Channels & Integrations · Channels

WhatsApp Business

Connect your number through the official WhatsApp Cloud API, then reply, automate and run campaigns from the Inboxi inbox.

Inboxi connects to WhatsApp through Meta's official WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API). Your number lives in your own Meta business account. Inboxi receives every message in the shared inbox, lets your AI agent and your team reply, and sends templates, campaigns and automated messages from the same number. Nothing has to stay online on a phone.

Shared inbox

Every WhatsApp chat lands in Inbox next to your other channels, with assignment and notes.

AI agent replies

Let an AI agent answer 24/7 and hand over to a person when needed.

Templates & campaigns

Message customers outside the 24-hour window with Meta-approved templates.

Voice calls

Customers can call you from WhatsApp; your team or the AI answers in the browser.

Before you start

A Facebook account that is an admin of your Meta Business portfolio (Business Manager), or the permission to create one during signup.
A phone number that can receive an SMS or voice call for verification. It can be a new number or one you move from the WhatsApp Business app.
A number used on the WhatsApp Business app on a phone can be moved to the Cloud API. If you keep it on the app at the same time (coexistence), some features, such as WhatsApp calls, are not available on that number.
Your business name and website. Meta reviews the display name that customers see.

Who can connect

Only an owner or admin of the Inboxi workspace should connect a number. Connecting the same number in a second workspace moves it out of the first one.

Connect your number

Open Settings › Channels and click Connect on the WhatsApp Business (Cloud API) card. You land on the WhatsApp Business page.

The WhatsApp Business connect page.
1Connect WhatsApp Account opens Meta’s embedded signup.
2What the official Cloud API gives you.
3Fallback: connect manually with your own credentials.

1
Click “Connect WhatsApp Account”
Meta’s embedded signup opens in a popup. Log in with the Facebook account that manages your business.
2
Pick or create your business portfolio
Choose the Meta Business portfolio and the WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) to use, or create new ones.
3
Add and verify the phone number
Enter the number and its display name, then confirm the code Meta sends by SMS or voice call.
4
Approve the permissions
Inboxi asks for WhatsApp business management, WhatsApp business messaging and business management. Approve them all.
5
Wait for “Successfully Connected!”
Inboxi registers the number, subscribes to its messages and opens the Manage page a couple of seconds later.

Inboxi

Connect WhatsApp Account

popup

Meta signup

Business, WABA, number, code

approve

Inboxi

Registers the number

webhook

Inbox

Messages start arriving

Manual setup

If the popup is blocked or your company manages the Meta app itself, click Can't connect automatically? Use manual setup. and paste the Phone Number ID, the WABA ID and a Permanent Access Token from your Meta Business settings, then click Connect Manually.

Number already connected elsewhere

If the number is already linked to another Inboxi workspace, you see Account Already Connected. Choosing Transfer Connection moves the number here and disconnects it from the other workspace.

Popup problems

“Setup cancelled” means the Meta popup was closed before the end. “Facebook SDK not ready” usually means an ad blocker or a privacy extension blocked Facebook’s script. Allow it for inboxi.app, refresh and try again.

Manage your numbers

Settings › Channels › WhatsApp Business › Manage lists every number this workspace answers on, with what Meta reports about it and what it actually did over the last 30 days. The page refreshes itself every 30 seconds.

Manage WhatsApp Cloud API: one card per connected number.
1Check with Meta refreshes the live status of every number.
2Add Number connects another number to the same workspace.
3Health and quality rating from Meta.
4Pause or resume receiving and sending on this number.
5Number settings: name, AI agent, routing and threading.

Field	What it tells you
Health	Overall state: Healthy Limited Error or Not checked. When something is wrong, a line explains Meta’s verdict and what to do.
Quality	GREEN (high), YELLOW (medium, watch for blocks and reports), RED (low, Meta may limit the number) or UNKNOWN (not rated yet).
Display name	Approved, Not submitted, Under review, Declined or Expired. Optional: without it customers see your number.
OTP verification / Account review / Business verification	The state of Meta’s own checks on the number, the WhatsApp Business Account and your business.
Webhook	Whether Inboxi is receiving Meta’s events for this number.
Can send messages	Yes when Meta allows the number to send.
Daily limit	Your messaging limit and how much of it you used in the last 24 hours.
Activity	Conversations, messages received and sent, and the Meta cost of billable messages in the last 30 days.
Templates	Approved, pending and rejected template counts, with a link to Templates.

Number settings

The gear icon on a number opens its settings:

Topic name: a friendly name for the number, used in routing and reports.
Trigger a bot: choose an AI agent that answers first, inside business hours, outside them, or both, before the chat is handed to a person.
Assign group: route new chats on this number to a group. If a bot is on, routing happens after the bot hands over.
Time frame: how long after the last message a new conversation thread starts (days, hours, minutes; default 1 day).
Connect a Payment Method on Meta: a guide and a button that opens Meta billing, needed to send paid template messages.

Several numbers

You can connect several WhatsApp numbers to one workspace. Replies always go out from the same number the customer wrote to.

Display name and the green badge

The display name is the business name customers see instead of your number. You submit it during signup or later in WhatsApp Manager (Meta Business Suite). Meta reviews it against your business name and website; it shows as Under review in Inboxi until Meta decides.

Use the real name of your business or brand, written the same way as on your website.
Avoid generic words alone (“Shop”, “Support”), extra punctuation, or emojis.
If Meta declines the name, submit a corrected one from WhatsApp Manager. Messaging keeps working meanwhile.
The verified green badge is granted by Meta to notable, verified businesses. Business verification in Meta Business Manager is the first step.

After Meta approves a new display name, give it a little time to appear in customers' chats. If it still shows the number, click Check with Meta on the Manage page, and contact support if the status stays unchanged.

The 24-hour customer service window

WhatsApp lets a business send free-form messages (text, images, files, voice notes) only within 24 hours of the customer's last message. Each new message from the customer restarts the 24 hours.

Situation	What you can send
Customer wrote in the last 24 hours	Anything: free text, media, AI agent replies, saved replies.
More than 24 hours since the customer’s last message	Only an approved template. The inbox shows that the chat is closed and offers the template picker.
You want to start a new conversation	An approved template (for example from a campaign, an automated message or the Messages API).

When the customer replies to your template, the window opens again. See WhatsApp templates to create and submit templates.

Messaging limits and quality

Meta caps how many different customers a number can start conversations with (business-initiated templates) in a rolling 24 hours. Replies inside the 24-hour window do not count toward that limit. New numbers start low; Meta raises the limit automatically as you send to more people while keeping good quality. The Manage page shows the current tier and the last 24 hours of usage.

Quality rating reflects how customers react to your messages over the last days: blocks and reports lower it.
A RED rating can stop the limit from growing, or lower it. Pause marketing sends and review what you send.
Send templates only to customers who opted in, keep them relevant, and include a way to stop (for example “Reply STOP”).
Meta’s API reports the limit with a delay; WhatsApp Manager is the source of truth if the two disagree.

Costs

Meta charges your WhatsApp account directly for billable template messages at its published rates, through the payment method you add in Meta billing. The Manage page shows the Meta cost of the last 30 days by category.

Troubleshooting

Message on the Manage page	What to do
Access token is no longer valid / Credentials are missing	Reconnect the number from the WhatsApp Business page.
Number is still pending activation with Meta	Finish phone verification in WhatsApp Manager, then click Check with Meta.
Business verification is not complete	Complete business verification in Meta Business Manager.
Quality rating is RED	Reduce sending volume, stop unwanted marketing, and review templates that get blocked.
Rate limited by Meta	You hit Meta’s throughput or daily limit. Slow down campaigns and try later.
Meta has restricted / disabled / banned this number	Check the reason and appeal from WhatsApp Manager.