. Add a payment method in WhatsApp Manager for your number

Create a Permanent Access Token

  1. Go to business.facebook.com/latest/settings
  2. Navigate to System Users > New
  3. Name can be anything (e.g. prompt2bot), role should be Admin
  4. Click Create System User
  5. Click on the new system user and Assign Assets
  6. Select WhatsApp Accounts, find your WhatsApp Business Account, and give it Full Control
  7. Important: The WABA must be assigned as an asset before generating the token, otherwise the token won't have access
  8. Click Generate Token for the app, with expiration set to Never
  9. Permissions should include whatsapp_business_management and whatsapp_business_messaging
  10. Generate the token, copy it and save it somewhere safe

Find Your App Secret

  1. Go back to developers.facebook.com/apps and open your app
  2. In the left panel go to App Settings > Basic
  3. Next to App Secret, click Show
  4. Copy the app secret and save it somewhere safe

Find Your WhatsApp Business Account ID (WABA ID)

  1. Go to business.facebook.com and open your business
  2. Click on WhatsApp Manager in the left sidebar
  3. Click on your WhatsApp Business Account
  4. Look at the URL — it will contain something like business_id=XXXXX&asset_id=YYYYY
  5. The asset_id value is your WABA ID. Copy it — you'll need it during setup.

Connect to prompt2bot

Paste the system user token, app secret, and WABA ID into your bot's dashboard under Channels > WhatsApp for Business and click Connect. The webhook URL, verification, and app subscription are all set up automatically. A verification code will also be sent to your phone via SMS.

Register Your Phone Number

After connecting, you'll receive an SMS with a verification code. Enter the code in the dashboard and click "Verify & Register" to complete the setup. This registers your phone number with the WhatsApp Business API so it can send and receive messages.

If the code expires, click "Resend Code" to get a new one.

Optional: Scheduled and Proactive Messages

WhatsApp Business can only send free-form replies inside the 24-hour window after a user messages you. For scheduled reminders or proactive messages outside that window, create a message template in WhatsApp Manager and wait for Meta approval.

prompt2bot can create the default scheduled-task template for you from the WhatsApp integration skill. Ask the builder bot to create the WhatsApp task template after your number is connected. The default template is named prompt2bot_remote_task and contains one text variable for the message body.

Once Meta approves the template, scheduled WhatsApp Business tasks can use it automatically when there is no active 24-hour window.

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