Introduction
Connecting WhatsApp lets your Rep AI assistant answer shoppers who message your business on WhatsApp. It uses the same knowledge, brand voice and support skills as your website chat.
You can connect either kind of number:
- A new number, or one already set up for the WhatsApp Business Platform. Rep finishes the technical setup with Meta for you. There's no PIN to create and nothing to request from our team.
- A number you already use in the WhatsApp Business app. Keep the app on your phone. Your team can keep reading and replying from the app while your AI answers through Rep, on the same number.
You don't have to tell us which kind you have. Once you enter your number, Meta recognises it and shows you the right steps. The whole connection happens in a Meta window that opens on top of your Rep Console.
Before you start
For every number
- A Meta (Facebook) login with full control of your business in Meta Business Manager. Meta shows the businesses of whoever is logged in to Facebook in your browser, so log in with that account first.
- A payment method on your WhatsApp Business account. Meta won't let a number send messages without one, and Rep can't switch the number on until it's there. You can add it before or after connecting.
- Pop-ups allowed for the Rep Console. Also make sure no ad blocker or privacy extension is blocking Facebook.
For a new number
- The number can receive a verification code by SMS or phone call.
- The number isn't in use in the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business phone app. If it is, see the next section instead.
For a number in the WhatsApp Business app
- The WhatsApp Business app on your phone, version 2.24.17 or later.
- The number has been active in the app for a while. Meta decides when a number is eligible, and usually looks for about a week of regular use.
- The number isn't linked to another WhatsApp platform provider. Meta allows one platform connection per number at a time.
- Your phone nearby, because you'll confirm the connection in the app.
Part 1 — Start the connection
- Go to Settings → Integrations in your Rep Console, open the Social tab, and click Connect on the WhatsApp card.
- A Connect to WhatsApp window explains that a Meta window opens next. Click Continue with Meta.
- If the button reads Preparing… and you see Getting WhatsApp ready, wait a moment.
- The Meta window opens, and your Console shows Finish connecting in the Meta window. Log in to Meta if asked.
- Enter the WhatsApp phone number you want Rep to answer on.
What happens next depends on your number. Follow Part 2A or Part 2B.
Part 2A — A new number
- Choose or create your business and WhatsApp Business account in the Meta window, and fill in your business details.
- Verify the number. Meta sends a code by SMS or phone call. Enter it in the Meta window.
- Confirm the final Meta screens. Rep shows Completing your connection while it sets up the number with Meta. This can take up to a minute.
- When it's done, you land on your WhatsApp settings page. Continue with Part 3.
Part 2B — A number you use in the WhatsApp Business app
- Verify your account details. Meta recognises the number and shows the business profile from your app. Confirm it's the right one.
- Scan the code. Meta shows a QR code (or an access code) to link your app.
- Confirm on your phone. In the WhatsApp Business app, open the message from Meta and tap Connect. You can also reach it from Settings → Account → Business Platform.
- Choose whether to share your chats, then confirm. Either choice connects your number. The phone can take up to about a minute to finish.
- Finish in the Meta window. Confirm your WhatsApp account name and time zone, review the permissions, and confirm.
- Rep shows Completing your connection. When it's done, you land on your WhatsApp settings page. Continue with Part 3.
What stays the same in your app: your contacts, your chats and the app itself. You and your team can keep replying from your phone.
What changes: Meta turns off disappearing messages and view-once messages for the linked number.
Part 3 — Switch your number on and start answering
A connected number starts switched off, so you decide when your AI goes live.
- On your WhatsApp settings page, find Available accounts. Switch on each number you want Rep to answer on, using the switch in the Activated column.
- In What's next?, turn on Enable AI Answering directly on WhatsApp so your AI replies inside WhatsApp. If you leave it off, your AI sends shoppers a link to continue the conversation on your website instead.
- Optional: once AI Answering is on, turn on Use specific AI instructions for WhatsApp messages to give your AI WhatsApp-only guidance, such as a shorter, more casual style.
- Test it. From a different phone, send a message to your WhatsApp number and check that your AI replies.
You can also reach these settings from AI Support → Social DM Answering, on the WhatsApp tab.
AI Answering on WhatsApp runs on your Omnichannel AI ticket package. See Keep Your AI Answering When You Pass Your Omnichannel AI Plan for how tickets and overage work.
What Meta charges for WhatsApp messages
Meta charges for WhatsApp messages separately from Rep. Since October 1, 2026, Meta charges for every reply your number sends to a customer. Meta bills your WhatsApp Business account directly, using the payment method you added in Meta. Rep doesn't add anything on top.
- Your first 1,000 replies each month are free. Each number gets 1,000 free replies a month. Unused replies don't carry over. Meta starts charging from reply 1,001.
- Every reply counts. That includes your AI's answers, replies your team sends from Rep or your helpdesk, check-ins sent when a customer goes quiet, and the "continue on our website" message your number sends when AI Answering is off.
- The price depends on your customer's country. For example, as of October 2026 one reply costs $0.0034 to the US and Canada, $0.0053 to Israel, $0.022 to the UK, and $0.055 to Germany. Meta can change its rates every quarter. See the current rates (the "Service" column) on Meta's pricing page.
- Conversations that start from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad are free for 72 hours.
- Without a payment method, Meta stops delivering your replies. Customers can still message you, but your answers never reach them. Check your payment method in Meta Business Manager under Billing & payments.
Instagram and Facebook Messenger don't have this Meta charge.
Keep your connection healthy
- One WhatsApp Business account, one Rep store. Connect each WhatsApp Business account to a single Rep store. If you run several stores, give each store its own WhatsApp Business account. If you're moving WhatsApp to a different Rep store, disconnect it from the old store first, then connect it on the new one.
- Finish your Meta setup. Complete business verification and get your display name approved in WhatsApp Manager. Until then, Meta limits how many conversations your number can start.
- Keep your payment method valid. If it expires or is removed, Meta stops your number from sending.
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For WhatsApp Business app numbers:
- Open the app at least once every 14 days. If the app goes unused for longer, Meta drops the link and your AI stops answering on that number.
- Don't link the number to another platform provider while it's connected to Rep. Meta allows only one.
- Don't delete your WhatsApp Business app account to get around an error. Meta erases your chats permanently, and the number can't go back to the app.
Disconnecting and reconnecting
- To disconnect from Rep: on your WhatsApp settings page, click Disconnect, type DELETE ME to confirm, and click Disconnect.
- For a WhatsApp Business app number, also unlink Rep in the app if you want to connect the number somewhere else: Settings → Account → Business Platform.
- To connect a different account or number: disconnect, then click Connect on the WhatsApp card again and pick the account and number you want. Rep connects exactly what you pick in the Meta window.
- After reconnecting, switch your number on again (Part 3). Every fresh connection starts switched off.
- If you unlink Rep from inside the WhatsApp Business app, Rep stops answering on that number. Your settings page shows that the number was disconnected from your WhatsApp Business app. Click Fix connection to link it again. If Meta says the number isn't available yet, wait at least 15 minutes and try again.
Troubleshooting
The Meta window
Nothing opens, or you see "The Meta window did not finish"
Your browser blocked the window, or it closed before you finished. Allow pop-ups for the Rep Console, pause any ad blocker or privacy extension for this page, and click Try again.
The button stays on "Preparing…", or you see "We could not get WhatsApp ready"
Rep couldn't reach Meta. This is usually a network issue, a company firewall, or an extension blocking Facebook. Check your connection, allow Facebook for this page, and click Try again.
The Meta window opened as a browser tab
This happens when your browser is in full-screen mode. Finish the steps in the tab, or leave full screen and start again.
Meta shows the wrong business or a personal account
Meta uses whoever is logged in to Facebook in this browser. Log out, or use a private window, and log in with an account that has full control of your business.
"Connection not completed"
You closed the Meta window before finishing. Nothing was changed. Click Connect WhatsApp to start again.
"Meta could not complete the connection"
The setup stopped before it finished. When Meta gives a reason, it appears after "Meta said:". Fix what it describes, then click Try again.
"We could not finish setting up your connection"
Meta finished its part, but Rep couldn't complete the connection. If the message says more than one Meta window was open, close all the extra Meta windows first. Nothing was changed. Click Try again.
New numbers
Meta says the number is already registered to a WhatsApp account
The number is still in use in the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business phone app:
- If it's a WhatsApp Business app number, make sure the app is version 2.24.17 or later and follow Part 2B. You don't need to delete anything.
- If it's a personal WhatsApp number, use a different number for your business.
The verification code doesn't arrive
Ask Meta to send it again, or choose a phone call instead of SMS. The number must be able to receive calls or texts.
"Your WhatsApp account still needs a phone number"
Your WhatsApp Business account connected, but no phone number is attached to it. Add a number in Meta WhatsApp Manager, then click Reconnect.
WhatsApp Business app numbers
Meta shows the regular sign-up steps instead of linking my app
Meta only offers app linking for numbers it considers eligible. Check that the number is the one registered in your WhatsApp Business app, the app is version 2.24.17 or later, and the number isn't linked to another provider.
Meta says the number isn't eligible yet
The number is usually too new to the app. Keep using the WhatsApp Business app normally and try again in a day or two. Don't uninstall the app or re-register the number while you wait, because that restarts Meta's eligibility check.
Meta says the number is already connected to another provider
Open the WhatsApp Business app, go to Settings → Account → Business Platform, and disconnect the other provider. Wait at least 15 minutes, then connect again.
Meta says app linking isn't available in your region
Meta doesn't offer app linking in every country yet. You can connect a new number instead (Part 2A).
"Please connect WhatsApp again so Rep can set it up for the app"
Rep needs a fresh connection to set up an app number. Click Connect on the WhatsApp card and go through Part 1 and Part 2B again.
After connecting
My AI isn't answering on WhatsApp
Check these in order:
- The number is switched on under Available accounts (Part 3).
- Enable AI Answering directly on WhatsApp is on. If it's off, shoppers get a link to your website instead of an AI reply.
- Your Omnichannel AI package has tickets left.
- Your WhatsApp Business account has a payment method in Meta Business Manager.
My number won't switch on ("This WhatsApp number can't send messages right now")
Meta has to confirm the number can send before Rep switches it on. The most common cause is a missing payment method. In Meta Business Manager:
- Open Billing & payments and add a payment method to your WhatsApp Business account. Check the country and currency carefully, because Meta doesn't let you change them later.
- In WhatsApp Manager, check that the number shows as connected.
- Wait a few minutes, then switch the number on again.
A number shows "needs attention"
Rep couldn't finish setting up the number with Meta. The message tells you why:
- Two-step verification PIN already set: turn off two-step verification for the number in WhatsApp Manager, then click Try again. Don't retry many times in a row, because Meta can lock the number for a while.
- Not verified with Meta yet: finish verifying the number in WhatsApp Manager, then click Try again.
- Business not able to send messages yet: check your business verification and payment method in Meta Business Manager, then click Try again.
- Rate-limited, or Rep couldn't reach Meta: wait a few minutes and click Try again.
- Rep no longer has permission to manage this number: disconnect WhatsApp and connect it again.
- Anything else: click Try again, and contact support if it keeps failing.
The number was disconnected from my WhatsApp Business app
The app link was removed, either from the app or because the app wasn't opened for 14 days. Click Fix connection and link the number again (Part 2B).
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to stop using the WhatsApp Business app?
No. Link the number through the app (Part 2B) and keep using the app on the same number.
Can I use a brand-new number?
Yes. Enter it in the Meta window, verify it with the code Meta sends, and Rep finishes the setup (Part 2A).
Is there a PIN to set up?
No. Rep handles the number's setup with Meta automatically.
Do I need a payment method in Meta?
Yes. Meta requires a payment method on your WhatsApp Business account before a number can send messages. Meta also bills your replies to it. See What Meta charges for WhatsApp messages above.
Why is my number off after connecting?
Every connection starts switched off so your AI never goes live by surprise. Switch it on under Available accounts when you're ready.
Can I connect more than one number?
Every number in the WhatsApp Business account you pick appears under Available accounts, each with its own switch.
Can I connect the same WhatsApp Business account to two Rep stores?
No. Connect each WhatsApp Business account to one Rep store only.