Let customers chat with your bot on WhatsApp — connect your own number via Meta's Cloud API.
Before you start
WhatsApp connects to DGbot through Meta's official WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API). You create the Meta-side account yourself — it stays yours — and paste four values into DGbot. Once connected, your bot answers customer messages on WhatsApp using the same knowledge base, tools, and handoff rules as your website widget.
You'll need:
- A Facebook account (to access Meta's business tools)
- A phone number for the bot that can receive an SMS or voice call once during setup
- Your business details (legal name, website) for Meta's display-name review
Set up on Meta
Go to business.facebook.com and sign in with your Facebook account. If you don't already have a business portfolio, create one with your company name. This is your business's identity across Meta's tools.
Go to developers.facebook.com/apps → Create App.
- On Use cases, select "Connect with customers through WhatsApp"
- On Business, link the business portfolio from step 1
- Finish the wizard and open your new app's dashboard
Select Connect with customers through WhatsApp on the Use cases screen.
In the app dashboard, open WhatsApp → API Setup.
Using the test number (recommended first): Meta already created one for you — it appears in the From dropdown. Under To, click *Manage phone number list* and add up to 5 phones you'll test from (each confirms via OTP).
Using your real number: open WhatsApp Manager → Account tools → Phone numbers → Add phone number, enter your dedicated business number, and verify it via SMS or voice OTP. Then set your display name (e.g. "Acme Support") — Meta reviews it, usually within hours. Generic or trademarked names get rejected.
The API Setup page — your test number, Phone number ID, and WABA ID all live here.
Get your credentials
DGbot needs four values. Collect them all before switching to the DGbot admin.
Both are on the WhatsApp → API Setup page, just under the From number:
- Phone number ID — a long numeric ID (this is *not* the phone number itself)
- WhatsApp Business Account ID (WABA ID) — shown alongside it
The token shown on the API Setup page is temporary (24h) — don't use it. Create a permanent one:
1. Go to Business Settings → Users → System users (business.facebook.com/settings)
2. Add a system user — name it anything (e.g. dgbot-api), role Admin
3. On the new system user, click Add assets → Apps, select your app, enable Full control, save
4. Click Generate new token → select your app → expiration Never → check the scopes whatsapp_business_messaging and whatsapp_business_management → Generate
Generating the permanent token: app selected, expiry Never, both WhatsApp scopes checked.
In the app dashboard, go to App settings → Basic (bottom of the left sidebar). Click Show next to App secret and copy it. DGbot uses this to verify that webhook calls really come from Meta.
The App secret on the App settings → Basic page.
Connect DGbot
Fill in the four fields — Phone number ID, WABA ID, permanent access token, and App secret — pick which chatbot should answer, and click Connect.
DGbot validates the credentials against Meta live: if they're correct you'll see your number's display name appear; if anything is wrong you'll get the exact error immediately. Your token and secret are encrypted at rest and never shown again.
The DGbot WhatsApp settings page after a successful connection.
Wire up the webhook
This is how Meta delivers your customers' messages to DGbot.
After connecting, the DGbot settings page shows your unique Callback URL and Verify token (copy buttons next to each).
1. In your Meta app dashboard, go to WhatsApp → Configuration
2. Under Webhook, click Edit, paste the Callback URL and Verify token exactly as copied, and click Verify and save
3. Under Webhook fields, click Manage and subscribe to messages
The status badge in DGbot flips to Connected the moment step 2 succeeds.
Meta's webhook configuration — Callback URL, Verify token, and the messages field subscription.
Test it
Send a WhatsApp message to your business number from an allowlisted phone (or any phone, if you're on a real number). You should see:
1. Blue ticks and a typing… indicator while the bot thinks
2. An answer from your bot's knowledge base, with sources if you have them enabled
The conversation also appears in your admin Conversations list with a whatsapp channel tag, and human handoff works the same as on the widget — when a customer asks for a person, the chat lands in your Live Inbox and your agents' replies are delivered back to WhatsApp.
You can also use the Send a test message card on the DGbot settings page to confirm the outbound direction independently.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause & fix |
|---|---|
| Meta says *"The callback URL or verify token couldn't be validated"* | The URL or token wasn't copied exactly. Re-copy both from the DGbot settings page with the copy buttons — no extra spaces, no placeholders. |
| DGbot says *"Meta rejected these credentials"* on Connect | Wrong Phone number ID (it's the numeric ID, not the phone number), or the token is missing the two whatsapp_business_* scopes, or the system user doesn't have your app assigned with full control. |
| Badge shows Token error — reconnect | Your access token was revoked or regenerated on Meta's side. Generate a new permanent token (step 5) and update it in DGbot. Incoming messages are not lost while this is broken. |
| Messages send but the bot never replies | The webhook isn't delivering: confirm you subscribed to the messages field (step 8.3), and that the badge says Connected. |
| Bot replies don't arrive on your phone | On a test number, your phone must be in the 5-recipient allowlist (step 3). Check the recipient list in WhatsApp → API Setup. |
| The bot answers but a human can't take over | Handoff rules are the same as the widget — check your availability settings under Settings → Handoff (business hours, agent availability). |