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Help centre/WhatsApp

How to connect your WhatsApp Business app to Ah Va

Keep using the app on your phone and let Ah Va work on the same number. Customers, ads and your website keep the number they already know. About five minutes, with your phone beside you.

Updated 5 min readIncludes a 7:43 video
VideoFull walkthrough · 7:43

Before you start

  • A computer, with your phone beside you. The phone confirms the connection by scanning a code on the computer screen.
  • WhatsApp Business version 2.24.17 or newer. The version shows in the app under Settings, then Help.
  • Your business name is final in the app. It is hard to change once the number is connected.
  • You can log in to the Facebook account that runs your business Page, or you are happy to create a business portfolio during set-up.
  • The number is not connected to another WhatsApp tool such as a CRM or chatbot. If it is, release it first.
  • You are an owner or manager on your Ah Va account.

Ah Va joins the number you already use. The WhatsApp Business app keeps working on your phone, and every one-to-one chat also shows up in Ah Va's Conversations. You see which ad or page each enquiry came from, and Ah Va answers only when you want her to.

Step 1: Start the guided set-up in Ah Va

  1. Log in to Ah Va and open Integrations. Under WhatsApp numbers, click Connect my WhatsApp Business app number. Or go straight to the guided set-up.
  2. When asked which WhatsApp your business uses today, pick WhatsApp Business app. On regular WhatsApp? Pick Regular WhatsApp and follow the short guide to move to the free Business app first. Your chats come with you.
  3. Tick the five checks under Before Meta's window opens.
  4. Choose who Ah Va should answer on this number: every new chat, only people not in your saved contacts, or nobody yet so she just tracks enquiries. You can change it any time. What each option does.

Open the guided set-up

Step 2: Follow Meta's window

Click Open Meta's window. A Facebook window opens, and Ah Va shows each step beside it so you always know where you are.

  1. Log in with Facebook using the account that runs your business Page.
  2. Pick your business, or create one if Meta asks. A new one needs your business name, email, country and website.
  3. If Meta asks how to connect, choose Connect a WhatsApp Business App. Some accounts skip this screen.
  4. Enter your WhatsApp Business number. Meta then shows a QR code. Keep this window open.

Good to know

Meta's window names Best Marketing Agency Pte Ltd and the app Virtual Assistant SG. That is the company and the app behind Ah Va, so it is expected.

Step 3: Confirm on your phone

  1. Open WhatsApp Business. A message from Facebook Business is waiting. Tap Connect, then Connect to the Business Platform. No message? Open Settings, then Account, then Business Platform.
  2. Choose what happens to your chat history. Share chat history brings up to six months of chats into Ah Va. Don't share starts fresh.
  3. Scan the QR code in Meta's window, or type its code.

Step 4: Finish, then prove it works

  1. Meta shows your WhatsApp Business account name and time zone, then what you are sharing. Check them and confirm.
  2. When Meta says your account is connected, click Finish. Meta also offers Add payment method. You can skip it.
  3. Back in Ah Va, the Test step waits for a message. Send one to your number from another phone and watch it arrive.
  4. The last step asks whether you run Facebook or Instagram ads that open WhatsApp. If you do, check each ad set opens this number, so every ad enquiry shows up with the ad's name.

After you connect

  • Open the WhatsApp Business app at least every 13 days. Meta disconnects the number after about two weeks without the app being opened.
  • On a computer, use WhatsApp Web. WhatsApp for Windows does not sync with Ah Va.
  • Group chats, calls, status and your catalogue keep working in the app. They just do not come into Ah Va. Everything that changes on your phone.

Common questions

Will I lose my chats or my number?

No. The number stays on your phone in the WhatsApp Business app, with all your chats. Ah Va joins it; nothing moves off your phone.

Can my team still reply from the app?

Yes. Replies sent from the app also appear in Ah Va's Conversations, and Ah Va steps back on that chat when your team replies.

Does Ah Va see my group chats?

No. Group chats keep working in the app but never come into Ah Va. Only one-to-one chats do.

Why does Meta's window mention Best Marketing Agency Pte Ltd?

It is the company behind Ah Va, registered with Meta as the technology provider that connects your number. The app it names, Virtual Assistant SG, is Ah Va.

How do I undo it?

In Ah Va, open Integrations, then WhatsApp numbers, and click Disconnect from Ah Va on the number. Then in the WhatsApp Business app open Settings, Account, Business Platform and tap Disconnect.

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