WhatsApp, the leading messaging platform, enables businesses to effortlessly engage with their customers. By integrating WhatsApp for business, your agents can quickly read, reply, and address customer queries all in one place.

This article contains the following sections:

• Introduction
• Connect your WhatsApp account
  • Connect a new number 
  • Connect a number associated with another provider
  • Manage your WhatsApp profile details
• Interact with customers on WhatsApp
• FAQs

Introduction

WhatsApp integration with Freshdesk allows you to centralize customer interactions, ensure faster responses, and provide a seamless support experience. 

Prerequisites

Before you proceed, please ensure that the following prerequisites are met:

Connect your WhatsApp account

Add your WhatsApp numbers and link your WhatsApp Business Account with Freshdesk to manage your business conversations. You can add multiple numbers to support different business requirements.

Freshdesk offers the following options to connect to WhatsApp:

• Connect a new number: Add a new number to Freshdesk for WhatsApp
• Connect a number associated with another provider: Migrate your current number to Freshdesk without changing your WhatsApp account settings.

Connect a new number 

You can add a new number that is not already linked to another partner’s API.
Note: Before proceeding, ensure that you have a valid phone number for verification and a Meta account.

To set up WhatsApp business accounts:

1. Log in to your account and go to Admin > Channels > WhatsApp.
2. Click Add new number.
   
3. Select Connect a new number and click Get started.
   
4. On the WhatsApp page, click Connect a new number.
5. You will be redirected to the Meta account page. If you are already logged into your Meta account, you can continue using the same. You can also choose to log in to a different account or create a new Meta account.
   
6. Click Get Started to connect your Meta account with Freshworks and allow the required permissions to manage your WhatsApp account.
   
7. Create a new business portfolio or choose an existing one.
8. Enter your business information, such as your business name, email address, and website page, country, and click Next. If you selected your existing business portfolio in the previous step, your details will be autofilled.
   Note: If you already have a Meta Business Manager Account, you can continue with your existing account. For more details, see Embedded Signup.
   
9. Create a new WhatsApp business account or select an existing account. Additionally, create or select a WhatsApp business profile, and click Next.
   
10. If you want to create a new WhatsApp business profile, add your business profile details, such as WhatsApp business account name, display name, and category you want customers to see on WhatsApp nd click Next.
    
11. Add phone number details and select how you want to verify this number. You can choose to verify via text message or phone call and click Next.
    
12. Enter the verification code received on your number, and click Next.
    
13. Review the permissions required by Freshworks and click Continue.
    
14. Click Finish. Meta will review your business. However, you can still start using the number for your business.
    
15. Once verification is completed successfully, you will find your WhatsApp number in Freshdesk. Additionally, you can modify the number to upload a profile picture and other information, or remove them.
    

Note: Once Meta verifies your account, you can initiate unlimited conversations. However, until the verification is pending, you can start with the following:
Initiate 250 business conversations in a 24-hour rolling window.
Respond to customer-initiated conversations without any restrictions.
Have two WhatsApp business numbers in an unverified Meta Business Manager account.
For more details, see Verifying your Business in WhatsApp Business Manager.

Connect a number associated with another provider

Besides adding a new number, you can use a phone number already associated with another Business Service Provider (BSP). 

1. Log in to your account and go to Admin > Channels > WhatsApp.
2. Click Add new number.
   
3. Select Connect a new number associated with another provider and click Get started.
   This method requires additional verification; hence, contact support@frehsdesk.com for further assistance.
4. Once our support team confirms, you can see the number in Freshdesk with a verification status - OTP pending.
   
5. To complete the setup, you must verify the number. For this, click Set up.
6. Choose if you want to verify the number via text message or phone call, and click send OTP.
   
7. After OTP verification, click Finish setup. You can modify the number to upload a profile picture and other information, or remove them.

Manage your WhatsApp profile details

Add profile details for your WhatsApp Business profile to boost your brand visibility and help customers easily connect with your business. For example, you can add a logo and a detailed description for your business to establish your brand value. You can also remove the integration if you no longer need it.

Edit WhatsApp number

To add profile details:

1. On the WhatsApp page, click Edit next to the number you want to modify.
   
2. In the WhatsApp Profile tab, add your profile details such as description, address, email, and Website URL, upload a profile picture, and click Save your profile.
   Note: You can upload a WhatsApp profile picture of up to 5 MB maximum in PNG or JPEG formats.

Delete your WhatsApp number

You can delete your WhatsApp numbers and remove the integration with Freshdesk. However, before proceeding with the WhatsApp number deletion, we recommend you check the following:

• When you delete a WhatsApp number, you may experience WhatsApp downtime, which could impact customer interactions.
• Any verified checkmark or messaging limits associated with that WhatsApp number will also be removed.
• All your outstanding WhatsApp invoices will be automatically generated and will be sent to you.
  According to Meta, the analytics data is an approximate value and may not match the data displayed in invoices. This is due to minor discrepancies in data processing. Hence, there could be a small delay in the actual usage represented in the metrics. For more details, see Meta Analytics.

To delete your WhatsApp number:

1. On the WhatsApp page, click Edit next to the number you want to modify.
2. Scroll down and click on the delete icon.
   

What happens once your WhatsApp number is deleted?

• Your WhatsApp number will be removed from Freshdesk and can be used with other integrations.
• You can still view the history of the deleted WhatsApp number in the WhatsApp utilization report.
• Once the number is deleted, the reply editor will be disabled in all the associated conversations in your Conversation Inbox.

Interact with customers on WhatsApp

Whenever a customer initiates a conversation via WhatsApp, a new ticket will be created with the channel as WhatsApp. Please note, if the customer's phone number is already mapped to a contact, the new ticket will be created under the requester's name. Otherwise, a new contact will be created for the contact number.

Agents can reply to the tickets by clicking on the Reply button. This will continue the conversation as a thread in the same ticket. 

Threading interval: By default, a threading interval is set to 24 hours. Any replies coming in after 24 hours will create a new ticket within Freshdesk. This interval can be extended up to 48 hours under WhatsApp settings.

Set SLAs and automation rules for WhatsApp messages

You can set up custom SLA policies for tickets coming in through WhatsApp as a channel and make sure your agents adhere to these SLAs by sending them notifications periodically. 

Set SLAs

1. Go to Admin > Workflows > SLA Policies.
2. Click Add Policy.
3. Enter the policy name and description.
4. Under conditions, choose Sources, and select WhatsApp.
5. Provide your SLA targets and click Save.

For more information, see SLA Policies.

Modify automation rules

You can also set up automation rules to route tickets coming in via WhatsApp to dedicated agents.

1. Go to Admin > Automations.
2. Click New Rule.
3. Under ticket properties, choose Sources, select WhatsApp, and provide the necessary rules for ticket creation.

For more information, see Automation Rules.