> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.ciarem.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connecting WhatsApp

> The two ways to put your AI agent on WhatsApp, step by step.

Go to **Channels > WhatsApp** in the sidebar. This page manages the WhatsApp Business lines connected to your workspace, and offers two ways to connect:

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/ciaremaai/rrKvoMfzjsUS61Og/images/ciarem-help-channels-whatsapp.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=rrKvoMfzjsUS61Og&q=85&s=d49eca49678cd42024f89ea68807a7e6" alt="The WhatsApp channel page with the two connection options" width="3358" height="2412" data-path="images/ciarem-help-channels-whatsapp.png" />

## Option 1: Connect WhatsApp Business (dedicated line)

Choose **Connect WhatsApp Business** to link a number through Meta's secure embedded signup. This is the setup where the number lives in the platform: your team answers from the shared Inbox and the agent can use message templates to reach out after the 24-hour window.

Steps:

1. Click **Connect WhatsApp Business**.
2. Log in with Facebook in the Meta window that opens.
3. Select (or create) your Meta Business Account.
4. Pick the phone number to connect and follow Meta's verification steps.
5. Back in Ciarem, your line appears on the WhatsApp page. Send yourself a test message; it should show up in the [Inbox](/using-ciarem/inbox) within seconds.

Heads up: connecting a number this way moves it fully onto the API. If that number is currently active in the WhatsApp Business app on a phone, it will stop working there, so make sure your team is ready to work from Ciarem's Inbox. If you want to keep the app, use Coexistence instead.

## Option 2: Keep using your phone (Coexistence)

If you run your business from the WhatsApp Business app and do not want to give that up, choose **Keep using your phone — connect via coexistence**. Your number connects to Ciarem while the app keeps working exactly as before: you and your team keep chatting from your phones, and the AI agent reads and answers on the same number.

Nothing is hidden from your phone. Incoming customer messages and the replies the AI sends both keep appearing in your WhatsApp Business app, so you always see the full conversation there, exactly as if you had written it yourself.

You will need:

1. Your number active on the **WhatsApp Business app** (not personal WhatsApp).
2. Access to a **Meta Business Account** (the flow guides you if you do not have one).
3. A recent version of the WhatsApp Business app on your phone.

The flow is the same Meta login, and you confirm a code on your phone. Your app stays logged in throughout. See [WhatsApp Coexistence explained](/channels/whatsapp-coexistence) for what syncs and what does not.

## Which one should I choose?

Stay with Coexistence if your phone is still the center of your operation and you want the AI working alongside you. Choose the dedicated line when the platform becomes the center: more teammates answering from the Inbox, higher volume, and outbound follow-up with templates.