Configuring a WhatsApp account with Twilio

The Flow XO WhatsApp integration with Twilio works over their SMS messaging API, so you can host your Flow XO bots on WhatsApp simply by selecting a WhatsApp enabled phone number when configuring your Twilio integration. The Twilio WhatsApp support is good, however it currently doesn't support sending Template messages with interactive elements. If these are important for your business, we recommend you consider creating a WhatsApp bot with Wati instead, which does support interactive elements.

In order to create a WhatsApp bot with Twilio, you will need the following:

A Twilio account, you can register here
Your WhatsApp (FaceBook) Business ID. If you do not already have a Facebook Business Manager account, follow the instructions here to create one.
A mobile number provided by Twilio, to use with WhatsApp.
- Note that you may need to ensure that you can receive SMS messages during the application process. If you need to, you can use a Twillio workflow or a Flow XO flow to forward texts to an actual handset so you can complete the registration.
- Also note that although there is currently no limitation as to how many numbers a business can have on WhatsApp, the numbers are tied to the underlying WhatsApp Business Partner, in this case Twilio.

Once you have the above information, you should enable your Twilio number for WhatsApp, as per this guide. At a high level, you will need to follow these steps:

Request access to enable your Twilio numbers for WhatsApp here.
Submit a WhatsApp Business profile request and your Message Templates in the Twilio console.
Approve Twilio to message on your behalf in the Facebook Business Manager console.

For updates on the status of your WhatsApp Access request as per above you can email support@twilio.com or messaging-channels-ops@twilio.com

Once you have a mobile number assigned to your WhatsApp/ Facebook Business ID, creating a bot in Flow XO via Twilio is just as if you create an SMS bot selecting this option:

The instructions to cofigure a SMS & WhatsApp bot with Twilio can be found here.

In addition, below you can find some useful resources related to Twilio's WhatsApp service: