If you have a customer-base that uses WhatsApp regularly, or you want to expand into regions where WhatsApp messaging is popular, we recommend that you add your WhatsApp phone numbers to Zendesk Support.
Make sure that you review Understanding how the WhatsApp works and About the WhatsApp 24-hour rule.
This article includes these sections:
- About the WhatsApp phone number hosting fee
- Required action: Sending your WhatsApp information to Zendesk
- Installing the WhatsApp in Support integration
- Configuring WhatsApp in Support using a deployment ID
- Editing your business profile
- Adjusting views and business rules for WhatsApp tickets
- Advertising your WhatsApp phone number
- Sending proactive messages using “templated messages”
Related articles:
About the WhatsApp phone number hosting fee
You cannot add a WhatsApp phone number to Support unless you have installed social messaging and purchased hosting for your WhatsApp phone number.
If you need to add multiple WhatsApp phone numbers to Support, please let us know when you purchase hosting. You will be billed monthly per phone number.
The WhatsApp hosting fee pays for hosting for a custom piece of software that is created by WhatsApp and that is unique to your WhatsApp phone number. This software allows Support to connect to your WhatsApp phone number via the WhatsApp Business API. Zendesk installs and hosts the software on Amazon Web Service (AWS).
You are not buying an actual phone number such as a landline, cell, or 1-800 phone number from Zendesk. The phone number that you plan to use must be an existing phone number that you already have. You choose to use this phone number with your WhatsApp account. You tell Zendesk what the phone number is. You need to procure the phone number on your own (Zendesk does not provide this service) before you attempt to add WhatsApp to Support.
Required action: Sending your WhatsApp information to Zendesk
After you enable social messaging and hosting for your WhatsApp phone number, there are some additional steps you need to complete before you can add your WhatsApp account to Support. You will need to send Zendesk certain information about your WhatsApp account. We need this information so we can create a unique deployment ID that you need in order to add your WhatsApp account to Support.
To get your deployment ID
- Collect the following information about your WhatsApp account:
If you purchased hosting for multiple WhatsApp phone numbers, collect this information for each of your accounts.
- Check your email for an automated email from Zendesk’s dedicated WhatsApp Integration team (from whatsapp-integration@zendesk.com). Reply to the email with your WhatsApp account information, so we can move forward with your activation.
It takes approx. 1-2 weeks to create your deployment ID and requires a few actions on your side,
- After you receive the email, send your information to the WhatsApp Integration team at whatsapp-integration@zendesk.com so we can move forward with your activation.
Note: Creating the deployment ID takes approximately 1-2 weeks total, and requires a few actions on your side, so please look for a reply email from us detailing your next steps.
Once all steps on both sides are complete, you will receive an email with your deployment ID and an installation link.
- Use your deployment ID to add WhatsApp in your Support account.
WhatsApp Business display name
The WhatsApp Business display name is the name of your business that will appear on end user devices (for example, from the WhatsApp iOS app). We recommend that you use your actual business name as your display name. You can make your display name more specific than your business name, if needed. For example, here we used “Zendesk” as the display name, but we could have used “Zendesk Support” or “Zendesk San Francisco.”
WhatsApp Business phone number
Choosing your WhatsApp Business phone number is important because you can’t change it later.
Every WhatsApp account has a phone number. The phone number that you intend to use with WhatsApp Business must be “clean,” which means that it has never been registered with a WhatsApp account before. There are 3 types of eligible phone numbers:
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Landline | A landline is easiest to use, if you are physically near the phone and able to answer a phone call (this is required part of the set up process). |
| Cell phone | You can use a cell phone number if the number hasn’t been registered with WhatsApp in the last 6 months. |
| 1-800 or toll-free number | You can use these numbers if the phone number is capable of receiving SMS or voice calls directly. You will not be able to use numbers that are behind IVR. (If you have a phone number already registered using a manual code before, it will continue to work normally). |
Be sure to provide the correct formatting for the phone number. For example, in Brazil, +55 11 9XXXX XXXX for a mobile phone or +55 11 XXXX XXXX for a landline.
If your preferred phone number is already affiliated with WhatsApp through the business or consumer app, you have the option of upgrading the phone number to use it with the WhatsApp Business API, but you will need to migrate the phone number first. Here’s how. Migrating your number will erase all previously collected data.
Facebook Business Manager ID
For information about how to find your Facebook Business Manager ID, see these instructions from Facebook. If you don’t have a Facebook Business Manager ID, see these instructions about how to create one (also from Facebook).
Installing the WhatsApp in Support integration
If you have not already installed social messaging you can use the installation link you received from Zendesk.
To install the WhatsApp in Support integration using the installation link
- Click the link in the email and then follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
Alternatively, you can get the integration directly from the Zendesk Marketplace. Click the Admin icon (
) in the sidebar and go to App > Marketplace, and then search for Social Messaging. - To verify that the integration is installed, click the Admin icon () in the sidebar, then select Apps > Manage and confirm the integration is on your list of installed apps.
You are now ready to configure the integration.
If needed, you can uninstall the integration by right-clicking the icon and choosing Uninstall from the shortcut menu.
Configuring WhatsApp in Support using a deployment ID
After you install the social messaging, you need to connect your WhatsApp accounts to Support. The easiest way to do this is with a deployment ID.
To connect WhatsApp accounts to Zendesk Support using a deployment ID
- In Support, click the Admin icon () in the sidebar , then Channels > Channel Integrations.
- On the Channel integrations page, click Social Messaging.
- On the Accounts tab, click the Add account button to add a WhatsApp account.
The Add account wizard displays. Follow the on-screen instructions to add your account.
- From the Channel drop-down list, select WhatsApp, and then click Continue.
- Enter your deployment ID (provided by Zendesk) and then click Save changes.
The Enter your verification code screen displays.
- Choose a verification method (SMS or phone call) and then click Send code.
Go to your WhatsApp account and get your verification code (may take up to 60 seconds).
- Enter your verification code and then click Add account.
The WhatsApp account will now appears in your admin settings under Channels > Channel Integrations.
- Edit your business profile, if needed.
For more information, scroll down and read Editing your business profile.
- (Recommended) Set up the auto responder.
Note: The auto responder sends messages automatically to end user when you when you receive their messages. For more information, see Sending automatic responses to social messaging channels.
Editing your business profile
You can include information about your business in your business profile. These details are visible to your customers from WhatsApp.
To edit your business profile
- In Support, click the Admin icon () in the sidebar, then select Channels > Channel Integrations.
- On the Channel integrations page, click Social Messaging.
- On the Accounts tab, open your WhatsApp channel for editing.
The Edit account screen displays.
- From the Edit account screen, make sure you are on the Business Profile tab.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to add these account details.
- Channel name
- Profile photo
- Short description of the business (appears at the top of the profile)
- Other business information (address, description, email, industry, website)
Note: You can enter two websites (maximum), each with 256 characters or less.
When setting the industry, you must enter one of the following names exactly. Entering your own industry will not update your business profile. Information about the approved industry names (vertical parameters) can be found here on the Facebook developers site.
- Automotive
- Beauty, Spa and Salon
- Clothing and Apparel
- Education
- Entertainment
- Event Planning and Service
- Finance and Banking
- Food and Grocery
- Public Service
- Hotel and Lodging
- Medical and Health
- Non-profit
- Professional Services
- Shopping and Retail
- Travel and Transportation
- Restaurant
- Click Apply changes (for each section).
Adjusting views and business rules for WhatsApp tickets
After you complete initial installation and configuration of WhatsApp in Support, you may want to adjust your views, triggers, and automations to reflect the new WhatsApp channel.
The following examples reflect that you named your integration "WhatsApp" when creating the integration. If you named your WhatsApp account with a different title, such as "Social Messaging," look for that name instead when selecting a channel in business rules.
Views
You can create personal or shared views with these WhatsApp conditions (see Adding views). Agents can also create personal views using these conditions. You can use one or both of these conditions.
-
Ticket: Channel + Is + WhatsApp
This condition causes tickets associated with any WhatsApp phone numbers that are associated with the Support account to appear in the view. This condition appears after the integration is installed, even if you haven’t added any of your WhatsApp accounts yet.
-
Ticket: Integration account + Is + WhatsApp
This condition causes tickets associated with one, specific WhatsApp phone number associated with the Support account to appear in the view.
Triggers
You can create triggers with these WhatsApp conditions:
- Channel + Is + WhatsApp
- Integration account + Is + WhatsApp: WhatsApp Account (account number)
- Requester: WhatsApp Phone Number
You can create triggers with this WhatsApp action:
- Requester: WhatsApp Phone Number
There aren’t any trigger actions for notifications. Use the auto responder instead.
Automations
You can create automations with these WhatsApp conditions:
- Ticket: Channel + Is + WhatsApp
- Integration account + Is + WhatsApp: WhatsApp Account (account number)
- Requester: WhatsApp Phone Number
You can create automations with this WhatsApp action:
- Requester: WhatsApp Phone Number
There aren’t any automation actions for notifications. Use the auto responder instead.
Macros
Macros work with this integration, as long as WhatsApp’s 24-hour rule is observed.
Advertising your WhatsApp phone number
After you have completely configured WhatsApp in Support, you need to advertise your WhatsApp phone number so that customers know how to reach you. Keep in mind that WhatsApp is very strict about how business advertise their WhatsApp phone numbers. It’s your responsibility to make sure you are familiar with WhatsApp’s rules and terms of use.
You must be very clear about where you are telling customers to go. For example, it’s a good idea to say something like, “Click here to chat with us on WhatsApp.” You aren’t allowed to use misleading ads to get customers to message you. For more information, see this article from WhatsApp.
Sending proactive messages using “templated messages”
If the agent fails to reply within 24 hours, it can be difficult to reconnect with the end user. If this sometimes happens to you, you may want to consider using WhatsApp’s templated messages feature in the future (see this article from WhatsApp about templated messages).
With templated messages, you can bypass the 24-hour rule and send proactive WhatsApp messages to your end users. However, keep in mind that templated messages aren’t supported by Zendesk’s WhatsApp in Zendesk Support integration by default. If you want to use templated messages with the integration, please contact your Zendesk sales representative to upgrade your account.
40 Comments
As long as Zendesk will not integrate WhatsApp into a multi-users chat interface, this integration will not be that useful. Customers and leads chatting via WhatsApp don't want to be treated as tickets and expect to have a conversation with the business as they would chat with friends.
As a company, we have integrated WhatsApp among our customer service channels using Callbell (https://www.callbell.eu/) but we look forward to have something with a similiar UX integrated into Zendesk itself!
It seems this integration creates two Views:
Since both are visible to all agents by default, I went ahead and tried to modify that visibility, unsuccessfully... For some reason, it can't be modified:
We have several brands, different multiple operations, Groups, and workflows. Only a fraction of our staff will be supporting the WhatsApp channel, so this visibility setting is very confusing for a lot of people.
EDIT: I've managed to deactivate them (d'oh!), hope nothing breaks :-)
Hi Pedro!
Thank you for your feedback in regards to the visibility of the views created. I understand that you'd like to hide the new views from agents who have not been given access to the WhatsApp in Support app. I will pass this important feedback along.
As for deactivating views, we don't advise this since it won't be possible to later reactivate them. In particular, this creates a problem for accounts with a lot of volume on WhatsApp. Once an account has more than 20 tickets in either view, a show more button appears at the bottom of the first 20 results. If the views are deactivated, you won't be able to use this button to see the rest of your tickets.
Hi
How the Zendesk account is mapped once Customer send a message on Whatsapp?
Account is linked with the phone number or email?
Thank you
Krzysztof
What information Whatsap send to The Zendesk Profile Account
Phone number aswell?
Hi Krzysztof, you should be able to see the phone number in a specific field at the bottom of the customer profile:
It seems that a manual search for a number won't look up in the new Whatsapp field for the moment (at least that's the behavior I see in my account).
Hi Pedro
Thank you. This is helpful.
Best
Kris
Hello, I have submitted a request for this several times (also, several days ago) but haven't heard back from the Zendesk support team. How can I move forward?
Getting error when trying to install the app.
Eugene Ooi I have seen this happen if the subdomain has a conflicting WhatsApp app already installed. If you know this is the case, you will need to uninstall that app and then try installing this one. However, if you create a ticket with the team (whatsapp-integration@zendesk.com) they will be able to take a better look and let you know with more certainty what's blocking the requirements.
How long does it take for Zendesk support to give a deployment ID?
I have created a ticket with the team, emailed Zendesk support too, but so far, my client, who I am contacting you on their behalf, is still waiting for your support team to give them their deployment ID so that they can finish setting up the WhatsApp plugin that they have already installed.
I have the same problem. Is it enabled for all customers?
Apparently it takes 2-4 weeks to get a deployment ID? I'm still waiting for anyone at Zendesk Support to help me out with this.
It is a problem that takes so long. it is not convenient to upgrade to the professional plan until no response is received. The professional plan is a requirement to install whatsapp business.
I completely agree, Gonzalo. I am working on behalf of a client to get this integration set up.
However, because it is taking so long, my client now may get something developed themselves to do the job.
I would prefer they use Zendesk though, which is why I am pushing their support team to act and get a deployment ID. Setting up this extension is costing both time and money.
Come on Zendesk, help us out!
https://premiumplus.io/whatsapp#
🤔
Gonzalo and Ian Walker thank you for your interest in using WhatsApp for Zendesk Support. The first step in this process is to reach out to your Account Executive to get approval from WhatsApp and purchase the add-on. If you don't know who your Account Executive is, I suggest filling out this form: https://www.zendesk.com/message/
Once that's done we'll be able to quickly get you your deployment ID.
Hope this helps clarify.
Thank you Stephanie, how long does it take to respond for the request?
I've been waiting for over 4 months for our deployment ID - promised so much - delivered very little!
You'd think it would normally take 2 to 3 weeks.
Gonzalo shouldn't take more than a couple days for someone to reach out to you and get the process started.
Lyreco UK apologies for the long delay, I can see in your last ticket that your Account Executive was trying to solve the issue for you. However, without issues the whole process should only take 2-3 weeks as you mention with most of the delay resulting from us waiting on WhatsApp approvals.
Hi Stephanie.
My client has already done that and nothing. I have two open tickets about this.
In one ticket I was told that the account executive would get in touch, but nothing has happened.
Please can you help us out?
I am referring to this ticket:
https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/5148511
Thanks!
Hi Stephanie,
My problem is that its not even reaching WhatsApp to get the ID created! There is a distinct lack of knowledge amongst the account teams as to how to progress the requests.
There is no ownership of the situation, all I see as your customer are the support teams hiding being the chat bot and not giving me a means to speak to someone to explain my frustration! I'm happy to chat to anyone that will just get this resolved, someone that will take ownership and keep me informed! Is that too much to ask for a existing client?
Thanks
I completely agree with you, John!
This is handled very badly on behalf of Zendesk. The instructions are not clear, no timescales are given either, so it's kind of like a shot in the dark. As I said though, I still believe Zendesk's WhatsApp integration is the best out there right now. I just wish this entire setup process was a lot smoother!
Having live chat as a support option for Zendesk, so we can speak to real people in real time, instead of just a help centre, a bot and a ticketing system would be a positive step in doing this. It may also help us get this resolved much quicker.
It's really a case of shout as loud as you can with this to get heard right now.
Regards - Ian
Lyreco UK and Ian Walker thank you for your feedback around the activation process I'll see what we can do to help clarify things and include time estimates to our documentation. Please know that I have reached out to both your assigned Account Executives so they can help better guide you through the process.
I hope we'll be able to get you both up and running on WhatsApp ASAP.
Hi Stephanie.
Thanks very much. That is much appreciated. Yes, your entire process for this definitely needs improvement.
Regards.
vruyr
I have a question i hope someone can help me with.
We have several facebook pages for the same brand, but country specific in terms of language and content. I have connected one WhatsApp account to all of them without problems, but if i want to offer WhatsApp support through Zendesk I need to create a WhatsApp account/number for each site instead of being able to use the one Account that i already have?
I hope someone can help me with an answer to this.
Cheers
Hi Sebastian Juul Jensen,
When connecting a phone number to the WhatsApp API, we need to connect it to a single business manager so if all your Facebook pages are in the same business manager, you can use one number. However, if you plan on using the auto responder you should note that you can only configure a single message, there's no option for translations. Ultimately it's up to you and how you plan to use the WhatsApp integration.
Hi Stephanie Langlois How would you route the incoming tickets in Sebastian case? We have a situation where a company has several branches and Whatsapp or Facebook messages should be routed to a specific branch per the requester's geolocalization, so we would need to be able to assign data to a field in the ticket so we can use it for eg. in a trigger or view.
Is this possible?
Does anyone know how to resolve the below issue? 6 weeks + and still can't get the integration correct also support keep telling me to clear my browser and follow the instructions which I have, the error provides no indication on where it is failing. Since I am not getting support from the support team wondering if anyone else has experienced this issue and could help me
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