For most small businesses WhatsApp is where customers actually ask things: is this in stock, can I book Friday, where is my order. The chats live on one phone, one person answers them, and nobody else on the team can see what was promised. Nimply connects your WhatsApp Business number through the WhatsApp Business Platform — Meta's official API — so the whole team works the chats from a shared inbox with history, assignment, notes and AI help.
WhatsApp is an inbox channel in Nimply, on purpose. WhatsApp offers no official way for tools to post Status updates or to WhatsApp Channels, so we don't pretend to schedule to it. What you get is the part that matters for customer conversations: every incoming message, photo, voice note and document, replies inside WhatsApp's 24-hour window, delivery and read status, and agents that answer within the rails you set.
What does the WhatsApp integration do?
Connecting: from Channels → Connect → WhatsApp Business you sign in with Facebook in Meta's Embedded Signup popup, pick or create your business portfolio and WhatsApp Business Account, and add the phone number you want to use. Nimply registers the number with the WhatsApp Cloud API for you and switches the inbox on — an inbox-only channel is inert without it. Your WhatsApp Business Account stays yours: Nimply is a Tech Provider on Meta's platform, so Meta bills you directly for WhatsApp delivery and you can revoke Nimply's access from your own Meta Business settings at any time.
Inbox: each customer becomes one thread, whether they show you a phone number or a WhatsApp username. Text, photos, videos, voice notes, documents and stickers arrive as they are sent; reactions attach to the message they belong to; sent replies show delivered and read status. You reply with text and, optionally, one image, video, document or audio file. A countdown shows how long WhatsApp's 24-hour customer service window stays open, and when it closes Nimply tells you in plain language instead of failing silently. Assignment, internal notes, saved replies, tags, SLA policies and AI triage work exactly as on every other channel.
Agents and automations: the Customer Support Agent, the Sales Lead Agent and the Personal DM Agent bind to a WhatsApp channel. They read the conversation and your instructions, draft a reply for your team by default, or — once you switch a trusted agent to auto mode — answer on their own with rate limits and a pause the moment a human joins the thread. Inbox-triggered automations run on WhatsApp conversations too. What WhatsApp does not allow, Nimply does not do: agents never message people who have not written to you first, and Nimply sends no template or broadcast campaigns.
What teams do with WhatsApp in Nimply
Give the whole team the WhatsApp number
The chats stop living on one phone. Every conversation is a thread the team can see, assign, annotate and answer from the desktop or the mobile app — with the full history, so the customer never has to repeat what they were promised last week.
Answer the repeat questions while you sleep
Hire the Customer Support Agent, give it your FAQ, hours and policies, and let it draft answers to "are you open Sunday" and "do you deliver to Dubai Marina" for a teammate to approve. Switch it to auto mode when it has earned it; it still hands anything outside its brief to a person.
Qualify leads that arrive on WhatsApp
The Sales Lead Agent asks the qualifying questions you defined, tags the thread with what it learns and flags the hot ones for a human — inside the same inbox where your Instagram and Facebook leads already land.
Keep one conversation per customer
Meta is rolling out WhatsApp usernames and business-scoped user IDs; a customer may show you a phone number today and only a username tomorrow. Nimply keys the thread on the stable ID, so the conversation stays whole either way.
Never miss the 24-hour window
AI triage marks the urgent chats, SLA policies raise a flag before a reply is late, and the window countdown sits next to the reply box. When a window has closed, the inbox says so and the customer's next message reopens it.
Run several numbers for several brands
Agencies connect a WhatsApp number per client workspace, with that client's agents, approvals and team roles. Plan limits: one number on Creator, three on Growth, ten on Agency.
What the WhatsApp integration will not do
WhatsApp has strict rules for businesses, and Nimply follows them rather than working around them.
- No publishing: WhatsApp Status and WhatsApp Channels have no official API, so nothing in Nimply schedules or posts to WhatsApp.
- No cold outreach: agents and teammates reply only inside conversations a customer started, within WhatsApp's 24-hour window.
- No template or broadcast campaigns from Nimply — run those from your WhatsApp Business app or WhatsApp Manager.
- No unofficial access: Nimply uses the WhatsApp Business Platform through Meta's reviewed permissions, never a phone-scanning or "web session" hack that risks your number.
- The number stays yours: Meta bills your WhatsApp Business Account directly, and you can remove Nimply's access from your Meta Business settings at any time.
Connect a WhatsApp Business number
You need the OWNER or ADMIN role in your Nimply workspace, a Facebook account that manages (or can create) your business portfolio, and a phone number that can receive an SMS or a call. A number already used in the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app has to be moved to the platform first — Meta walks you through it in the signup popup.
- 1
Start the WhatsApp connect flow
In Nimply go to Channels → Connect → WhatsApp Business and click Connect. Meta's Embedded Signup opens in a popup; sign in with the Facebook account that manages your business.
- 2
Pick the business, account and number
Choose or create your business portfolio and WhatsApp Business Account, then add the phone number and verify it with the SMS or voice code. Confirm the permissions Meta shows — they are the two reviewed WhatsApp permissions Nimply needs to read and answer chats.
- 3
Done — hire an agent if you want one
Back in Nimply the number appears as a channel with its inbox switched on. Send yourself a message from any phone to see the first thread. Hire the Customer Support, Sales Lead or Personal DM agent from the gallery and bind it to the channel in draft-first mode.
Frequently asked questions
Can I schedule posts or Status updates to WhatsApp?
No. WhatsApp offers no official API for Status or for WhatsApp Channels, so no compliant tool can post there. In Nimply, WhatsApp is an inbox and agents channel only.
What does WhatsApp cost through Nimply?
Two separate things. Meta bills your own WhatsApp Business Account for WhatsApp delivery; replies to customers within the 24-hour window are free on Meta's side until October 1, 2026, after which Meta charges per message at its published rates. On Nimply's side WhatsApp is included in every paid plan, and from October 1, 2026 each reply sent from Nimply uses AI credits, shown next to the send button before you press it.
Do I need a new phone number?
You need a number that can be registered with the WhatsApp Business Platform. A landline or a spare mobile works. A number already active in the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app must be moved to the platform during signup; Meta explains the steps in the popup.
Can the AI agent message customers first?
No. WhatsApp only allows businesses to reply freely inside 24 hours of a customer's last message; starting a conversation requires an approved template message, which Nimply does not send. Agents answer conversations customers open.
Which agents work on WhatsApp?
The Customer Support Agent, the Sales Lead Agent and the Personal DM Agent. The Community Moderator does not apply — WhatsApp has no public comments. Every agent starts in draft-first mode; auto mode is a switch you flip per agent, with rate limits and a pause whenever a human replies in the thread.
What kinds of messages come through?
Text, photos, videos, voice notes, documents and stickers arrive in the inbox; reactions attach to the message they refer to; delivery and read status show on the replies you send. Outgoing replies support text plus one image, video, document or audio file.
How does Nimply access my WhatsApp — is it safe?
Through the WhatsApp Business Platform with the two permissions Meta reviewed and approved for Nimply. Nimply is a Tech Provider: your WhatsApp Business Account and phone number stay in your own Meta Business portfolio, and you can revoke access from Meta's Business settings at any time. There is no phone linking, QR scanning or session sharing involved.
How many WhatsApp numbers can I connect?
One on the Creator plan, three on Growth and ten on Agency. The Free plan does not include WhatsApp.
Works well alongside
Put WhatsApp in the inbox your team already works from
Connect a number through Meta's official signup, hire an agent in draft-first mode, and see what it would have answered.