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
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.
To purchase hosting for your WhatsApp phone number, contact your account manager.
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.
- Send your information to the WhatsApp Integration team at whatsapp-integration@zendesk.com so we can move forward with your activation.
- Check your email for an automated email from Zendesk’s dedicated WhatsApp Integration team (from whatsapp-integration@zendesk.com).
- Once all steps on both sides are complete, you will receive an email with your deployment ID and an installation link.
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.
- 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. In Admin Center, click the Apps and integrations icon (
) in the sidebar, then select Apps > Zendesk Support apps. Then click Marketplace at the top of the page and search for Social Messaging. -
In Admin Center, click the Apps and integrations icon () in the sidebar, then select Apps > Zendesk Support apps. 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 Admin Center, click the Apps and integrations icon () in the sidebar, then select Apps > Channel apps.
- 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 appear in the Admin Center under Apps and integrations > Channel apps.
- 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 Admin Center, click the Apps and integrations icon () in the sidebar, then select Apps > Channel apps.
- 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 + Social Messaging
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 + Social Messaging
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 + Social Messaging
- Integration account + Is + Social Messaging: 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 + Social Messaging
- Integration account + Is + Social Messaging: 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).
41 Comments
How to disconnect the whatsapp number? I can't find the information anywhere, and I am not receiving support.
As outlined in this section of this article:
We can only deactivate the phone number, and I see that you raised a ticket with our support team and it was already forwarded to our WhatsApp team so they can further assist if you wish to deactivate the number. Kindly wait for an update via email soon. Thanks!
Hi.
Yes I have raised the issue with support but no one has answered. My sales person had said it was not an issue, but suddenly stopped answering my emails. We are cancelling our account with zendesk precisely because of the lack of support. We are moving to a new platform and have clients that WhatsApp to that line, that belongs to us!
Typical BS from Zendesk. You need to force them to let go of your WA number. Otherwise, write a complaint to Meta/Facebook. They are not allowed to put you under duress for leaving their lousy platform...
I've reached out to our team to update you on the ticket you've raised with us. Thank you!
Hi Christine. I have received how to erase the account but no explanation on why it is not in my business account manager and how I can transition. Still waiting for your team to reach out.
It seems that our team already updated the ticket and waiting for more information from you. Kindly check your email. Thanks!
Esiste la possibilità di caricare le vecchie chat?
Hi Team,
We have multiple brands to represent the countries where we provide our services on, we are planning to have one phone number for the 5 countries, while setting up WhatsApp Channel we had the chance to choose only one brand to be linked to a channel, do you suggest adding multiple channels with the same phone and each to be assigned to a brand, or only one channel would do
Good morning Ahmed,
The only possibility at the moment is to create Brands and link each number to a brand. The problem will be if you want to link 2 numbers to the same brand, and you would have to create an additional brand. Even if a brand has 2 whatsapps for 2 countries, you will have to create 2 brands, one for each country. There is no other option today to be able to identify the number and separate the tickets.
Hello Fabio Miliucci, I can see you commented the article in Italian so I went ahead and opened a ticket on your behalf to reply to your question in Italian.
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