Setting up the connection

Prerequisites#

Before you start you need three things. The wizard lists them again in the Start step (the German UI labels are quoted):

• A WhatsApp Business number. "Am besten eine eigene Büro-Nummer, nicht Ihre private." (Ideally a dedicated office number, not your private one.) Your private number always stays untouched.

• Your business details. "Name des Büros, so wie Ihre Kundschaft ihn kennt." (Your office name, the way your customers know it.)

• A privacy page. "Ein Link genügt. Pflicht, damit der Bot live gehen darf." (One link is enough. Required before the bot may go live.) The link must start with https.

The wizard in four steps#

1. 1

   Start

   An overview of the prerequisites and the process. You see at a glance what is still missing.

2. 2

   Connect (Verbinden)

   You link your number through the official Meta popup (see below). Once linked, this step shows your connected number.

3. 3

   Details (Angaben)

   You fill in the required and optional texts: office name, privacy page, availability and handover note. Speichern (save) stores them and the app confirms "Ihre Angaben sind gesichert." (your details are saved).

4. 4

   Live

   The checklist shows whether everything is ready. Jetzt live schalten (go live now) puts the bot into operation.

Connecting the number through Meta#

In the Verbinden step, Mit WhatsApp verbinden (connect with WhatsApp) starts the official Meta flow: a Meta popup opens where you link your WhatsApp Business account and the number. The app shows "WhatsApp öffnet sich" (WhatsApp is opening) with the hint "Folgen Sie den Schritten im Popup." (follow the steps in the popup).

Three promises always hold:

• "Ihre private Nummer bleibt unangetastet" (your private number stays untouched)
• "Verschlüsselte Verbindung, offiziell von Meta" (encrypted connection, officially from Meta)
• "Jederzeit wieder trennbar" (can be disconnected at any time)

Your details#

In the Angaben step you store the texts the bot works with:

Name Ihres Büros (office name, required, 3 to 40 characters)

"So begrüßt der Bot Ihre Kundschaft." (This is how the bot greets your customers.) The name appears in the greeting and wherever the bot mentions your office.

Datenschutz-Seite (privacy page, required for going live)

"Ein Link zu Ihrer Datenschutzerklärung. Pflicht fürs Live-Schalten." (A link to your privacy policy, required for going live.) Only complete https addresses are accepted, because this link goes directly to your customers.

Erreichbarkeit (availability, optional, up to 120 characters)

"Was der Bot über Ihre Antwortzeiten sagt." (What the bot says about your response times.) For example "werktags von 9 bis 18 Uhr" (weekdays from 9 am to 6 pm).

Notiz bei Übergabe (handover note, optional, up to 200 characters)

"Interner Hinweis für die Kollegin, die ein Gespräch übernimmt." (An internal note for the colleague who takes over a conversation.) Only you and your team see this note, never the customer.

Going live#

The Live step checks three conditions (the go-live gate):

• Nummer verbunden (number connected)
• Büro-Name gesetzt (office name set)
• Datenschutz-Link gesetzt (privacy link set)

When all three are met, the page says "Alles bereit" (all set): "Ihre Angaben sind vollständig. Schalten Sie den Bot jetzt live." If something is missing it says "Fast geschafft" (almost there) and asks you to connect a number and fill in office name and privacy link.

After clicking Jetzt live schalten, the app confirms "Ihr Bot ist live" (your bot is live) and the page shows: WhatsApp inquiries to your number are now answered automatically, around the clock. (The app inserts your connected number at this point.)

Pausing and resuming the bot#

On the live page you can stop the bot at any time with Bot pausieren (pause bot) and start it again with Bot fortsetzen (resume bot). While paused, the bot keeps recording all incoming messages but does not reply. Your team can still write in the inbox as long as the 24-hour window is open. The same switch is called Bot antwortet (bot replies) in the settings.

Disconnecting the number#

Verbindung trennen (disconnect, in the wizard) or Nummer trennen (in the settings under Gefahrenzone, the danger zone) ends the connection. The confirmation dialog states clearly what happens:

The access key is deleted immediately and completely; conversations and contacts are kept. You can reconnect the same or a different number at any time later.

Connection status and quality#

You can see the current state of your number in the wizard, in the footer of the tool sidebar ("Verbunden" or "Nicht verbunden") and in the settings on the Verbindung tab:

Verbunden (connected)

The number is linked and ready to use.

Einrichtung läuft (setup in progress)

Meta is still setting up the number. This can take a moment.

Verbindung gestört (connection disrupted)

The connection to Meta is interrupted. What to do then is covered in troubleshooting.

Getrennt (disconnected)

No number is connected.

The status card additionally shows WhatsApp's quality rating for your number: "gut" (good), "noch keine Bewertung" (no rating yet) or a downgrade to yellow or red. On a downgrade, the workspace owner is notified immediately. The rating keeps itself up to date automatically.

Next steps#

After connecting, continue with the flows and a test run in the simulator. All texts and switches can be found later in the settings. Back to the WhatsApp bot overview.