If you are a business that frequently interacts with customers on WhatsApp, then we recommend you take advantage of the WhatsApp business integration for Freshdesk. You can integrate your WhatsApp business number with Freshdesk and start supporting customers on one of the most popular messaging platforms in the world. 


Note: To configure the WhatsApp integration:

  • You need to be on the Growth, Pro, or Enterprise plans
  • You must have a WhatsApp business number


How does the WhatsApp integration work?

This native app for Freshdesk enables you to convert your one-on-one WhatsApp conversations, including images or GIFs, into tickets for agents.


How to set up the WhatsApp integration?

Installing WhatsApp

  1. Go to Admin -> Channels -> WhatsApp
  2. Follow the instructions to find your Facebook Business Manager ID; or, you can reach out to us at support@freshdesk.com and we'll guide you through the process.
  3. Place a request to link your WhatsApp business account with Freshdesk through this Early Access Onboarding form. We require the following details to set up your WhatsApp integration:
    • WhatsApp Business display name
    • WhatsApp Business phone number
    • Facebook Business Manager ID
  4. Once you've submitted the Early Access Onboarding form, we'll send you the next steps needed to verify your WhatsApp business account. This verification should not take more than 2-3 business days.
  5. Next, you will need to confirm the integration through an OTP verification:
  6. Once you've verified your WhatsApp account, you can create a profile for your business. Here are the details you'll need to complete:
    • Business Name
    • Address
    • Description
    • Email
    • Industry
    • Website
  7. Click Save Profile to complete your business profile.

Note: The WhatsApp integration is available on the Growth, Pro and Enterprise plans of Freshdesk. WhatsApp currently charges for both user and business-initiated messages.  


  1. Conversation session: Charges will be per 24-hour conversation session, with different rates for business-initiated and user-initiated conversations. A session triggers on the delivery of a business-initiated message or a business reply to a user-initiated message. 
  2. Free tier: The first 1,000 conversations each month are free, so your business can start to build experiences customers will love. WhatsApp's revised conversation pricing applies when you're ready to expand beyond 1,000 conversations per month.
  3. Rates based on recipient region: Conversations will be paid at flat rates (no volume tiers) based on (a) recipient region (b) whether they are business-initiated or user-initiated. 
  4. Conversations that start from Ads that Click to WhatsApp or Page CTAs on Facebook will be free.


Business-initiated messages are supported only in Freshdesk Omnichannel. Please refer to this article to know more about WhatsApp pricing. 


Engaging with customers on WhatsApp

Whenever a customer initiates a conversation via WhatsApp, a new ticket will be created with the channel as WhatsApp. Please note, if the customer's phone number is already mapped to a contact, the new ticket will be created under the requester's name. Otherwise, a new contact will be created for the contact number.



Agents can reply to the tickets by clicking on the Reply button. This will continue the conversation as a thread in the same ticket. 



Threading interval: By default, a threading interval is set to 24 hours. Any replies coming in after 24 hours will create a new ticket within Freshdesk. This interval can be extended up to 48 hours under WhatsApp settings.


Setting SLAs and Automation rules for WhatsApp messages

You can set up custom SLA policies for tickets coming in through WhatsApp as a channel and make sure your agents adhere to these SLAs by sending them notifications periodically. Here's how:

  1. Go to Admin -> Workflows -> SLA Policies.
  2. Click on Add Policy.
  3. Give the policy an appropriate name and description.
  4. Under conditions, choose Sources, and select WhatsApp.
  5. Provide your SLA targets and click Save.

 


Click here to learn more about creating SLA policies.


You can also set up automation rules to route tickets coming in via WhatsApp to dedicated agents. Here's how:

  1. Go to A -> Automations.
  2. Click on New Rule.
  3. Under ticket properties, choose Sources, select WhatsApp, and provide the necessary rules for ticket creation.


Click here to learn more about creating Automation rules.



FAQs:

  1. What happens when a customer adds the business WhatsApp number to a group and messages?
    Ans: Group conversations are not supported/possible with WhatsApp API. Tickets will not be created inside Freshdesk.

  2. What happens when a customer uses the 'Reply-to' option in WhatsApp?
    Ans: There will be no difference. These replies will come into Freshdesk as regular responses.

  3. What happens when a message is deleted on WhatsApp? Will it get deleted in Freshdesk too?
    Ans: Clearing the chat or deleting messages from inside WhatsApp will not affect the ticket conversation inside Freshdesk in any way.

  4. Are attachments supported?
    Ans:     Incoming attachments from the requestor are supported but responding to the requestor with attachments is not supported

  5. Can I associate more than one WhatsApp number with a Freshdesk account? 
    Ans: You can associate up to 10 Whatsapp numbers with a Freshdesk account


If you have any questions, please write to support@freshdesk.com.