How to Connect OpenClaw to WhatsApp: AI Assistant on Your Favorite Messaging App

OpenClaw already lets you chat with your AI assistant through Telegram. Now we’re bringing the same experience to WhatsApp — the world’s most popular messaging app with over 2 billion active users.

This guide covers everything you need to know about OpenClaw’s upcoming WhatsApp integration: how it works, what you’ll be able to do, and how to get started as soon as it launches.

Why WhatsApp?

WhatsApp is the default messaging app for billions of people across the globe. In many countries, it’s not just a messaging app — it’s the primary way people communicate for both personal and business use.

By bringing your AI assistant to WhatsApp, OpenClaw lets you:

• Access AI where you already are — No need to switch to a separate app or browser tab
• Get instant answers on mobile — Ask questions, get summaries, draft messages, all from your WhatsApp chat
• Use it for business — Many businesses already use WhatsApp Business. Adding AI makes it even more powerful
• Share with family and friends — Create a WhatsApp group with your AI bot for shared access

How WhatsApp Integration Works

OpenClaw’s WhatsApp integration uses the official WhatsApp Cloud API provided by Meta. This means the connection is secure, reliable, and fully compliant with WhatsApp’s terms of service.

Here’s how the architecture works:

1. You send a message from WhatsApp on your phone or desktop
2. WhatsApp Cloud API delivers the message to your OpenClaw instance via a secure webhook
3. Your OpenClaw instance processes the message and sends it to your chosen AI model (Claude, GPT, Gemini)
4. The AI response is sent back through the WhatsApp Cloud API to your chat

The entire round trip takes just a few seconds. Your conversations are processed by your isolated OpenClaw instance — the same privacy guarantees you get with our Telegram integration apply here.

Setup Overview

Connecting WhatsApp to OpenClaw will follow a straightforward process similar to our Telegram setup:

Step 1: Create a Meta Business Account

WhatsApp’s Cloud API requires a Meta Business account. If you already have one for Facebook or Instagram, you can use it. Otherwise, creating one is free and takes a few minutes.

Step 2: Set Up a WhatsApp Business App

1. Go to the Meta Developer Portal
2. Create a new app and select Business type
3. Add the WhatsApp product to your app
4. You’ll receive a Phone Number ID and a Permanent Access Token

Meta provides a free test phone number to get started, so you can try the integration before registering your own business number.

Step 3: Connect to OpenClaw

1. Log in to your OpenClaw dashboard
2. Navigate to Dashboard → WhatsApp
3. Enter your Phone Number ID and Access Token
4. Click “Connect”

OpenClaw will automatically configure the webhook and verify the connection. Once connected, anyone who messages your WhatsApp number will get a response from your AI assistant.

Step 4: Test Your Bot

1. Open WhatsApp on your phone
2. Send a message to your connected number
3. Your AI assistant should respond within seconds

What You’ll Be Able to Do

The WhatsApp integration will support all the core capabilities of your OpenClaw AI assistant:

• Full conversations with context — Your AI remembers the conversation thread, just like chatting with a person
• Answer any question — General knowledge, technical help, creative writing, research assistance
• Code help — Send code snippets and get debugging help, explanations, or improvements
• Writing assistance — Draft emails, essays, social media posts, and more
• Language translation — Translate between languages in real-time within the chat
• Summarization — Forward long messages or articles and get a quick summary

WhatsApp vs Telegram: Which Should You Use?

With both integrations available, you might wonder which one to choose. Here’s a quick comparison:

Feature	WhatsApp	Telegram
User base	2+ billion users	900+ million users
Setup complexity	Requires Meta Business account	Simple BotFather setup
Business use	Excellent — WhatsApp Business is widely adopted	Good — Bot API is developer-friendly
API cost	First 1,000 conversations/month free, then per-conversation pricing	Completely free
End-to-end encryption	Yes (standard WhatsApp encryption)	Optional (Secret Chats only)
Group chat support	Yes	Yes
Best for	Business customer support, regions where WhatsApp dominates	Personal use, developer-focused bots, privacy-conscious users

The great news is you can use both. Connect your OpenClaw instance to both WhatsApp and Telegram simultaneously, and reach people on whichever platform they prefer.

Business Use Cases for WhatsApp AI

WhatsApp integration unlocks powerful business scenarios:

Customer Support

Deploy an AI-powered support bot on your WhatsApp Business number. Customers get instant, intelligent responses 24/7 without waiting in queues. The AI can answer FAQs, troubleshoot common issues, and escalate complex questions to your human team.

Lead Qualification

When potential customers message your WhatsApp number, your AI assistant can ask qualifying questions, collect contact details, and provide relevant information — all before a human sales rep needs to get involved.

Appointment Scheduling

Let customers book appointments, check availability, and get reminders through WhatsApp. Ideal for clinics, salons, consultancies, and any appointment-based business.

Internal Team Assistant

Create a WhatsApp group with your team and the AI bot. Team members can ask questions about company policies, get help drafting documents, or brainstorm ideas — all within the familiar WhatsApp interface.

Tips for the Best WhatsApp AI Experience

Choose the Right Model

For messaging apps where quick responses matter, consider using Claude Haiku 4.5 or GPT-4.1 Mini for fast responses at low cost. For more complex queries, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or GPT-5.2 deliver higher quality answers. See our model comparison guide for details.

Set Up a Business Profile

If using WhatsApp Business, complete your business profile with a description, hours, and website. This builds trust with customers who interact with your AI bot.

Use Message Templates

WhatsApp requires pre-approved message templates for business-initiated conversations. Plan your templates ahead of time for notifications, follow-ups, and promotions.

Monitor and Improve

Review your AI bot’s conversations regularly to identify areas where it can improve. Adjust your system prompts and model choice based on the types of questions your users ask most.

Privacy and Security

Your privacy is protected with the same guarantees as all OpenClaw integrations:

• Isolated instance — Your OpenClaw instance runs in its own container. No other user can access your data
• No conversation storage — OpenClaw does not log or store your WhatsApp messages
• WhatsApp encryption — Messages between you and WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted by default
• API-level privacy — When using the AI provider’s API directly, your conversations are not used for model training
• Encrypted credentials — Your WhatsApp API tokens are stored with AES-256 encryption

Get Ready for Launch

WhatsApp integration is coming soon to OpenClaw. Here’s how to prepare:

1. Set up your OpenClaw instance if you haven’t already — deploy in under 1 minute
2. Create a Meta Business account at business.facebook.com
3. Try the Telegram integration in the meantime — it’s live now and works the same way (setup guide)
4. Choose your AI model — read our model comparison guide to pick the best option for your use case

We’ll announce the launch on our blog and notify all existing OpenClaw users when WhatsApp integration goes live.

Next Steps

• Set up Telegram integration now (available today)
• Choose the best AI model for messaging
• Explore 10 creative use cases for your AI assistant
• Get started with OpenClaw in under 1 minute