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WhatsApp Business: connect numbers & manage templates

Connect your WhatsApp Business number to LogAI with Meta's Embedded Signup (or keep using the WhatsApp Business app with Coexistence), check each number's health, and create, submit and track message templates for Meta approval.

8 min read · Last updated 2026-10-21

Settings → Integrations → Whatsapp is where your organization connects WhatsApp Business numbers through Meta's official Cloud API, keeps them healthy, and manages the message templates your team, chatbots and workflows send. Once a number is connected, customer chats land in Chat under the WhatsApp filter and on each lead's profile, and you can send bulk WhatsApp broadcasts to leads. The page is marked Pro — see plans & billing.

Before you start

• A Facebook account that manages your business.
• A phone number that can receive an SMS or call for verification.
• Your legal business name and address.
• The WhatsApp Manage permission — without it the page shows “You need the WhatsApp "manage" permission to connect a number.”
• Pop-ups allowed for LogAI — Meta's signup opens in a pop-up window.

Connect your first number

1. Choose how you want to connect. On the Connect WhatsApp Business card pick Set up a new WhatsApp Business number (a number that isn't on WhatsApp yet, or that you can move fully to the API) or Keep using the WhatsApp Business app too (connect a number already in the WhatsApp Business app — chats sync both ways through Meta Coexistence).
2. Log in with Meta and pick your business. Click Connect with Meta. Meta's Embedded Signup opens in a pop-up; log in, choose or create your business and WhatsApp Business Account. While you're in the pop-up LogAI shows “Waiting for Meta — finish the steps in the pop-up window.” If you closed it by accident, click Window closed? Start over.
3. Select the phone number and finish. Pick or verify the number in Meta's window and finish. LogAI connects every number you granted, shows a toast such as “+91 98xxx xxxxx connected.”, and lists it under Connected on the card.

“Business Account created, but no phone number was added”: If you finish Meta's signup without adding a number, LogAI says so and connects nothing. Add a number in Meta Business Manager (the Open Meta Business Manager link is on the card), then click Connect with Meta again. If Meta's SDK doesn't load — usually an ad blocker or network filter — use Retry loading Meta.

The WhatsApp settings screen

Once a number is connected, the header shows how many numbers are connected and active. On wide screens your numbers sit in a rail on the left (a sideways strip on smaller screens; arrow keys move between them) — each shows its name, number, an Active/Inactive state and a Coexistence tag when it shares the Business app. Selecting a number shows its workspace on the right:

Edit opens an inline editor for the Display name, the WhatsApp Business Account ID (found in Meta Business Manager → WhatsApp accounts) and Status — Active — sends and receives or Inactive — paused. Enter saves, Esc cancels. To connect more numbers, click Connect another number in the header — each number gets its own inbox, templates and health checks.

Health checks

Click Health (or the Health tile) to ask Meta about the number right now. Each check passes, warns or fails, and the tile sums them up as Healthy or “N issues”.

Missing WABA ID?: A number connected without its WhatsApp Business Account ID shows Add WABA ID in the number panel, and its template tabs say “Templates need a WhatsApp Business Account ID”. Paste the ID from Meta Business Manager, or reconnect the number.

Message templates

WhatsApp only lets you send free-form messages within 24 hours of the customer's last message. To start a conversation, or to reply after that window closes, you must send a template that Meta has approved. Templates belong to your WhatsApp Business Account and are mirrored into LogAI.

• Templates tab — every template on the account with its body, review state and category. Filter All / Approved / In review / Rejected (disabled and paused templates count as rejected), search, expand Preview to see the variables it needs, or delete it.
• Sync — pulls the latest review states from Meta; the caption shows when you last synced.
• Starter library — 10 ready-written templates you can Add to account in one click: Order confirmation, Order shipped, Delivered, Appointment reminder, Payment reminder, Quotation ready, Welcome, Feedback request (Utility) and Lead follow-up, Event invitation (Marketing). They're submitted in English; once added, the card shows its review state, or On your account when approved.

Create your own template

1. Open New template. Click New template. Give it a Template name — it's saved in Meta's format (lower case with underscores), shown as “Saved as …”.
2. Pick category and language. Category: Utility — transactional updates (the default) or Marketing — promotions & outreach. Language: English (US) by default, or English (UK), Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese (BR), French, German, Indonesian or Malay.
3. Write the message. Optional Header (up to 60 characters, one variable at most), the Body (up to 1,024 characters — use Insert {{1}} to add numbered variables), an optional Footer (up to 60 characters, no variables) and up to 3 Buttons: Quick reply, Link (a full https:// address) or Call (a phone number), each label up to 25 characters.
4. Add example values. Meta needs a realistic sample for every variable, such as “Priya” for {{1}}. Fill each one under Example values.
5. Fix and submit. The live preview shows the message as a WhatsApp bubble, and the box beneath it lists anything to fix (variables out of order, a body that starts or ends with a variable, two variables side by side, missing examples, labels that are too long). When it says Ready to submit, click Submit for review.

How long approval takes: Utility templates (order updates, reminders) are usually approved within minutes; marketing templates can take up to a day. Some are approved instantly. Meta may move a template to a different category when it reviews it. If Meta doesn't accept a submission, its reason appears at the bottom of the builder so you can fix it and submit again. Templates Meta later rejects show under the Rejected filter.

Sending templates

• From a WhatsApp chat — the thread header shows the 24-hour reply window. When it has closed (or the contact has never written), the composer switches to template-only: click Send a template, pick an approved template, fill its variables (lead fields can fill them in one click), check the preview and send. See Team chat.
• To many leads at once — select leads on the Contacts screen and send a WhatsApp broadcast; templates reach everyone, plain text only reaches people who wrote in the last 24 hours. See leads & contacts.
• Automatically — the WhatsApp Send Template action in workflows, or a Send message step in a chatbot.

Deleting a template: Deleting removes the template from Meta in every language. Workflows and campaigns that use it will fail to send.

Disconnecting a number

Disconnect removes the number and its message history from LogAI. The number stays active in Meta and can be reconnected later with Connect another number.

Who can do what

WhatsApp has its own permission, separate from the Integration permission that covers Razorpay, Vercel and the other integrations. Set it under Roles & Permissions.

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