WhatsApp channel

Your agent can answer your WhatsApp Business number: visitors message you on WhatsApp, the agent replies with the same knowledge, tools and guardrails as on your website, and every conversation lands in your Inbox — where you can take over as a human and your reply is delivered back into the WhatsApp thread.

You bring your own (free) Meta WhatsApp setup; Kelma connects to it. One-time setup, about 15 minutes:

1. Create the Meta app

1. Go to developers.facebook.com → My Apps → Create app → type Business.
2. In the app dashboard, add the WhatsApp product.
3. Under WhatsApp → API Setup you'll see a test number, or connect your real business number. Note the Phone number ID (a long number — not the phone number itself).

2. Create a permanent access token

The token shown on the API Setup page expires in 24 hours — don't use it. Instead:

1. In Meta Business Settings → Users → System users, create a system user (Admin).
2. Add assets → assign your app with full control.
3. Generate new token → select your app, tick the whatsapp_business_messaging and whatsapp_business_management permissions, set expiry to never.
4. Copy the token — this is what you paste into Kelma.

3. Connect it in Kelma

On your agent's Integrations tab, open WhatsApp Business and paste the Phone number ID and the access token (plus, recommended, the App secret from App settings → Basic — it lets Kelma verify that webhook calls really come from Meta). Click Connect — Kelma then shows your Callback URL and Verify token.

4. Point Meta's webhook at Kelma

In the Meta app: WhatsApp → Configuration → Webhook:

1. Paste the Callback URL and Verify token from the Kelma panel and save — Meta pings Kelma and should verify instantly.
2. Under Webhook fields, subscribe to messages.

Send your number a WhatsApp message — the agent should reply within a few seconds, and the conversation appears in your inbox marked WhatsApp.

Good to know

• Human takeover works exactly like the widget: reply from the inbox and the AI goes quiet; your replies are delivered into the WhatsApp thread. WhatsApp only allows free-form replies within 24 hours of the visitor's last message (Meta's rule) — later than that, the message stays in the transcript but won't be delivered.
• Text only for now — if someone sends an image or voice note, the agent politely asks for text.
• Replies use WhatsApp's own formatting (bold, plain links); the agent is told to keep answers short and chat-like.
• Messages consume the same monthly message tokens as website chats.