WhatsApp Business
WhatsApp for business: a chatbot, broadcasts and one shared inbox
Connect your number through Meta, then answer chats as a team, let a chatbot handle everyday questions and send approved templates to contacts who opted in. Meta bills WhatsApp messages to your WhatsApp Business account.
Included in Premium and higher plans, not in Starter. Free for 7 days. Card required; cancel before the trial ends and you will not be charged.
Get connected
How to connect WhatsApp Business
Already use the WhatsApp Business app on your phone? Keep it: replies you send from the phone show up in the inbox, and the bot can pause when you answer there. The WhatsApp guide walks through each screen.
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Check what you need
A phone number that is new to WhatsApp or already on a WhatsApp Business account, access to your company's Meta Business Manager, and business documents if Meta hasn't verified your business yet.
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Connect through Meta's signup
In Social Accounts, choose Add account, then WhatsApp, and follow Meta's Embedded Signup to link your number.
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Add a payment method in Meta
Add a payment method for WhatsApp in your Meta Business settings. Meta bills your WhatsApp messages to it.
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Pick a default number and profile
Choose the default number for new conversations and alerts, then fill in your business profile, from the 139-character About line to your websites and photo.
Shared inbox
Answer every WhatsApp chat as a team
Your number no longer lives on one phone. Everyone on the team sees the same chats and knows who is answering.
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One number, the whole team
Every chat lands in the unified inbox. Assign it to a teammate, leave internal notes with @mentions and answer faster with saved replies.
Unified inbox -
The 24-hour window, counted down
The inbox shows how long you can still reply freely, and offers an approved template once the window closes.
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Photos, voice notes and files
Send and receive images, video, audio and files. Replies can run to 4,096 characters, with WhatsApp's bold, italic, strikethrough and monospace.
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Forms, bookings and payments
Once you set them up, send a WhatsApp Form, insert a booking link or request a payment through your own payment gateway, right from the chat.
Appointment booking -
Take over from the bot
Pause the bot on a conversation to answer it yourself, then resume the bot when you are done.
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The contact at a glance
See the pipeline stage and tags beside the chat, and open the full profile to read the history or merge duplicates.
Contacts and pipeline
Chatbot
A WhatsApp chatbot for the questions you get every day
Build a flow in the visual builder or set up a quick automation in a simple form, starting from a ready-made template if you like. Drafts never answer customers until you publish them.
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Keyword replies and a welcome
Answer when a message contains, matches or starts with a keyword. Give your number a welcome message, up to 4 ice breakers and up to 30 commands.
Chatbots and automations -
Buttons, lists and links
Offer reply buttons, a list where each row leads somewhere different, or a button that opens a web page, and ask for a location or a phone number.
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WhatsApp Forms
Collect details in a native in-chat form. Start from a ready form, such as an appointment request or feedback, publish it to Meta and send it from a flow or the inbox.
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Catalog and cart
Show products from your Meta Commerce Manager catalog, let customers fill a cart in the chat and start a flow when an order arrives.
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Follow-ups, ads and surveys
Follow up when a customer hasn't replied in a set time, greet people who tap your Click-to-WhatsApp ads with a flow for that ad, and close with a satisfaction survey.
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Answers from your knowledge
Add an AI Reply step with your own OpenAI, Claude, Gemini or DeepSeek key. With OpenAI or Gemini, it answers from your files, pages and FAQs. Say it's automated where the law requires, and keep a handover.
AI chatbot
Message templates
Templates without the guesswork
Outside the 24-hour window, WhatsApp only delivers templates it approved. Build them in Postocial, submit them for Meta's review and see how each one performs.
- Sync your approved templates from Meta, or build a new one and submit it for review
- Marketing, utility and authentication categories, with marketing templates as custom, catalog or carousel messages of 2 to 10 cards
- A header with an image up to 5 MB, a video up to 16 MB or a document up to 100 MB, plus buttons and variables with sample values
- A copy library of 64 ready-made templates for eight industries, written against Meta's review rules: customize one or submit it as is
- Sent, delivered, read, replied and failed counts for every template
- Ready-made templates
- 64
- Industries covered
- 8
- Carousel cards
- 2–10
- Largest video header
- 16 MB
Broadcasts
Template broadcasts to the people who opted in
Send an approved template to a saved segment now, later or at each contact's local time, so nobody gets a message at 3 a.m. Opted-out and blocked contacts are always skipped.
- Pick everyone eligible, a saved segment, or the people who did or didn't reply to an earlier broadcast
- Turn on team approval, so teammates who can't send submit broadcasts for review
- Send a test to your own WhatsApp number first
- Contacts with no recorded WhatsApp opt-in are left out of marketing templates
- Follow sent, delivered, read and replied in the report
Grow your contact list
More people who asked to hear from you
Every way in starts with the customer: they tap a link, scan a code or sign up on your website.
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Chat links and QR codes
Share a wa.me link with a ready-made first message, or print its QR code on packaging, menus and signs. Each link can start a flow, and every click is counted.
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An opt-in popup for your site
Add a WhatsApp opt-in form to your website. It always names your business, says it is for WhatsApp marketing and mentions the STOP option. You choose when and how often it shows.
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Imports with consent
Import contacts from a CSV file. A WhatsApp number is only attached when you confirm those contacts agreed to receive WhatsApp messages from you.
Costs
What WhatsApp costs, and who bills it
Meta bills WhatsApp messages to the payment method on your WhatsApp Business account, at Meta's own rates. Postocial doesn't add a fee per message or per broadcast. Information as of . Sources: Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform.
- Meta prices each message by its category, such as marketing or utility, and by the recipient's country
- You add or change the payment method in your Meta Business settings
- WhatsApp comes with messaging, on Premium and higher plans only
- Postocial fee per message
- None
- WhatsApp messages billed by
- Meta
- Outside the 24-hour window
- Templates only
WhatsApp's rules
The rules every WhatsApp business follows
WhatsApp decides who a business may message, when and with what. Postocial handles the mechanics; consent and content stay your call. Read our guide to the 24-hour window and templates.
| Rule | What WhatsApp expects | How Postocial helps |
|---|---|---|
| Opt-in first | Message people first only after they agreed to hear from you on WhatsApp. | Marketing templates skip contacts with no recorded opt-in, and imports ask you to confirm consent. |
| The 24-hour window | Reply freely for 24 hours after the customer's last message. Each new message restarts the clock. | The inbox counts down and offers an approved template once the window closes. |
| Templates | Outside the window, send only templates WhatsApp approved, in the right category. Keep promotions out of utility templates. | Sync, build and submit templates, or start from the copy library. |
| Opt-out | Stop messaging people who ask you to. | Opted-out and blocked contacts are skipped. Add an unsubscribe keyword flow with the Unsubscribe step, so a STOP reply opts people out. |
| Quality and limits | A low quality rating, and your number's messaging limit tier, can restrict how many people you reach. | WhatsApp settings show the quality rating and messaging limit tier of each number. |
| Commerce | Goods and services restricted by WhatsApp's Commerce Policy are off limits, and sellers in India must add compliance details. | Add your India commerce compliance details in Bot setup. |
Information as of . Sources: WhatsApp Business Terms of Service, WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, Meta Commerce Policy, Meta for Developers: WhatsApp Cloud API, sending messages, Meta for Developers: WhatsApp message templates. Our acceptable use policy applies as well.
Do I need the WhatsApp Business API?
You need WhatsApp's Cloud API, which Meta provides, and you set it up from inside Postocial. Meta's Embedded Signup links your number and your Meta Business Manager in a few screens.
Can I keep using the WhatsApp Business app?
Yes. Keep the app on your phone. Replies you send from the phone show up in the inbox, and you can have the bot pause when someone answers from the phone.
Who pays for WhatsApp messages?
Meta bills WhatsApp messages to your WhatsApp Business account, using the payment method you add in Meta Business settings, at the rates on Meta's pricing page. Postocial doesn't charge per message or per broadcast.
Can I message people who haven't opted in?
No. WhatsApp only lets businesses message people who opted in, so marketing broadcasts skip contacts with no recorded opt-in. Never buy, scrape or cold-message lists. When you import contacts, a WhatsApp number is only added if you confirm those people agreed to hear from you on WhatsApp.
Can I send bulk messages?
Yes, as template broadcasts to contacts who opted in. Choose a saved segment and an approved template, then send now, later or at each contact's local time. Opted-out and blocked contacts are skipped.
What is the 24-hour window?
After a customer messages you, you have 24 hours to reply with any message, and each new message from them restarts the clock. Once the window closes, WhatsApp only delivers templates it approved. The inbox shows the time left and offers a template when it runs out. Read the full guide.
Can my whole team answer from one number?
Yes. Everyone answers from the same number in the unified inbox, with assignments, internal notes and saved replies. Custom team roles can limit people to the channels they handle. Your plan sets how many team members you can add: 5 on Premium, 10 on Agency and 10 on Unlimited.
Can I connect more than one number?
Yes. Connect several numbers and pick a default number for new conversations and alerts. Each number counts toward your plan's social accounts: 10 on Premium, 100 on Agency and no limit on Unlimited.
Can I post to WhatsApp Channels or Status?
No. In Postocial, WhatsApp is a messaging channel for chats, chatbots and template broadcasts, and Postocial doesn't publish to WhatsApp Channels or Status. To schedule posts, see the publishing networks.
Bring WhatsApp into your team's inbox
On Premium and higher plans, connect your number during the free trial, answer your first chats as a team and set up a welcome flow before the trial ends.
A card is required to start the 7-day free trial. When the trial ends, we charge your card for the plan you picked, unless you cancel before.