You’re a small enterprise proprietor in São Paulo. Or Bogotá. Or Toledo. You’ve hustled to construct a WhatsApp presence. Your prospects know your quantity. It’s printed in your flyers. Your mom has it saved beneath “Mi bebé.” And now, since you wish to degree up your automation sport, somebody tells you, “Yeah… you’ll have to provide all that up.”
Excuse me?
Welcome to WhatsApp Onboarding Limbo
Earlier than we perceive why Manychat’s Coexistence characteristic is so precious, let’s discuss what onboarding used to really feel like for a lot of companies. Should you’ve ever linked your WhatsApp Enterprise App (WABA) to an automation platform, you would possibly’ve skilled a number of… quirks.
- Like all of the sudden questioning the place your contacts went 🙃
- Or realizing your dialog historical past didn’t make the journey
- Or having to elucidate to loyal prospects, “Sure, it’s nonetheless us, simply with a brand new quantity.”
- Or getting cozy with Meta’s API docs prefer it was your bedtime studying
Migrating to the WhatsApp API is like attempting to improve your automotive and being instructed it’s important to quit the steering wheel, radio, and all of your seatbelts. Cool options, but in addition, uh, that’s kinda important stuff?
That’s the place Coexistence is available in. It’s the future-proof answer WhatsApp customers have been begging for, with out even realizing it.
TL;DR: Coexistence means you retain your WhatsApp Enterprise App plus leverage the ability of Manychat automation.
The Full Breakdown
WhatsApp has three varieties of accounts, they usually don’t all play good.
- WhatsApp Client App: Common individuals texting mates, sending voice notes which might be method too lengthy, and forwarding conspiracy theories in household teams.
- WhatsApp Enterprise App (WABA): For small companies that wish to look skilled. Assume retailer hours, default greetings, and fast replies. Strong stuff.
- WhatsApp API (WAPI): For the grown-ups within the room. Enterprise-level automation, chatbots, a number of brokers, and CRMs. Very highly effective. Additionally very unforgiving.
Look, if you wish to hook up with Manychat, you’re connecting to the WhatsApp API. Which means you used to need to ditch your Enterprise App — and every thing that made it helpful.
Like:
- Voice calls (poof, gone)
- Contact lists (bye)
- Message historical past (evaporated)
- Verified enterprise badge (hope it wasn’t in your storefront!)
And let’s not neglect group chats or a number of logins. Should you’ve acquired a gross sales workforce? Too unhealthy. One cellphone, one desktop. Good luck on the market!
However What if You Didn’t Must Select?
Coexistence is Manychat’s new characteristic (at the moment in Beta!) that allows you to join your current WhatsApp Enterprise App quantity to Manychat, with out nuking every thing you’ve constructed.
Which means:
- You get to maintain your WABA options
- You get entry to the automation powers of Manychat
- You don’t must be taught to code or cry into Meta’s documentation
- You may lastly develop with out giving up the WhatsApp setup your enterprise depends on
It’s one of the crucial common sense issues we’ve ever launched.
“Cool, cool… however what’s the catch?” — you, in all probability.
Okay, you’re good.
Right here’s what it is advisable to know.
1. Coexistence is at the moment in beta.
Translation: It’s nonetheless being poked and prodded by our workforce, who’re logging bugs and evident at Meta to sort things quicker. You would possibly hit some bumps. Bugs occur. You’ll survive. However this isn’t the time to carry your most nervous shopper on board. Give us a minute to easy it out.
2. It’s not out there in every single place.
Should you’re within the EU, UK, India, Japan, Nigeria, South Korea, Russia, South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, or Turkey, sorry, Coex isn’t out there to you. But. (Sure, that’s an extended checklist. No, we don’t adore it both.) Nonetheless, when you’re in LATAM, Brazil, the U.S., or Israel, you’re in a great place, particularly when you’re an company connecting a number of WhatsApp accounts. Coexistence was mainly made for you.
3. It solely works for brand new WhatsApp numbers.
Should you already linked your quantity to Manychat the outdated method, you possibly can’t retroactively swap it to Coex. You’ll want to begin recent. Why does this matter? As a result of bots with out enterprise context suck.
Think about a bakery that has been utilizing the identical WhatsApp quantity for 5 years. Grandma texts each Sunday to order her birthday desserts. The entire city is aware of the quantity.
And now you’re telling them to change to a brand new quantity simply to automate messages?
Completely not. Grams deserves higher.
Coexistence signifies that bakery will get to maintain its WhatsApp quantity, its verified badge, its contact checklist — and nonetheless automate reminders, gives, and customer support via Manychat.
It’s a win for each enterprise attempting to scale with out having to begin over.
Use Circumstances We’re Hyped About
Let’s get nerdy.
1. Companies managing a number of WhatsApp accounts
With Coexistence, you possibly can preserve your purchasers’ current numbers and easily add automation sauce on prime — no want to exchange them. Your shopper retains their popularity, their badge, and their sanity.
2. Native service companies
Plumbers, eating places, magnificence salons — anybody who depends on WhatsApp for direct bookings or buyer convos can now scale with out nuking the previous. Arrange good FAQs, lead qualification, or time-based responses. Grandma nonetheless calls. The bot handles the remainder.
3. Creators and coaches who wish to preserve it private
That voice notice vibe? Nonetheless there. That “textual content me anytime” vitality? Nonetheless there. However now, your DM stream could be automated to catch leads, ebook calls, or on-line programs whilst you sleep.
What the Onboarding Truly Appears Like
Truthfully? It’s easy.
It’s not “join your Fb Web page and pray” vitality. It’s extra like:
- Go to your Manychat WhatsApp onboarding
- Select the Coexistence (Beta) choice
- Observe the prompts (they received’t chunk)
- Join your WhatsApp Enterprise App quantity
- Have a good time. Pop a confetti GIF.
This complete course of takes solely minutes, not days. And since you’re not disconnecting from WABA, you don’t must rebuild your enterprise id from scratch.
So…must you swap?
Should you’re already utilizing the WhatsApp API and are happy with it, preserve doing all your factor. This submit will not be for you.
Should you’re:
- New to Manychat
- An company connecting WhatsApp accounts for purchasers
- A small enterprise with a WABA quantity you like
- Bored with hacking collectively automations whereas crying in a nook
Sure. You need to completely use Coexistence.
One Extra Factor (and it’s Vital)
We’re NOT doing an enormous, shout-it-from-the-rooftops launch proper now. Coexistence continues to be new — nonetheless in beta. Nonetheless being refined.
However we’re penning this as a result of individuals are already trying to find it. “WhatsApp Coexistence” is showing in boards, Reddit threads, and conversations with company companions.
And admittedly? We’d fairly you hear about it from us than from a sketchy YouTube video with 17 damaged hyperlinks.
The TL;DR TL;DR
- Coexistence = use your current WhatsApp Enterprise App and Manychat collectively
- No must ditch your contacts, badge, or historical past
- It’s in Beta (aka nonetheless bumpy in components)
- Solely out there in choose nations
- Excellent for brand new WA connections, not retroactive ones
- Greatest suited to BOFU customers, businesses, and repair companies
- It’s an enormous leap ahead in how WhatsApp automation works
Attempt Coexistence (and preserve your Gram’s birthday cake orders)
Should you’re new to Manychat and have a WABA quantity you’d wish to preserve, join utilizing Coexistence now.
Or, when you’re nonetheless undecided, try our assist heart articles or ship us a message. No bots. Promise.
