How WhatsApp Works¶
WhatsApp lets customers who message your WhatsApp Business number talk to your agents directly from Daktela. Before you set it up, it helps to understand the pieces involved and how a chat travels through them β each piece is set up on a different screen in Daktela, but they only work together.
When you are ready to build, follow Set Up WhatsApp β it takes you through all the steps in the right order.
Warning
WhatsApp is billed directly by Meta and comes with strict communication rules β the 24-hour customer service window, template messages, consent requirements and anti-spam sending limits. Read WhatsApp Pricing & Communication Rules before you start.
The Journey of a Chat¶
- A customer sends a message to your WhatsApp Business number. Daktela receives it through a connector β a routing linked to your authorised WhatsApp Business Account.
- The connector sends the chat to its Next destination β usually a time condition that checks your business hours.
- During business hours, the chat lands in a queue, which rings your agents according to its distribution strategy. Replying within the 24-hour service window needs no template β from 1 October 2026 Meta charges each reply as a service message.
- Outside business hours β or when no agent answers in time β the chat is routed to a terminate target, which can log the chat as missed so you can follow up.
- Optionally, you can insert automessages or a decision tree/chatbot anywhere in the chain. To message a customer outside the 24-hour window, agents need an approved template.
The Building Blocks¶
| Building block | What it does | Where to set it up |
|---|---|---|
| Connector | The link between your WhatsApp Business Account and Daktela, including the WABA authorisation. Its Next destination starts the routing chain. | Settings β Routings β WhatsApp |
| Time condition | Routes the chat to different targets depending on date and time, using a time group. | Settings β Routings β WhatsApp β Time conditions |
| Queue | Holds waiting chats and distributes them to agents according to the distribution strategy. | Settings β Routings β Queues |
| Agents | The users whose rights have access to the queue. | Settings β Routings β Queues, Agents column |
| Terminate | Defines how a chat ends and whether it counts as answered or missed. | Settings β Routings β WhatsApp β Terminate |
| Automessages | Automatic messages sent to the customer while they wait. | Settings β Routings β WhatsApp β Automessages |
| Templates | Approved message templates β required for outgoing (business-initiated) WhatsApp messages. | Settings β Workflows β Templates |
| Decision tree | Daktela's built-in chatbot (currently in Beta for WhatsApp). | Settings β Routings β WhatsApp β Decision trees |
| Chatbot | A connection to a third-party chatbot. | Settings β Routings β WhatsApp β Chatbots |
Info
Changes to connectors, time conditions, automessages, decision trees, chatbots and terminate targets only take effect after you click Apply configuration changes in the top right corner of the routing overview.
Before You Start¶
- Administrator access to the Settings section of Daktela.
- A Facebook Business account and a phone number for WhatsApp β the wizard can create the WhatsApp Business Account and Profile during authorisation.
- A number that is not registered in the WhatsApp mobile app β a number can be active either in the WhatsApp app on a phone or on the WhatsApp Business API that Daktela uses, never both at once. If the number is currently used in the app, you must delete the account from the app first, and you cannot use the number in the app again while it is connected to Daktela.
- Contact Daktela first β please get in touch with us before creating a new connector; our Sales team will be happy to get you started.
- Your business hours and a list of agents who will answer chats.
Ready? Continue to Set Up WhatsApp.