Based on our experience we recommend connecting & integrating your WhatsApp number via the 360dialog provider, as this integration allows you to connect any phone number, whereas to be able to connect a WhatsApp number via Twilio, your phone number has to be purchased from Twilio directly. The integration via 360dialog is also faster as there are no additional approval processes needed as from Twilio's side. On the other hand, the Twilio option might be cheaper due to the high monthly fee of at least 49€/month for a 360dialog account.
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Related resources:
- Twilio WhatsApp message templates (separate article)
- Twilio WhatsApp integration possible problems (separate article)
- WhatsApp ticket overview (separate article)
Please note that WhatsApp integration allows you reply to customer message freely only within 24 hours. If you want to start a new conversations or reply to an existing message after 24 hours have passed since the last customer's message you will have to use WhatsApp message templates.
The WhatsApp integration requires a Twilio number, a WhatsApp business account, and a Meta business account. If you don't have the mentioned accounts, you'll be able to create them directly during the integration.
The WhatsApp integration is available on Large and Enterprise plans. To integrate WhatsApp with your LiveAgent account via Twilio you need to log in to your Twilio console and search for WhatsApp Senders. If your Twilio account is not yet approved by WhatsApp, you need to request access first in order to use your Twilio number with WhatsApp. The approval might take some time.
Once you are granted access, you can associate your Twilio number with your WhatsApp account by clicking the "New WhatsApp Sender" button. You might need to create a business profile first. Approving your number will again take some time as it has to go through Twilio and get approved by Meta.
When you submit a business profile, the "Business Display Name" has to be the business name used in the Facebook Business Manager account. If you want to use another name, it must follow Meta's WhatsApp Display Name rules.
While creating a new WhatsApp sender, in the 1st step choose the Twilio number that you want to connect as a WhatsApp number. In the 2nd step link your WhatsApp business account with your number by clicking the "Continue with Facebook" button. A new pop-up window with a Facebook setup will be opened, after finishing all its steps the window will be automatically closed, and the WhatsApp sender will be created. It needs to be again approved by Twilio afterward.
Once you have your WhatsApp number approved, in the WhatsApp Senders section, click on the WhatsApp number to edit it and set it up to Use webhooks. Then, configure the Webhook URL for incoming messages & Status callback URL:
- As the Webhook URL for incoming messages insert https://account.ladesk.com/scripts/whatsapp_channel/twilio/message_callback.php
- As the Status callback URL insert https://account.ladesk.com/scripts/whatsapp_channel/twilio/status_callback.php
Do not forget to replace account.ladesk.com with your real LiveAgent account URL.
If the Webhook URL for incoming messages & Status callback URL is missing or wrong all messages sent to you are lost and won't be fetched additionally after fixing the URLs.
Finally, fill in your Business profile information below and save the number by clicking "Update WhatsApp Sender".
After saving the WhatsApp sender, to integrate your connected WhatsApp number in LiveAgent, log in to your LiveAgent admin panel and navigate to Configuration > WhatsApp > WhatsApp numbers, click on "Add a new number", and choose the Twilio provider. After filling out the integration form your WhatsApp number will be successfully integrated with your LiveAgent account.
The Twilio Account SID and Twilio Auth Token can be found in the Twilio console in the API Keys section.
If you can't see the WhatsApp numbers sub-section please enable the WhatsApp feature first under Configuration > WhatsApp.