WhatsApp

What it is

Connect a WhatsApp Business number to any one of your bots, and MonCha answers customers there with the exact same knowledge base, persona, and instructions as your website chat. It's the same bot — just another door in. There is no separate WhatsApp add-on: once a bot is live, WhatsApp is included.

Setup lives on Dashboard → Integrations. Each bot has its own WhatsApp row: Not connected, or Connected · plus the phone number. You can connect a number you already own, or Get a number from MonCha (billed monthly) and attach it to a bot.

Before you start

• Create at least one bot. If you have none, Integrations shows Create a bot first to connect WhatsApp.
• You need a Facebook login that can manage the business you want to use with WhatsApp.
• The number must be a WhatsApp Business number — not a personal WhatsApp account. If this number currently runs personal WhatsApp, delete that personal account on the phone first. WhatsApp will not let the same number be personal and Business at once.
• Have the phone nearby if you are adding a new number. WhatsApp sends a one-time code to that SIM.

Connect WhatsApp — step by step

1. In the dashboard sidebar, select the bot that should answer WhatsApp (for example your gym bot, not a second brand). Each number is locked to that bot's knowledge base.
2. Open Dashboard → Integrations. Find the WhatsApp card.
3. On that bot's row, click the green Connect WhatsApp button. The label switches to Connecting… while MonCha opens WhatsApp Business setup.
4. Log in with Facebook when asked. Use the Facebook that owns (or can create) this business — not a personal profile that has no access.
5. Choose or create the Facebook Business, then choose or create the WhatsApp Business account for it.
6. Choose the phone number:
   • You already have WhatsApp Business — pick that number.
   • New SIM, never used for WhatsApp — add the number and enter the code WhatsApp texts to the phone.
7. If this business already has more than one WhatsApp number, you will be asked to pick which number belongs to this MonCha bot. Pick one. The same number cannot be connected to two MonCha bots.
8. Finish the window. You land back on Integrations. The row should read Connected · followed by the number (for example Connected · +91 7397 366 612).

If the window closes and Integrations still says Not connected, click Connect WhatsApp again — do not add the number in WhatsApp Manager alone. The number is only linked to the bot after this Integrations flow completes.

Get a number from MonCha

On the WhatsApp card, under Your WhatsApp numbers, click Get a number. That opens a country picker. The price is a monthly subscription — not a one-time fee. You must tick I understand this renews every month until I release the number before checkout.

• Countries, stock, and which places need verification come from live availability. If a country is missing, we cannot sell it that day. Singapore and the United Kingdom typically need verification; the United States typically does not. Trust the flag on the country you pick, not a static list.
• Price is shown in your billing currency (USD, INR, SGD, MYR, or JPY) — the same currency as your plan after you have paid. If you have not paid yet, we use the currency for your location. You cannot pick a different currency at checkout.
• The underlying list price is in US dollars. For any other billing currency we convert at today's mid-market rate (the same class of rate you see on Google or XE) and round up so the charge is never below that dollar price. The amount on the picker is the amount Stripe charges each month.
• Some countries need business verification (usually 1–3 business days). You add a card now; the first month starts when the number is approved, not the day you add the card. Complete verification from the number row — Continue verification. Some countries also ask for Finish identity check.
• Out-of-stock countries that still accept a pre-order usually take 2–4 weeks. They are not instant.
• When the row says Number ready, choose a bot and click Continue with Facebook to finish WhatsApp Business setup — same Facebook steps as connecting a number you already own.
• If you close Facebook before it finishes, the number is not connected. The row will say WhatsApp is not connected yet, and that bot will show Finish connecting. Use that, or Cancel to free the number for another bot. Only after Facebook completes will the bot row say Connected.

A purchased number belongs to the workspace, not to one bot. Disconnect it from a bot to attach it to another. That does not stop the monthly charge. Click Stop billing to cancel the next month — WhatsApp keeps working until that date, then we remove the number automatically. You can also Remove number sooner if you do not need it. You cannot remove a number while the next month is still set to renew.

One number per bot

Each bot connects its own number. A business with separate bots for Sales and Support connects a different WhatsApp number to each. Messages to one number never see the other bot's knowledge base. A bot that already has WhatsApp cannot connect a second number until you disconnect the first.

Controls on Integrations

Once the row shows Connected, two switches appear under that bot:

• AI replies — on by default. MonCha answers WhatsApp with the same brain as the website widget. Turn it off to keep the number as a staff-only inbox: messages are still saved, but the assistant stays silent until a teammate replies.
• Show on website widget — on by default. Adds a WhatsApp shortcut on this bot's chat widget home screen so site visitors can tap through to that number. Turn it off if you want WhatsApp for inbound messages only, with no button on the site.

You can also show or hide that shortcut from Dashboard → Widget → Home screen. WhatsApp there uses the number connected here — you do not paste a wa.me link. Up to two shortcuts can be on at once (WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, X, LINE, or Booking). See Customize the widget.

Try it

1. From a different phone than the connected number, send a WhatsApp message to the connected number (a simple “hi” is enough).
2. You should get a reply from the bot, using that bot's knowledge base.
3. Open Dashboard → Conversations to see the thread. The same conversation continues if the person writes again later. Leads are scored the same way as website chat — see Leads — using their WhatsApp number as the contact.

Disconnect

On the bot's WhatsApp row, click Disconnect. Confirm when asked — this disconnects the number from that bot. Past conversations stay in your history. The widget shortcut disappears immediately and the bot stops answering that number.

If this was a number you already owned, click Connect WhatsApp to use WhatsApp again. If you bought the number from MonCha, click Stop billing on Your WhatsApp numbers — it keeps working until the paid month ends, then we remove it. You can also remove it immediately.

Quota

Each AI reply on WhatsApp counts toward the same monthly message quota as your website widget — see Plans & quotas. Customer messages are not counted. There is no per-message WhatsApp add-on. A number you buy from MonCha is a separate monthly charge for the number itself.

The 24-hour window

WhatsApp Business rules mean MonCha can reply freely while a customer is actively messaging. If more than 24 hours pass since their last message, they need to write in again before the bot can reply — this is a WhatsApp platform rule, not a MonCha limit.

If something goes wrong

• Connect WhatsApp does nothing / “temporarily unavailable” — WhatsApp connections may be paused on our side. Wait and try again, or contact support.
• “This bot already has WhatsApp” — disconnect the current number first, then connect the new one.
• “That WhatsApp number is already connected to another bot” — disconnect it from the other bot, or pick a different number. One number cannot sit on two bots.
• The number shows in WhatsApp Manager but not in MonCha — adding a number only in Meta’s tools does not attach it to a bot. Run Connect WhatsApp from Integrations for that bot.
• You bought a number but the bot still says Not connected — Facebook did not finish. On Your WhatsApp numbers click Continue with Facebook, or on the bot click Finish connecting. Do not use Connect WhatsApp on another bot for that same purchased number.
• No reply when you message the number — confirm Integrations shows Connected, AI replies is on, and you wrote from a different phone. Check Conversations for the inbound message.