Full transcript
0:00Hi, this is Abhay Kulkarni. Welcome to
0:02my channel. In this video, I'll be
0:04explaining end-to-end setup for getting
0:06WhatsApp Business API in 2026, which
0:09include steps like how you can create
0:11and verify your Facebook Business
0:12Manager, how to create a WhatsApp
0:14Business Account, getting the details
0:16like permanent access token, client ID,
0:18client secret, integrating it within N
0:20number 10, and a special trick to
0:22register your mobile number through Meta
0:24Graph API, which I think some of the
0:26YouTube videos miss this particular
0:28part, and then at last integrating it
0:30with N number 10 and creating a simple
0:32AI agent over it. And if you stay at the
0:35end of the video, I'll also share all
0:36the resources that I've mentioned in the
0:38video.
0:39So, do make sure to watch the video till
0:41end. So, let's get started.
0:44To get started with the official
0:45WhatsApp API registration, you will have
0:47to visit business.facebook.com.
0:49Once visited here, you will be seeing
0:51all of the available business managers
0:53or a business portfolio within your
0:54account. If you don't have any business
0:56manager or business portfolio, you'll
0:58have an option to create it and add your
1:00Facebook page as well as Instagram page
1:02to that particular business manager or
1:04business portfolio.
1:05If you have multiple business manager or
1:07portfolios, you can click on this
1:09drop-down and select one properly. Once
1:11selected, you'll have to click on the
1:13business settings option, click on the
1:14business info option, and here
1:17just check if your business is verified
1:19or not. Here under business verification
1:21status, I can see that my business is
1:23unverified. If it is verified, then it's
1:25okay. If it's not, then follow the
1:27steps. To start the verification process
1:29for your business, you'll have to visit
1:31developers.facebook.com
1:33and then click on my apps. Here, if you
1:35have any apps created before in your
1:38Facebook account, those will be
1:39displayed here. If not, then this will
1:41be empty. Now, click on create app.
1:43Here, enter the name of your app. For
1:45now, you can name it anything. Once the
1:47name is entered, enter a contact email
1:48ID that should be active, and then click
1:50on next button. Here under use cases,
1:52under featured, just select connect with
1:54customers through WhatsApp. If you can't
1:56see this connect with customers through
1:58WhatsApp, then you can go to business
2:00messaging and under that you can see
2:01connect with customers through WhatsApp
2:04and then click on next. Here is select
2:05the proper business manager under which
2:07you are working. If your account has
2:09multiple business managers, the list
2:11will be displayed here. I have selected
2:12the correct business manager and now
2:14under publishing requirements, there is
2:16nothing. You'll have to click on next.
2:18Once clicked on next, there will be a
2:19overview and at last you'll have to
2:22click on go to dashboard. Once the app
2:24is created, you will have to come back
2:25to the same page under business info to
2:27start the verification process. Under
2:29business verification status unverified,
2:31you'll have to click on view details. A
2:33new screen will be here.
2:35Under the business verification use
2:36case, you'll have to click on setting up
2:39a WhatsApp business account. Once this
2:41is done, you'll have to click on start
2:42verification. And from here you'll have
2:44to select all the details where your
2:46business is located as well as whatever
2:48the compliance documents meta ask for
2:50it. For example, if your business
2:52registered in India, then you can upload
2:53your GST certificate and MSME
2:55certificate or certificate of
2:56incorporation and get started with the
2:58details. The process is very easy and
3:00the registration normally takes 5 to 10
3:02minutes, but in some cases it might take
3:0424 to 48 hours. The previous business
3:07manager that I showed, that was
3:08completely for demo. Now I have switched
3:10to a business manager that is verified.
3:12But please note that in your case,
3:14please do not switch any business
3:15managers. Now once your business is
3:17verified, you will see a verified check
3:19mark like this here.
3:21Now you'll have to go back to the app
3:23screen that we have previously created
3:25verification purposes. Now within this
3:26app screen, you'll have to click on this
3:28pencil icon where it is listed as use
3:30cases. Under use cases, you'll be able
3:32to see this connect with customers
3:33through WhatsApp. Click on customize.
3:36And here click on API setup. And under
3:38this API setup, you can see select phone
3:41numbers. I'll click on this drop down
3:43from
3:44I'll click on get a new test number. Now
3:46I have a test number ready to get
3:47started with the WhatsApp business API.
3:49However, we don't want this test number.
3:52We want a custom number of ourselves, so
3:54we can use it to send the messages to
3:56our customers. Now, in the same
3:57drop-down, you can see there is a button
3:59named as add phone number. And if you
4:01click on add phone number, here there
4:03will be a onboarding process where
4:04you'll have to enter all the details of
4:06your phone number.
4:07But, if you can't see this add phone
4:09number button, don't worry. I have a
4:11solution for you. For that, you will
4:12have to go back to your Meta Business
4:13Manager.
4:15Under Business Manager, you will have to
4:16click on the WhatsApp accounts. Once
4:18clicked on WhatsApp accounts, you can
4:19click on plus add button.
4:22And then click on
4:23create a new WhatsApp Business Account.
4:24And here you'll be prompted to add all
4:26the details for your WhatsApp Business
4:27Account, as well as to add a number. You
4:30can choose any of the method which works
4:32for you, but this is just an option in
4:34case you don't see a add phone number
4:36button in the previous step. Now, I'll
4:38simply create a WhatsApp Business
4:39Account from here. The first step is
4:41WhatsApp display name. Make sure the
4:43display name is exact as per your
4:45verification documents and as per your
4:47Business Manager name. If not entered
4:49correctly, your display name might be
4:50rejected. Then under category, you'll
4:52have to select a particular category
4:54within which your business falls. Then
4:56click on continue. Here there are two
4:57options. Choose the number that you'd
4:59like to use. Use a display name only.
5:01Send messages on WhatsApp where people
5:02only see display name in the chat or add
5:05a new number. We'll have to select this
5:07add a new number step. If you don't see
5:09this particular step, then you can
5:10simply add your number here. Now, while
5:12adding the number, please make sure this
5:14number has not been registered on
5:15WhatsApp previously because we'll be
5:17using this number to send WhatsApp
5:18notifications, WhatsApp messages,
5:20automated template messages directly
5:22through API. So, please make sure it is
5:24not registered on any WhatsApp app,
5:26either it's WhatsApp app or WhatsApp
5:28Business app. Now, once you enter your
5:30number, you'll have an option to receive
5:31OTP either via call or text message. I
5:34have chosen text message and I have
5:35received the OTP. I'll enter it here. I
5:38have entered my OTP here, and now I can
5:40see that your WhatsApp Business Account
5:41was created, and it is saying that we'll
5:43review your account and we'll get in
5:45touch within 24 hours if there is an
5:47issue. I'll click on finish. Now, after
5:50adding the number either via this step
5:52or either via this particular step while
5:55going to business manager, in both of
5:57the cases you'll have to visit the
5:58business manager again and click the
6:00WhatsApp business account that we have
6:01just created. Now, since we are here,
6:03you'll have to click on the WhatsApp
6:05manager here.
6:06Now, I'm under WhatsApp manager.
6:08Here, my number is successfully added
6:11and name is under review.
6:13So, that means my display name, the name
6:15that will be displayed to my customers
6:17after the message has been sent by
6:18WhatsApp, is under review. In your
6:21cases, that might be approved instantly
6:23or that might be reviewed for some time.
6:24I have waited for some time and my
6:26display name has been approved. As you
6:28can see here, congratulations, your
6:29display name Euphonix was approved. Now,
6:31the next steps are go back to Facebook
6:32developer platform and publish our app.
6:35I'm within the Facebook developer
6:36platform. You'll have to click on app
6:38settings and then click on basic. Here
6:39under basic, make sure you update your
6:41privacy policy URL here. The privacy
6:43policy URL should be public, which is on
6:45your website that is same as your
6:47Facebook business portfolio. I've
6:49updated the privacy policy URL. Then,
6:51I'll click on save changes. Once these
6:53changes are saved, you'll have to click
6:55on publish. Here under publish, it says
6:57all required app settings are complete.
6:59Review your use case before publishing
7:00the app. And then click on the publish
7:02button. My application has been
7:04successfully published and it says your
7:06app was successfully published. I click
7:08on the done button and my page has been
7:09refreshed. It says here published. That
7:12means your app has been successfully
7:13published. Now, once again, you'll have
7:15to click on app settings and under
7:16basic, you'll have to copy these two
7:18parameters, app ID and app secret. For
7:20the security purpose, app secret is
7:22hidden. You'll have to click on the show
7:23button and then app secret will be
7:25visible. You can copy it and paste it
7:27somewhere because we'll need these two
7:29credentials at the time of end-to-end
7:31integration. I've copied the app ID and
7:33app secret. Now, the next step is to
7:35generate a permanent access token that
7:37will be again required while integrating
7:39with end-to-end. To To a permanent
7:40access token, you'll have to come back
7:42to business.facebook.com, select your
7:44particular business, and once selected
7:45that particular business, you'll have to
7:47go to system users. Once you visit the
7:49system user screen, your screen will be
7:50blank. In my case, I have already
7:52created a system user, that's why it is
7:54not blank here. In your case, you'll
7:55have to create a system user like this
7:57by entering a username. You can simply
7:59enter admin and select the user role as
8:02admin, and your system user will be
8:03created. Once the system user is
8:05created, you'll have to click on these
8:07three dots and click on assign assets.
8:10Here, go to apps.
8:12Select the app you have created.
8:14Click on full control.
8:16Go to WhatsApp accounts.
8:18Select the WhatsApp account you created.
8:20Click on full control.
8:22And then click on assign assets. That
8:24means the app that we have created, as
8:26well as the WhatsApp Business Account,
8:27has been assigned in this app. I have
8:29refreshed the page, and under assign
8:31assets, I can see my app, as well as the
8:33WhatsApp account. To generate a
8:34permanent access token, click on
8:35generate token.
8:37Here, under apps, select the app that we
8:39have just recently added here.
8:41Click on next. Under this token expiry,
8:43make sure you click on never, so your
8:44access token never gets expired.
8:46Click on next.
8:48Now, under select permissions, you'll
8:50have to select all three permissions
8:52starting with WhatsApp. WhatsApp
8:54Business Manage Events, WhatsApp
8:55Business Management, and WhatsApp
8:57Business Messaging.
8:59Once these three are selected, you'll
9:01have to click on continue button and
9:02done. Your token has been successfully
9:04created.
9:05Make sure you copy it and save it at a
9:07safe place, just like we did it for app
9:09ID and app secret. Now, after generating
9:11the permanent access token, you'll have
9:13to get the WhatsApp Business Account ID,
9:15as well as phone number ID. To get the
9:16WhatsApp Business Account ID, you can
9:18click on WhatsApp accounts again.
9:20And under this WhatsApp Business
9:21Account,
9:22here is your WhatsApp Business ID.
9:25Copy it and save it at a safe place. And
9:27to get the phone number ID, you'll have
9:28to click on this WhatsApp Manager
9:30button, and once WhatsApp Manager is
9:31open, you have to click on phone
9:32numbers.
9:33Click this phone number.
9:35And here, your phone number ID will be
9:38Again, copy it and save it at a safe
9:40place. I'd like to take a minute off and
9:42tell you something exciting. I'm an
9:44official media partner of WordCamp Asia
9:462026. So, let me give you the inside
9:48scoop. You're looking at their official
9:50website happening between 9th April to
9:5311th April at Jio World Convention
9:55Center in Mumbai, India. It's largest
9:58tech conference for web professionals in
9:59Asia
10:00and drawing thousands of developers,
10:02designers, entrepreneurs, creators, and
10:04contributors across the region. Over
10:06three full days, you get access to
10:07contribute a day, hands-on workshops,
10:10conference sessions covering
10:11development, performance, content,
10:13design, business, and how AI is shaping
10:15the WordPress future. It's a
10:17community-run event, so the vibe is
10:18electric and collaborative. A standard
10:20pass is just rupees 2,500, which is less
10:23than $30, unlocking all three-day
10:26access, full access to sessions and
10:28workshops, daily lunch, networking
10:30zones, swag, and official after-party.
10:33That's a serious value. This year is
10:36huge because WordPress 7.0 is launching
10:38on stage packed with AI features and MCP
10:41capabilities that will transform
10:43workflows. Perfect if you're into an
10:45automations like N8N. Check out the link
10:48in the description to see what exactly
10:50the value you are getting with WordCamp
10:52Asia 2026. I'll be there covering it
10:55all, connecting with fellow WordPress
10:56and AI builders. Hope to see you in
10:58Mumbai. Now, get back to the tutorial.
11:01Now, after all these efforts, we have
11:03gathered all the required IDs as well as
11:05the tokens to connect WhatsApp with N8N.
11:07Our last step is to add a payment ID so
11:09that your WhatsApp Business Account gets
11:11active and you can start using it. To
11:13add a payment to your WhatsApp account,
11:14you'll have to go back to
11:15business.facebook.com and under WhatsApp
11:17accounts, click on payment settings.
11:19Here, under payment settings, you'll
11:20have to click on add payment method.
11:22Here, you'll have to select the country,
11:24currency, as well as the time zone.
11:28And once selected, you'll have to add
11:30your credit either debit card here. I've
11:32successfully added my credit or debit
11:33card here. Now, after adding the credit
11:35or debit card, make sure you add your
11:36tax info correctly here. If not, there
11:38will be some issues while sending the
11:40messages. Once you're successful after
11:42adding all your business details, you
11:44can come back to business.facebook.com
11:46and here under WhatsApp accounts, you
11:47can see that business verification is
11:49verified, account status is approved,
11:51and you have a payment method added
11:53here. All these three steps are required
11:55to send or receive messages through your
11:57WhatsApp API. Now, we are done with all
11:59the Facebook related steps. It's time to
12:01come to your N8N instance and then
12:03create the WhatsApp credentials with the
12:05all the details that we have copied and
12:07pasted before. To create the WhatsApp
12:08credentials, you will have to click on
12:09the create credentials button and then
12:11search here for WhatsApp. Now, there are
12:12two credentials here. First is WhatsApp
12:14API and second is WhatsApp OAuth API.
12:17Now, let's start with the WhatsApp API
12:18credential.
12:20I'll click on continue.
12:21And here you'll have to enter the access
12:23token as well as the business account
12:25ID.
12:26For the access token, the permanent
12:27access token that we have created
12:29through the system users, we'll have to
12:31paste it here. And under business
12:32account ID, we'll have to paste the
12:34WhatsApp business account ID that we
12:35have copied through Facebook Business
12:37Manager. I have pasted those details
12:39here and clicked on the save button. And
12:41as you can see, it says connection
12:43tested successfully. That means we are
12:44successful in creating the first
12:46credential. Now, let's click on create
12:47credential button again, search here for
12:49WhatsApp, and select WhatsApp OAuth API.
12:53I'll click on continue.
12:55And here you'll have to paste the client
12:57ID and client secret that we copied from
12:59Meta Developer platform, that is
13:00developers.facebook.com.
13:02And here the connection is tested
13:03successfully. That means we were able to
13:05successfully paste the details and
13:07create WhatsApp connections within N8N.
13:09After you create credentials within N8N
13:12for your WhatsApp Business API, three
13:14steps I recommend before creating any
13:17workflow or using it with any AI agent.
13:19You can create a simple workflow within
13:21N8N and add the HTTP API node here. And
13:25you can duplicate it three times and add
13:27the details step-by-step as I am showing
13:29here. The first step is registering your
13:31phone number with Meta Graph API. So, we
13:33have registered the number, added
13:35two-factor authentication, OTP, multiple
13:37steps, but there is one simple step that
13:39is not mentioned during the Meta
13:41onboarding flow is to register your
13:42number. To register your number, you'll
13:44have to send a post request to this
13:45particular URL. Within this URL, it is
13:48first https://graph.facebook.com.
13:51This is the version number, that is the
13:5224 number, and here is the your phone
13:55number ID.
13:56So, this is the phone number ID that we
13:58have copied and pasted earlier. And
13:59then, register. Then, under headers,
14:01you'll have to pass your permanent
14:04access token that we have created. Here,
14:06I have put the name as authorization,
14:08and under the value, it is bearer space
14:10the permanent access token. So, that we
14:12are doing a bearer auth. And under body,
14:14you'll have to take it on as uh send
14:17body, and click on JSON, and here under
14:20using fields below, you can select as
14:23messaging {underscore} product, and
14:24value as WhatsApp. And the pin is 1 2 3
14:284 5 6, or you can put it any six-digit
14:31pin here.
14:32Make sure you replace all these details
14:34with your details. These are my details,
14:36and these will be deleted after I
14:37publish the video. So, once you add
14:39these details yes, you'll have to click
14:40on execute step. That means this
14:42particular HTTP API request will be
14:44executed. The API has been executed, and
14:46as you can see, it is success true. That
14:48means it has been successful. We have
14:50successfully registered our mobile
14:52number. Now, the next step is to check
14:54the app that we have created in Meta
14:55Developer Platform is subscribed for
14:57alerts or not. For which you can create
15:00another HTTP request. Here, the URL is
15:02same. Then, you'll have to enter your
15:06WhatsApp Business Account, not the phone
15:08number ID, the WhatsApp Business Account
15:10ID that we have copied and pasted
15:12earlier. And the endpoint is uh {slash}
15:14subscribe {underscore} apps. Here under
15:17headers, you'll have to pass the same
15:19header, that is the authorization, and
15:21under value, bearer space the permanent
15:23access token. And here there are some
15:25fields which you can copy paste from
15:27here or simply if you want the JSON of
15:29this workflow file, you can find the
15:31link in the description and download the
15:32same JSON which will have all these
15:35three HTTP API nodes and you'll have to
15:37just replace your details and execute
15:38the step. Once you add these details
15:40properly here, click on the execute step
15:42button. Again, you will receive a
15:43response as success true. That means it
15:45has been successfully executed. And the
15:47next step is to check if our WhatsApp
15:49Business account has been subscribed to
15:50the app that we have subscribed earlier.
15:52Here under check subscribed apps, again
15:54the same URL. This is version 24.0.
15:57This is the WhatsApp Business account
15:59ID. Here the endpoint is same, but the
16:01request type is get. Earlier we did post
16:03request. Again, the same authorization
16:05details. And I'll click on execute step.
16:08Here it says that WhatsApp Business API
16:09data, the link is this. This is the app
16:11ID. The name of the app that we have
16:13created WAC API and this is the app ID.
16:17That means our WhatsApp Business account
16:18has been subscribed to this app for
16:20receiving alerts. And this is the most
16:22crucial step before sending or receiving
16:24any WhatsApp API messages through an
16:26Aritic. And that's it for this video.
16:28Our main motive for this video to get
16:30official WhatsApp Business API on your
16:32own number and connect it with an
16:34Aritic. And that we have successfully
16:36completed. If you want to use this
16:38created credentials within an Aritic
16:39workflow, you can simply create a new
16:41Aritic workflow or use it with any
16:43existing workflow. But to use it, you
16:45have to click on this plus button.
16:46Search here for WhatsApp. Select the
16:48WhatsApp Business Cloud option. And here
16:50you will see list of triggers and action
16:52which you can use within your workflows.
16:53The most common action is send message
16:56and most common trigger is on message.
16:58That means when any message is received
16:59on your WhatsApp number, you can trigger
17:01a workflow. And this means send message
17:03back again to that particular WhatsApp
17:05chat. Here is a simple and high-level
17:06workflow that I've created. I've used a
17:08WhatsApp trigger as a trigger. I've
17:09hooked it to AI agent. Within AI agent,
17:11I've used OpenRouter chat model as the
17:13brain behind it. Then in In memory I
17:15have used simple memory. And at last I'm
17:17sending that message back again to that
17:19WhatsApp chat. If you want to learn more
17:21in detail how you can create AI agent on
17:23WhatsApp, you can simply comment on this
17:24video. I'll be happy to learn your use
17:26case and make a video around it. If you
17:28want to get a text step-by-step guide of
17:30what I have mentioned in this video or
17:32any resource files that I have mentioned
17:34in the video, you can simply check the
17:35link in the description. Thank you for
17:36watching this video. If this video had
17:38helped you or delivered any value to
17:40you, you can simply subscribe to my
17:42channel, like this video, and drop a
17:43positive comment. comments help me to
17:46make new videos regularly. Thank you for
17:48watching this video again. Have a great
17:49day. Bye.
17:56>> [music]
18:00[music]