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Connect Slack to WhatsApp Business

Customers and on-call staff are on WhatsApp, while the rest of the team works in Slack. Connecting them lets customers get answers on WhatsApp while the team sees escalations, hot leads and alerts in Slack, so nobody has to watch both.
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Ideas

What you can do with Slack and WhatsApp Business

Customer conversations and alerts on WhatsApp, with your team kept in the loop in Slack. These are ready-made starting points. Anything else you can describe works too.
The moment it happens

Send system alerts to Slack and the on-call phone

When something breaks, the team sees it in Slack and the person on call gets a WhatsApp message, without repeats.

See how it works
The moment it happensAI

Answer WhatsApp support questions and escalate to Slack

Customers get instant answers on WhatsApp, and anything the bot isn't confident about is posted to Slack for a person to pick up.

See how it works
The moment it happensAI

Share sales call summaries in Slack and on WhatsApp

After each call, a summary with next steps is posted to your sales channel and sent to the rep on WhatsApp.

See how it works
The moment it happensAI

Qualify WhatsApp leads and alert sales about hot ones

New WhatsApp enquiries are asked a few qualifying questions, scored, and hot leads are posted to your sales channel straight away.

See how it works
DailyAI

Send a morning digest to Slack and WhatsApp

Every morning a short digest of the day ahead lands in your Slack channel and on your WhatsApp.

See how it works
Collects as they arrive, acts daily

Recover abandoned carts on WhatsApp

Shoppers who leave checkout without paying get a WhatsApp reminder an hour later, and your team sees each attempt in Slack.

See how it works Your own logic

Any other automation you can describe in words

Your own rules, schedule and AI steps with Slack 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 Slack and WhatsApp Business automation you can describe

The ideas above are ready-made starting points, not a fixed list. Describe what should happen between Slack 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

Post WhatsApp messages in Slack only if the AI cannot answer from our FAQ, and include its draft answer for the agent to approve.

If a WhatsApp customer has waited more than 15 minutes for a reply in Slack, mention the support lead in the thread.

Use cases

Why people connect Slack and WhatsApp Business

How the two apps work together

  • WhatsApp messages reach a trigger link right away through the WhatsApp Business Platform webhook.
  • Slack messages and thread replies reach a trigger link through Slack's Events API.
  • The script keeps a mapping between WhatsApp numbers and Slack threads so replies go to the right person.

  • Support teams answer WhatsApp from Slack

    Each WhatsApp conversation gets a Slack thread, and replies in the thread are sent back to the customer. The team works in Slack.

  • Sales reps see inbound WhatsApp leads

    New WhatsApp messages from unknown numbers are posted to #leads with an AI summary. Someone claims the lead quickly.

  • Ops teams send alerts to managers on WhatsApp

    Critical Slack alerts are also sent to the on-call manager's WhatsApp. People who mute Slack still get them.

  • Managers review conversation quality

    A daily Slack post summarises WhatsApp conversations, wait times and unresolved chats. Gaps in coverage show up.

More apps

Slack, 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.

WhatsApp leads in Slack and HubSpot

When a new number messages us on WhatsApp, post it in #leads on Slack and create a HubSpot contact with the phone number and first message.

Log WhatsApp support threads

For each WhatsApp conversation handled in Slack, add the customer number, first message and resolution to my Support Log sheet.

On-call alerts to WhatsApp and Slack

When PagerDuty opens a high-urgency incident, post it in #incidents on Slack and send the on-call engineer a WhatsApp template message.

Setup

Connect Slack 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.

Slack

Team chat

  1. At api.slack.com/apps, create a new app from scratch in your workspace.
  2. Under OAuth & Permissions, add the bot scopes the automation needs, such as chat:write, channels:read and channels:history.
  3. In the ClickRuntime dashboard, open Connections, choose Slack and enter your app's details, then install it to your workspace.
  4. In each channel the automation should use, type /invite @your-app-name.

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 Slack 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 my team reply to customers from Slack?
These automations post to Slack so the team knows what's happening. Replies to customers still go from your WhatsApp tools, or can be added as a separate automation.
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.
Which Slack channels does it post to?
The channels you choose for each automation, such as #support or #sales. Invite the ClickRuntime app to private channels first.
Do customers see who replied?
They see the business WhatsApp number. The agent name is only shown if the script adds it to the message.
What happens after 24 hours without a customer message?
WhatsApp only allows template messages after the 24-hour window closes, so free-text replies from Slack would need a template instead.
Can several agents share the same number?
Yes. All replies go out through the single business number, and Slack threads show which agent answered.

Related pages

Keep exploring

Tell your assistant what Slack and WhatsApp Business should do together

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