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WhatsApp flows

Setting up trigger-and-reply flows for WhatsApp, how inbound messages actually reach the inbox, and the two separate reasons nothing is ever sent.

Updated

A WhatsApp flow pairs a trigger keyword with a reply message. Inbound WhatsApp messages pushed into Social Studio land in the inbox and update the CRM, and a matching flow produces the reply text.

Nothing is sent. That is true for two independent reasons, and both would have to change: there is no WhatsApp send adapter in this product at all, and the automated reply would still need a human confirmation step that nothing here provides. No credential, plan or setting makes it send.

Inbound is real but it is not a webhook you point Meta or Twilio at. It is an authenticated endpoint inside the product that your own integration calls, and it requires a message id from the provider so that a redelivered message is not filed twice.

BEFORE YOU START

  • The "reply" or "moderate" permission to add, pause or delete a flow.
  • The "create" or "edit" permission for the inbound endpoint, which is what your integration will use.
  • A plan that includes WhatsApp. Every paid plan does; the free preview and the contracted enterprise tier do not.
  • Access to the workspace.

STEPS

  1. Open WhatsApp for the workspace, or go to /app/workspaces/{workspace}/whatsapp.
  2. Read the badge next to the heading. It says "Not connected", which is the accurate state.
  3. Add a flow: give it a name, the trigger keyword, and the reply message.
  4. Pause a flow you are not using, or delete one you no longer want.
  5. Have your integration post inbound messages to the workspace WhatsApp inbound endpoint, including the provider's own message id.
  6. Read the resulting messages in the inbox, and reply from WhatsApp Business yourself.

WHAT YOU SHOULD SEE

The flow listed with its trigger and status. Inbound messages appearing in the inbox as direct messages from WhatsApp, and the sender appearing in the CRM.

WHAT THIS WILL NOT DO

  • It will not send. The reply text is produced and returned; sending it is yours to do.
  • It will not show a message thread. There is no conversation view here; the inbox holds the messages.
  • It will not manage message templates. WhatsApp only delivers an automated reply to somebody who messaged you in the previous twenty-four hours, and reaching anyone outside that window needs a pre-approved template. This surface does not manage or send approved templates.
  • It will not mark anything delivered. No reply is shown as delivered, because none is.
  • It will not do any of this on your phone. The mobile screen lists flows read only.

IF IT DOES NOT WORK

  • "WhatsApp sending is not built: no WhatsApp provider exists in this product, so no credential, plan, setting or provider approval makes this work. Inbound messages still reach the inbox and update the CRM, and the reply text is returned by this API - send it from WhatsApp Business yourself." is the honest outcome of every attempted reply.
  • "This message is already being ingested. Retry the delivery." means two deliveries of the same message arrived at once. Retry as your provider normally would.
  • "reply or moderate permission required." and "create or edit permission required." are the two permission refusals.
  • "Could not add the flow.", "Could not update the flow." and "Could not delete the flow." are the fallbacks.
  • "No flows yet." is the empty state.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Is my plan the reason nothing sends?

No. Every paid plan includes WhatsApp, and the entitlement is not the blocker. The blocker is that no adapter exists.

Can I point Meta's webhook at Social Studio?

Not directly. The inbound endpoint is authenticated and expects an authorised caller rather than a signed provider callback, so something of yours has to sit in between.

Why require the provider's message id?

Because providers redeliver. The id is what stops one message being filed twice.

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