Why WhatsApp shouldn't live on one phone
Many customers write to you on WhatsApp first. When those messages stay on a single phone, nobody can see who answered, which customer is waiting or which question keeps coming back.
A WhatsApp number connected to Miko lands in the same inbox as web chat and email: conversations are assigned to your team, labelled by topic, and Miko AI answers on WhatsApp the way it answers web chat.
Before you start
- A Meta Business account and the business number you'll use for WhatsApp.
- Access to Meta for Developers. The number connects through Meta's official WhatsApp Business Platform with your own app; Miko never puts a number of its own in between.
1. Create a Meta app
- In the Miko panel, open Settings › Channels › WhatsApp › Connect WhatsApp number. The screen shows the three steps in the order Meta asks for them.
- In Meta for Developers, create a Business app.
- Add the WhatsApp product to it, with your business number.
2. Point its webhook at Miko
The Miko screen shows two values: a Callback URL and a Verify token. They tell Meta where to send new messages.
- In Meta, paste both values under WhatsApp › Configuration › Webhook.
- Verify, and subscribe to the messages field.
- When Meta has verified the webhook, the step on the Miko screen completes on its own.
3. Enter the number's details
The last step asks for four details from WhatsApp › API Setup and your app's settings in Meta. Miko asks Meta for the number with them before it connects, and says why if a value is wrong.
- The Phone number ID and the WhatsApp Business account ID.
- A permanent access token: from a system user in Business Settings, with the whatsapp_business_messaging permission. Temporary tokens expire within a day.
- The App secret: from App settings › Basic. Miko checks every message Meta sends against it.
Know the 24-hour window
WhatsApp lets a business write freely only within 24 hours of the customer's last message. A reply after that is not sent, and Miko says why in the conversation.
In practice that means answering WhatsApp conversations the same day. With Miko AI on, the first answer goes out right away; questions it can't answer move to an available teammate.