The short answer
- The WhatsApp Business API, now called the WhatsApp Business Platform, lets software answer on your number: several agents, an AI assistant, templates and broadcasts.
- You need a Meta Business account and a phone number that is not already active in the WhatsApp Business app, or one you are willing to move.
- Meta's Embedded Signup connects the number in minutes from the aiyourbusiness dashboard; no developer is needed.
- Replies inside the 24-hour customer window are free; messages you start, such as reminders and offers, use templates that Meta approves and bills.
App or API: what is the difference?
The WhatsApp Business app is a phone app for one person. It works for a small shop with one phone and a few dozen chats a day. It cannot be shared by a team, cannot be automated and cannot send approved bulk messages.
The WhatsApp Business Platform, still widely called the API, connects the same kind of number to software instead of a phone. That software can be a shared inbox, a CRM or an AI assistant. aiyourbusiness is all three: the assistant replies, your team works from one inbox, and the leads are saved automatically.
What you need before you connect
- A Meta Business account (business.facebook.com) that you can log in to as an admin.
- A phone number that can receive an SMS or a call for verification. A landline works.
- If the number is already used in the WhatsApp Business app, you have to move it: the app and the platform cannot share a number. We guide you through the migration during implementation.
- A display name for your business; Meta reviews it against your business name.
- Business verification is optional to start and raises your messaging limits later.
How Embedded Signup works
Embedded Signup is Meta's official flow for connecting a number through a partner platform. From the Connect page in aiyourbusiness you click Connect WhatsApp, log in to Facebook, choose or create the business account, enter the number, verify it with the code Meta sends, and you are done. The whole thing takes a few minutes and no developer is involved.
Behind the scenes, Meta gives the platform permission to send and receive on your behalf. The number stays yours; you can revoke the permission from Meta at any time.
The 24-hour window and message templates
When a customer writes to you, a 24-hour customer service window opens. Inside it you and the assistant can reply freely, with any text, images, buttons or files, and Meta does not charge for those replies.
To write to a customer first, or after the window closes, you must use a message template that Meta has approved: an appointment reminder, an order update, an offer. aiyourbusiness has a template editor that submits to Meta and shows the approval status, and a broadcasts screen that sends an approved template to a list you upload. Meta bills template messages to your business account, separately from your aiyourbusiness subscription.
What changes once an AI assistant answers
With the number connected, the assistant answers every incoming message in seconds, in the customer's dialect, from your knowledge base: prices, policies, availability. It captures the lead, books the appointment and hands over to your team when a person is needed, and your team replies from the same inbox.
Messages, templates and broadcasts all appear in one place, and analytics show response times and leads per channel.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Connecting a number that is still on someone's phone. Decide first which number becomes the business line.
- Choosing a display name that does not match your registered business; Meta rejects it.
- Writing templates like adverts. Meta approves clear, useful templates and rejects vague or misleading ones.
- Ignoring the 24-hour window. Plan reminders and follow-ups as templates from day one.