WhatsApp Bot

Create a new app

After creating your Meta Developer Account, select "My App >> Create an app".

Select Other in "What do you want your app to do" section.

"Select Other" on What do you want your app to do section.

Select Business

"Select Business" - the type of app you want to create and use for your business.

Create App details

Give your app a name, enter a contact email, and connect it with your business account.

Add WhatsApp to your app

In your app, add the WhatsApp product.

First, you'll need to select a business profile if you already have one setup. Then continue.

Note: If you don't have a business profile set up, then you'll be met with a different screen. From here, just let the platform guide you through the process of setting up a business profile.

Then after adding the WhatsApp product you'll be redirected to the quickstart page

Copy your app credentials

First, go to the "API Setup" page and take note of the "Temporary access token". You'll need it later.

Next, got to "App settings" -> "Basic" and take note of the "App ID" and "App Secret". You'll need it later.

Configuring the WhatsApp Bot trigger

Trigger Inputs:

• Path: This field specifies the endpoint path for receiving webhook requests from the WhatsApp API.

• App ID: (mentioned in previous step) This field requires entering the App ID provided by the WhatsApp Business Manager Cloud API (opens in a new tab). It is a unique identifier for your application, displayed on top of your Meta App Dashboard.

• App Secret: (mentioned in previous step) This field requires entering the App Secret provided by the WhatsApp Business Manager Cloud API (opens in a new tab). It is a secret key used for authentication and securing communication with the WhatsApp Cloud API.

• Verification Token: This can be any text you want to use, just take note of it as you'll need it later.

Configuring the OpenAI Text Generator node

This node is used to generate a response to the incoming message. You'll need to select your OpenAI API key or create a new one. Or just use the "Use Credits" option to use the credits from your BuildShip account.

Configuring the Auto-Responder node

The Auto-Responder node is used to send the generated response to the incoming message. The only field you need to enter is the Access Token. You can use the temporary access token provided by Meta for testing purposes (mentioned in previous steps).

Ship 🚀 your workflow

Make sure to take note of the endpoint URL as you'll need it in the next step.

Save the webhook in Meta

To connect the WhatsApp API to BuildShip, you need to configure a webhook. In your Meta Developer Account, go to "WhatsApp" >> "Configuration" >> "Edit Webhook". Enter the endpoint URL you copied from the previous step as well as the verify token you entered earlier when you configured the WhatsApp Bot trigger. Then click "Verify" and "Save".

Subscribe to messaging notifications

To receive all messaging events from WhatsApp in BuildShip, you need to subscribe to messaging on webhooks. Click "Manage" (Webhook fields) and subscribe to messages.

Test setup with test message

First, go to "WhatsApp" >> "API Setup".

• For the From number, select the test number that Meta provides.
• For the To number, select a number from the recipient phone number list or add your own if not listed.
• Then click send message to test if you're receiving a message from WhatsApp. If it works, you'll receive a Hello World message from WhatsApp.

Go to Business Settings

Access your Business Settings (opens in a new tab). Then select the business account your app is associated with.

Create a system user

Go to "Settings" >> "System users". Click Add. Name the system user, choose Admin as the user role, and click Create System User.

Associate the system user with your app

Go to "Assign Assets" >> "Apps". Select your app and give the system user partial or full access. Click "Assign assets".

Generate a new token

Click "Generate new token" >> Select your app from the dropdown menu.

4.1. Set the token experiation date to Never expire.

4.2. Make sure "whatsapp_business_messaging" and "whatsapp_business_management" are turned on. Click "Generate token".

Save your permanent token

Take note of the generated Access Token because you won't be able to see it again. This is a permanent token that can be used for your WhatsApp Bot.