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Connect Gmail to WhatsApp Business

Email is where the detail lives, but WhatsApp is what people check first on their phone. Connecting Gmail and WhatsApp gets the important emails to you as a quick message, and lets customers who write on WhatsApp reach you by email when a person is needed.
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Ideas

What you can do with Gmail and WhatsApp Business

Urgent emails, summaries and alerts on WhatsApp, with follow-ups and escalations by email. These are ready-made starting points. Anything else you can describe works too.
On a scheduleAI

Get a meeting prep brief on WhatsApp each morning

Every morning you get a WhatsApp brief for each of today's meetings, with a summary of your recent emails with the people you're meeting.

See how it works
The moment it happens

Get critical alerts by email and WhatsApp

When one of your systems reports a failure, you get an email and a WhatsApp message, without repeats for the same problem.

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The moment it happensAI

Answer customers on WhatsApp and email you what the bot can't

Customers get an instant answer on WhatsApp, and anything the bot can't handle is emailed to you with the conversation.

See how it works
The moment it happens

Get each new Stripe sale by email and WhatsApp

Every completed Stripe checkout sends you an email with the details and a WhatsApp message with the amount.

See how it works
The moment it happensAI

Follow up new leads by email and WhatsApp within minutes

Each new lead gets a personal email and a WhatsApp message within minutes, written around what they asked.

See how it works
Every 5 minutesAI

Get urgent emails on WhatsApp

When an important email arrives, you get a WhatsApp message with a one-line summary, and the email is labelled in Gmail.

See how it works
On a scheduleAI

Get a daily email summary on WhatsApp

Each evening you get a short WhatsApp summary of the day's emails, grouped by what needs a reply.

See how it works
The moment it happens

Forward WhatsApp Business messages to Gmail

Each message a customer sends to your WhatsApp Business number is emailed from your Gmail to a chosen inbox, with the sender's name and number in the subject.

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Every 5 minutes

Reply to WhatsApp customers by replying to an email

When you reply in Gmail to a "WhatsApp from … (+number)" email, your reply text is sent to that customer on WhatsApp from your business number within 5 minutes.

See how it works Your own logic

Any other automation you can describe in words

Your own rules, schedule and AI steps with Gmail and WhatsApp Business, plus any other app. Describe it and your assistant builds it.

See how to build your own

Build your own

Build any Gmail and WhatsApp Business automation you can describe

The ideas above are ready-made starting points, not a fixed list. Describe what should happen between Gmail and WhatsApp Business in your own words, with your conditions, other apps or an AI step, and your assistant writes it, tests it and runs it on ClickRuntime.

  • Your own rules

    Conditions, thresholds, filters and exceptions, written the way you'd explain them to a colleague.

  • Any number of apps

    One automation can read from one app and update several others. Over 248 apps are ready, and anything with an API works too.

  • AI where it helps

    Summaries, classification, extraction and drafts use ClickRuntime's built-in AI, with no extra key.

  • On a schedule or on each event

    Runs as often as every 5 minutes, or the moment an app sends an event, and keeps track of what it already handled.

For example, ask your assistant

Send me a WhatsApp message only for Gmail emails from my clients' domains that the AI rates as needing a reply today.

When a customer writes on WhatsApp outside business hours, reply with our hours and email the conversation to support@ so it is first in the morning queue.

Use cases

Why people connect Gmail and WhatsApp Business

How the two apps work together

  • The script checks Gmail for new messages matching your search every few minutes.
  • Incoming WhatsApp messages reach a trigger link right away through the WhatsApp Business Platform webhook.
  • Messages move both ways: emails can produce WhatsApp messages, and WhatsApp chats can be forwarded as emails.

  • Consultants get urgent emails on WhatsApp

    Emails from key clients are summarised and sent to the consultant's WhatsApp. Nothing urgent waits until they are back at a desk.

  • Support teams escalate WhatsApp conversations by email

    When a WhatsApp chat needs a person, the conversation is emailed to the support inbox. Agents pick it up in their normal queue.

  • Sales teams follow up leads on both channels

    A new lead email gets a WhatsApp message to the lead's number if they opted in. Response rates improve.

  • Businesses send order updates

    Order confirmation emails trigger a WhatsApp update to the customer. Customers who ignore email still get the update.

More apps

Gmail, WhatsApp Business and other apps in one automation

An automation isn't limited to two apps. Add the next step in another app and it runs as part of the same automation.

Lead emails to WhatsApp and HubSpot

When a lead form email arrives in Gmail, create the contact in HubSpot and send them a WhatsApp welcome template if they gave a phone number.

Daily agenda on WhatsApp

Every morning at 7am, send me on WhatsApp my Google Calendar events for today and any Gmail emails from those attendees in the past week.

Log escalations in a sheet

When a WhatsApp conversation is emailed to support, also add the customer number, summary and time to my Escalations sheet.

Setup

Connect Gmail and WhatsApp Business once

Every idea on this page uses the same two connections, so you set them up once. If one is missing, your assistant tells you and links to the right place.

Gmail

Email

  1. At console.cloud.google.com, create a project and enable the Gmail API under APIs & Services → Library.
  2. Set up the OAuth consent screen. On Google Workspace choose Internal. On a personal Gmail account choose External, then under Audience click Publish app so it is In production, not Testing.
  3. Under Data Access, add the scopes you need, such as https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.modify, or gmail.send if you only want to send.
  4. Under Clients, create an OAuth client of type Web application with the redirect URI https://clickruntime.com/oauth/callback.
  5. In the ClickRuntime dashboard, open Connections, choose Gmail and enter the client ID and secret. On a personal account Google shows an unverified-app screen: click Advanced, then go to your app.

WhatsApp Business

Messaging

  1. At developers.facebook.com/apps, create a Business app and add the WhatsApp product to it.
  2. In business.facebook.com, open Business Settings, go to System users and add one. Assign it the app with Manage app and your WhatsApp account with Manage WhatsApp Business accounts.
  3. Generate a token for that system user, select the app and add business_management, whatsapp_business_messaging and whatsapp_business_management, then copy it.
  4. Under WhatsApp, API Setup, note your Phone Number ID and WhatsApp Business Account ID.
  5. In the ClickRuntime dashboard, open Connections & secrets and save the token as a secret for WhatsApp Business, along with the two IDs.

FAQ

Questions about connecting Gmail and WhatsApp Business

Do I need the WhatsApp Business API?
Yes. These use the WhatsApp Business Platform from Meta. You set up a number in Meta's developer dashboard and save its access token in your ClickRuntime dashboard.
Can it send WhatsApp messages to my personal number?
Yes. Your own number receives messages from your business number like any other contact. Message the business number once so replies can be free text.
Which address do emails come from?
Your own Gmail or Google Workspace address, so replies come back to your inbox.
Why do some messages need an approved template?
WhatsApp only lets businesses start a conversation, or write more than 24 hours after the customer last messaged, with a template Meta has approved. Replies within 24 hours can be free text.
Does WhatsApp charge per message?
Meta charges for some conversations on the WhatsApp Business Platform, based on category and country. Check Meta's current pricing.
Can it send email attachments over WhatsApp?
Yes. Documents and images can be sent as WhatsApp media messages within the platform's file size limits.
Does every recipient need to opt in?
WhatsApp requires that businesses have opt-in before sending template messages to people.

Related pages

Keep exploring

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