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A guide for the business owner
How to connect your WhatsApp to Mateo AI Agent
After you sign up, you connect your business's WhatsApp from your portal, with one button. Here's how, step by step.
Your portal is enabled when you sign up. That's where you'll find the "Connect WhatsApp" button.
In short
About 5 to 10 minutes
You need your Facebook account and the phone with the number to hand.
Meta charges you directly
Meta charges for its messages directly to your Meta account. The first 1,000 replies each month (per number) are free. Your Mateo plan (Lite, Pro or Ultra) is separate.
The 7 steps
About 5 to 10 minutes, from start to finish.
Go to your portal and tap "Connect WhatsApp"
You'll find it in the "Connect WhatsApp" section and also in the "Guided setup". A Meta window opens (Facebook's, not ours).
Log in with your Facebook account
If you don't have one, you can create it right there.
Accept the permissions
Meta shows you what Mateo can do with your WhatsApp: send and receive messages and manage the account. Nothing else.
Enter the business number
Choose one you already have in Meta or add a new one.
Verify it with the code
It arrives by SMS or by phone call. You choose which.
Choose or create your "business portfolio"
That's what Meta calls your business's profile. You also choose the WhatsApp account. If you don't have them, Meta creates them for you in that same step with the business's name and website.
Set the display name
It's the business name your customers will see. It has to resemble your business's real name.
Done!
The window closes and the portal shows "Connected". Your assistant can now reply.
One last thing: set up billing in your Meta account (in WhatsApp Manager > Billing), so Meta can charge you for anything beyond the free allowance. We remind you in the portal and leave you the link there.
Meta's window may change the order of the screens a little (Meta is redesigning it at the moment). The details it asks for are always the same. If you make a mistake in a step, close the window and tap "Connect WhatsApp" again: nothing is lost. If you get stuck, we help you by email (priority support on Ultra).
Which number do I use?
You already use the WhatsApp Business app
You can connect that same number and keep using the app (coexistence). See the requirements and what changes below.
Your number is on regular WhatsApp (personal)
As it is, it can't be connected. You have two options: move it to the WhatsApp Business app (WhatsApp lets you migrate the number and keep your chats) and then connect it with coexistence, or use another number.
You want a new number for the business
It's the simplest option. A mobile is best (a prepaid line works). It must be able to receive SMS or calls for the code. A landline only works if it can receive the call with the code, with no call forwarding or answering machine.
If you keep using the WhatsApp Business app (coexistence)
What you need and how it works
- Requirement: the WhatsApp Business app, up to date (version 2.24.17 or later). It doesn't work with regular WhatsApp.
- During the connection, the app shows you a code and a message from Meta with a "Connect" button. We don't import your previous chats: Mateo starts replying from the moment you connect it.
- Your one-to-one chats keep working on your phone. You also see Mateo's replies in the app, and you can keep replying by hand.
- Open the app on your phone at least once every two weeks. If the main phone doesn't use WhatsApp for about 14 days, Meta disconnects the number from Mateo.
What stops working or changes in the app
- Groups are not handled by Mateo: they stay in the app as always.
- Disappearing messages, "view once" messages and live location are turned off.
- Broadcast lists become read-only.
- Linked devices (WhatsApp Web, your computer) are unlinked. You can link them again, except Windows and WearOS watches, which are not supported.
Costs: what you send from the app is still free. What Mateo sends is charged like any platform message, with the 1,000 free replies per month.
To disconnect from the app: Settings > Account > Business platform > Disconnect (the exact menu name may vary).
The display name
- You enter it during the connection and from day one it appears on your business's WhatsApp profile.
- It only appears at the top of the chat and in the chat list once Meta verifies it. Meta does this on its own, when your number starts sending more messages. Until then, some customers may see your number. If the customer has you saved as a contact, they see the name they saved you under.
- If Meta rejects it, we let you know and you correct it. It can be changed up to 10 times in 30 days.
- It must be the business's real name, without generic words on their own ("Appointments", "Hair salon") and without emojis. Meta has a guide on the display name.
What Meta charges you (separately from your plan)
- Meta charges you directly in your Meta account. What you pay us is your plan, separately.
- Replying to a customer who wrote to you (within 24 hours of their last message): 1,000 free messages per month per number. From message 1,001 they are charged.
- Appointment reminders ("utility" templates): always charged.
- If the customer arrives through an ad on Facebook or Instagram that opens WhatsApp, messages over the following days are free: up to 7 days, according to Meta. To be cautious, we estimate with 72 hours, because Meta does not promise the full 7 days.
- Your portal shows you an estimate of Meta's cost every month. The real amount is the one in your Meta account.
Details by country on Meta's pricing page, or work it out with the Meta cost calculator.
Your portal: your mini account
It is enabled when you sign up. From there you connect WhatsApp and manage everything else.
See your usage and Meta's cost
The month's conversations against your plan's limit and an estimate of what Meta charges you. The real amount is the one in your Meta account.
Change plan
Move from Lite to Pro or Ultra, or back, whenever you like. Changing plan doesn't restart the trial.
Edit the business details
Name, address, phone number for your customers, opening hours and who to notify.
Edit your assistant
Name, how it introduces itself, industry and tone, and what it does on its own and what it checks with you first.
Connect your calendar
Google Calendar or Outlook, so your assistant books on its own without clashing with what you already have.
Pro and Ultra
See and disconnect your WhatsApp
The connected number, the display name and the "Disconnect" button.
Sample portal screenshots, with a fictitious business and data. The portal is in Spanish.
Quick questions
Do I need to download anything?
No. Everything is done from your portal, with one button. You need your Facebook account and the phone with the number to hand.
Can I keep using the WhatsApp Business app?
Yes. You can connect that same number and keep using the app (coexistence), with the WhatsApp Business app updated to version 2.24.17 or later. Your one-to-one chats stay on your phone, but groups are not handled by Mateo and some app features change. Open the app at least once every two weeks so the number stays connected.
Can I disconnect whenever I want?
Yes, from the portal ("Disconnect"). Your number is still yours.
Does Mateo read my personal chats or my groups?
No. Only the messages your customers send to the business number. We don't import your previous chats: Mateo starts replying from the moment you connect it.
What if I make a mistake in a step?
Close the window and tap "Connect WhatsApp" again. Nothing is lost.
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