Integrations
Messaging
How the agent holds conversations on your WhatsApp Business numbers, and how the connection to Meta's platform is set up.
On this page
WhatsApp is where many customers in the Gulf prefer to deal with a business. The agent holds full conversations on your WhatsApp Business numbers, inbound and outbound, in Arabic, English and many other languages, including Urdu, Russian, Chinese and Spanish, with the same knowledge of your business and the same customer record it uses on every other channel. A customer who called on Monday and messages on Wednesday is not starting again. Telonic connects your numbers, runs Meta's business verification with you, and writes and manages your message templates.
What connecting WhatsApp lets the agent do
| Ability | What it means for you | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Hold conversations | The agent replies to customers who message your WhatsApp Business number, and carries on conversations it started | A guest asks to move an arrival date at 11pm and it is done in the chat |
| Start conversations with templates | The agent contacts customers first using templates Meta has approved, within the consent and contact rules you set | "Your next instalment for unit {{1}} is due on {{2}}." |
| Receive and send media | Customers send photographs, documents and voice notes, and the agent sends documents and locations. Configured during implementation | A policyholder sends photographs of damage to a car |
| Offer buttons and lists | Tappable choices where a choice is clearer than a sentence. Configured during implementation | "Choose a viewing slot: Saturday 11am, Saturday 3pm, Sunday 11am" |
| Track consent | Opt-ins and opt-outs are held per customer and checked before any outbound message | A customer replies "stop" and receives no further marketing |
Integrations in this category
| Integration | What the connection covers |
|---|---|
| Your WhatsApp Business numbers, message templates, business verification, and inbound and outbound conversations |
SMS is handled by the same agent as another channel on the same conversation. See SMS.
How the connection works
Your WhatsApp numbers belong to your WhatsApp Business account (the account in Meta's systems that holds your business's WhatsApp numbers, templates and verification). Telonic connects that account to your deployment through Meta's Cloud API (the service Meta provides for businesses to send and receive WhatsApp messages), or through your existing Meta business solution provider (a company Meta authorises to connect businesses to WhatsApp) if you already have one. Your numbers and account stay yours.
Meta receives, processes and briefly stores WhatsApp messages on its own infrastructure before they reach your deployment. From the moment a message arrives at your deployment, it is processed in the region you choose. See Hosting and data residency.
Business verification (Meta's check that your business is who it says it is) affects how many customers you can contact first. Telonic runs the verification process with you as part of implementation. See WhatsApp: Business account and verification.
The technical detail
Messages from Meta reach your deployment through a webhook (an address in your deployment that Meta calls each time a message or status update arrives), over TLS (Transport Layer Security), version 1.2 or higher. The access token that lets your deployment send messages on your account is stored encrypted with AES-256. Templates are submitted to Meta under your account, and Meta reviews and approves each one.
Permissions typical for this category
| Permission | Needed for | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Send and receive messages on named numbers | Holding conversations | Only the numbers you choose |
| Manage message templates | Submitting and maintaining templates | Granted, with every template agreed with your team |
| Send template messages first | Reminders, updates and follow-ups | Only to customers with consent on record, within your sending hours |
The agent can only take actions your team has granted. Anything not granted cannot be invoked. See Permissions.
In practice
Wadi Assurance, a motor insurer, uses WhatsApp for claim updates and document collection.
- Telonic connects the insurer's existing WhatsApp Business number through Meta's Cloud API and completes business verification with its marketing team.
- Compliance approves two utility templates, one asking for outstanding documents and one confirming a claim's stage.
- Salma's claim needs a police report. The agent sends the template, she replies with a photograph of the report, and the agent attaches it to her claim.
- She asks when the assessor will call. The agent reads the claim's status and tells her the assessor's visit is booked for Thursday.
What your team controls
- Which numbers the agent uses, and for which conversations.
- The wording of every template, in every language.
- Consent rules and the hours outbound messages may be sent.
- When a conversation passes to a person.
Related
- WhatsApp: overviewChannels
- WhatsApp: Business account and verificationChannels
- WhatsApp: message templates and outbound messagesChannels
- WhatsApp: opt-in, opt-out and consentChannels
- Hosting and data residencySecurity and data protection
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