Connect WhatsApp
You connect your WhatsApp Business number per assistant under Settings → Integrations; the app on your phone keeps working, and the assistant replies with what it knows on the phone.
Customers message you on WhatsApp, and your assistant replies with the same knowledge as on the phone. When you are done, your WhatsApp Business number is connected to an assistant, and you know what Meta asks while connecting, what it costs and how to disconnect again.
Before you connect
The number belongs to one assistant. Each assistant has at most one WhatsApp number. The WhatsApp card is under Settings
You need a Facebook account. Meta signs you in in a window of its own. Use your personal account, not one several people share: whoever signs in there later manages your business's WhatsApp account at Meta.
Which number?
- Your number already runs in the WhatsApp Business app: Connect your WhatsApp Business number. The app keeps working, and you still see every message on your phone. Meta requires version 2.24.17 of the app or later.
- Your number is signed in to the regular WhatsApp app: switch to the WhatsApp Business app first. The regular app cannot be connected.
- The number is signed in to no WhatsApp app: Connect a number without the app. You then reply in scoco.
- You want to use one of your scoco numbers: see Use a scoco number.
Connect your WhatsApp Business number
Keep the phone with the WhatsApp Business app at hand: unlocked, with the app open.
- In the assistant's WhatsApp card, click Connect your WhatsApp Business number. If scoco states the price, confirm with Connect for a fee.
- Meta opens a window of its own. Sign in with your Facebook account. If Facebook asks whether it may use cookies for the sign-in, agree; otherwise the sign-in ends there.
- Meta names LuminaByte GmbH, the company behind scoco, as the partner. Enter your WhatsApp Business number. Meta recognises it and shows the profile from your app. Confirm it.
- Choose your business's business portfolio, or create one.
- Scan the QR code Meta shows from inside the WhatsApp Business app. Meta also sends the link to it as a WhatsApp message to your number.
- Confirm your business details and WhatsApp's terms.
- Complete the window's last step. The card now shows Connected and With the WhatsApp Business app — you see every message on your phone too.
Keep the app open for a few minutes afterwards while WhatsApp syncs the connection. scoco does not take over old chats.
A payment method at Meta
WhatsApp bills its message fees directly to your business, not through scoco. Meta requires a payment method in your WhatsApp account for this. You can add it in the last step of Meta's window, or later through Open WhatsApp Manager in the WhatsApp card.
What changes on your phone
- When you reply in the app yourself, the assistant stays out of that chat. The chat then says your team has taken it over. More under Answer WhatsApp chats.
- Linked devices are signed out. Sign WhatsApp Web and WhatsApp on your computer back in afterwards. Meta does not support WhatsApp for Windows in this mode.
- Open the app regularly. If it stays closed for about two weeks, WhatsApp disconnects the number. The card then shows Disconnected. Open the app and connect again.
How the assistant replies on WhatsApp
What the assistant does on WhatsApp is set under Assistants
- Accept WhatsApp messages turns WhatsApp on for this assistant.
- The assistant replies by itself: when off, messages only land in the Inbox, and your team replies. A good start for the first week.
- Book appointments over WhatsApp uses the same times and rules as on the phone and needs a connected calendar.
- Have photos described: the assistant has photos described and can respond to them. It always transcribes voice messages.
- First message comes before the first reply of every conversation and says that an AI is writing. The EU AI Act requires this.
When the assistant is Paused, it does not reply on WhatsApp at all; see Assistant status.
Cost
Each connected number is a paid add-on with conversations included. You find the price per number and how many conversations are included under Plans. scoco also states both in the Book the WhatsApp assistant window, before you connect. How many you have used this month is under Settings
Use a scoco number
Instead of your own number, one of your scoco numbers can be the WhatsApp number. WhatsApp confirms it with a call, and scoco answers that call.
- Choose the number in the WhatsApp card and click Connect this scoco number.
- Click Open Meta's window and add the number there as a new phone number.
- Choose confirmation by call. The code appears in the card. Type it into Meta's window.
Disconnect
- In the WhatsApp card, click Disconnect.
- Confirm with Yes, disconnect.
New WhatsApp messages then no longer reach scoco, and billing for this number ends. Existing conversations stay in the Inbox. Your WhatsApp account at Meta and the WhatsApp Business app remain.
Common problems
The connection was cancelled in Meta's window. You closed the window or declined the sign-in, for example the cookies. Nothing was connected. Start again.
Meta's window does not open. An ad or pop-up blocker is often the cause. Allow pop-ups for app.scoco.ai and try again.
Meta asks for a code by text or call instead of showing your profile. Meta did not recognise the number as a WhatsApp Business app number. Check that it is signed in to the WhatsApp Business app and that the app is up to date. Go back in Meta's window instead of requesting a code.
The card shows Disconnected. WhatsApp ended the connection, usually because the app was not opened for about two weeks. Open the app and click Reconnect.
The assistant does not reply. Under Assistants