WhatsApp Business and Manychat

Hi, ​@Darkhan!

You probably connected your WhatsApp number using the Coexistence beta feature. 

This enables the possibility to still continue using the phone app while connecting it to the Business API in order to automate it, broadcast, etc.

Unfortunately, the “pause automation” only works if you're using Manychat's native live chat. If you respond via WhatsApp's App, there's no way (at the moment) to Manychat get the information that some message was sent outside an automation.

What you could do is install Manychat's mobile app on your phone and use it to talk to your leads/customers. This will pause the automations as expected.

Hope this helps! 

🙌

I’m using WhatsApp Coexistence (Business App/Web + ManyChat Cloud API). When I try to start a conversation from WhatsApp Web with a contact who hasn’t messaged in the last 24 hours, I’m forced to send a template first. I’d like to send a normal (free-form) message to initiate the chat, but it’s blocked by the 24-hour rule.
Is there any supported workaround in Coexistence to initiate without a template, or to mark agent messages so the bot doesn’t trigger and the session opens?

Environment: WhatsApp Business App/Web (Coexistence), ManyChat WhatsApp integration. Expected: start chat from Web. Actual: must use template first.

Hey, ​@katzav! If you're willing to start a conversation via Manychat Live Chat (a new one or outside the 24h window), it's only possible via Message Template.

But you can start a conversation via WhatsApp Web/App and wait to the contact's response… then the 24h window reopens and you can chat via Manychat.

Also, I saw somewhere that Meta is limiting some WhatsApp Business numbers to starting 200/300 new conversations per day for new contacts. Maybe you're “lucky” and got in this test...

​@Fabio Gaulke 

Thanks, Fabio! Quick summary of my issue with Coexistence (Business App/Web + ManyChat API):

• Problem: Messages I send from WhatsApp Web/App are mirrored to the API as incoming, so automations/AI fire. I can’t find a flag in ManyChat to detect “agent echo” and suppress flows.
• 24h rule: After 3 days I accept using templates via API. But if I start from Web, the echo creates/updates the contact and still triggers the bot.
• Pause automations: Works only in ManyChat Live Chat, not when replying in Web/App.

Tried: Tag + Pause all automations + guard block, and saved replies (/take, /back). Works only if triggered before writing in Web and doesn’t cover new-contact-from-Web.

Questions:

1. Any supported way for ManyChat to detect App/Web echo and not trigger automations?
2. If not, is this on the roadmap?
3. Post-24h, any sanctioned way to initiate from WhatsApp Web without a template and without igniting the bot via the echo?

Thanks!

​@katzav, I have clients with similar issues and that's not exclusive to Manychat, other platforms are the same.

It seems like the echoing problem comes directly from Meta. 

Coexistence is beautiful on paper, but it needs lots of improvement.

The only scenario I see working well right now is someone that uses WhatsApp 100% via App or Web and just need to send some Message Templates to its customer base sometimes or has some basic automation needs to new customers.