Connect WhatsApp, Instagram, and Meta Ads
Every conversation the agent sees comes from a connected channel. This page walks through each channel type: prerequisites, connection flow, and what to expect once traffic starts flowing.
#WhatsApp Business
alChatBot uses the underlying WhatsApp Web protocol via a battle-tested open-source library. That means no Meta business verification is required — you just scan a QR code from your phone and start receiving messages instantly.
Prerequisites
- A WhatsApp Business (or personal) account on a phone.
- Phone with WhatsApp installed and internet access.
Connect a number
Open the WhatsApp page
Navigate to /dashboard/whatsapp. You'll see a list of any instances already connected.
Add instance
Click Add instance, give it a name (e.g. “Support”, “Sales — RU”), and confirm.
Scan the QR
A QR code appears in the browser. On your phone:
- Open WhatsApp.
- Go to Settings → Linked Devices → Link a device.
- Scan the QR on the alChatBot screen.
The instance flips to Connected within 2–3 seconds. Your phone must stay online with WhatsApp installed — if you sign out on the phone, the browser session ends too.
Bind an agent
On the instance card, pick Primary agent. Every incoming message on this number now routes through that agent. Optional: pick a Router agent to fan out to specialists (see Router agents).
Multiple numbers
You can connect as many WhatsApp instances as your plan allows. Each has its own primary agent, router, and metrics — perfect for splitting Sales / Support or serving multiple brands from one workspace.
What works out of the box
- Text messages both ways.
- Media — inbound images, videos, audio, documents; outbound sends via automations or agent tools.
- Voice notes — Whisper transcribes them automatically when the agent has
audioEnabled. - Polls — send native WhatsApp polls, receive votes (with tallies) in real time.
- Contact profiles — pushName + verifiedName + profile picture, cached and shown in the inbox.
- LID/PN mapping — WhatsApp's new opaque identifiers are transparently mapped back to phone numbers.
Because this uses the WhatsApp Web protocol, the primary phone must remain connected to the internet. If it goes offline for more than a few hours, the linked session may drop and you'll need to rescan the QR.
#Instagram DMs and Comments
Instagram integration uses Meta's official Graph API via the Instagram Business Login flow. Once connected, the agent replies to DMs, moderates comments, and can trigger automations on new posts.
Prerequisites
- An Instagram Business or Creator account (personal accounts don't work).
- The account must be reachable via Business Login for Instagram — no separate Facebook Page pairing needed.
Connect an account
Open Instagram
Navigate to /dashboard/instagram → Connect account.
Log in with Instagram
You're redirected to Instagram's consent screen. Log in with the Instagram Business account you want to link. Approve the requested permissions:
instagram_business_basic— read your account info.instagram_business_manage_messages— send / receive DMs.instagram_business_manage_comments— read comments and post replies.
Back to the dashboard
Meta redirects you back to the app. The account card now shows your username, profile picture, and follower count.
Bind an agent
Same as WhatsApp: pick a Primary agent. The agent will handle every DM the account receives.
What works out of the box
- Direct Messages both ways.
- Media — inbound images, video, audio; outbound images, video, quick-reply buttons.
- Comments — inbound comments show up in a dedicated Comments tab in the inbox. Automations can auto-reply as a public comment or send a private DM to the commenter via the comment→DM route.
- Voice notes — transcribed via Whisper (same as WhatsApp).
- Vision — inbound images are forwarded to vision-capable models as native image parts.
By product design, an agent bound to an Instagram account only answers DMs. Comments stay in the Comments tab and are handled by automations — build an IG · Post trigger to auto-reply or hide/delete. This keeps AI out of public-facing comment threads unless you explicitly opt in via automation.
#Facebook / Meta Ads
Click-to-message ads on Facebook and Instagram can route each click through alChatBot. When a user taps “Send message” on your ad, the resulting conversation lands on the connected channel tagged with the ad's ID, and you can bind a specific agent per ad or per campaign.
Connect Meta Ads
Open Facebook Ads
Go to /dashboard/meta → Connect Meta Business.
Log in via Facebook Login for Business
Grant read access to your Ad Accounts. alChatBot never posts or edits ads — it only reads their metadata for attribution and reporting.
Pick an ad account
If you manage multiple Ad Accounts, choose the one you want to connect. You can add more later.
Per-ad agent routing
On the Ads page you'll see every click-to-message ad in the connected account. For each one, you can:
- Bind a specific AI agent — leads that come through this ad are handled by this agent, overriding the channel default.
- Add a per-ad system prompt suffix — e.g. “This lead is a Black-Friday visitor, mention our 30% discount code.”
Insights
Each connected ad shows spend, impressions, clicks, and the count of conversations attributed to it. Combined with the analytics page, you can measure “how many booked meetings per $100 spent” without spreadsheets.