Chat App Message Service:Register a WABA and manage phone numbers

Workflow

1. Register and bind a WABA: Before sending messages through a WhatsApp channel, you need to register a WABA and bind it to the channel.

2. Manage phone numbers: After registering and binding the WABA, you can add, synchronize, and configure phone numbers.

Register and bind a WABA

To send WhatsApp messages, you need to register a WABA first. In Chat App Message Service, you can quickly register a WABA through the official embedded tool of Facebook.

1. Register and bind a WABA:

   Important

   • Each channel supports only one WABA. If you need multiple WABAs, create multiple channels.

   • You can add up to 2 phone numbers to WABA that has not been verified by Meta. After passing Meta business verification, you can add up to 20 phone numbers. If you need to add more than 20, please contact technical support to apply for an increase with Meta.

   1. Log on to the Chat App Message Service console.

   2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Channel Management.

   3. On the Channel Management page, find the WhatsApp channel, and click its ID or click Manage in the Actions column.

   4. On the channel details page, select WABA Management from the left-side navigation pane.

   5. On the WABA Management page, click WABA Registration and Binding.

   6. Open the embedded Facebook registration page.

      Note

      • If you are already logged in to Facebook using the account that you need for WABA registration, click Continue as XX.

      • If you are not logged in with the desired Facebook account, click Log into another account, and sign up or log in based on your needs.

   7. Click Get started.

      Note

      1. The following registration steps are for reference only. The latest registration steps are subject to the Meta official website.

      2. If you are creating a new Meta Business Account or WABA, after completing the embedded registration, the account or WABA will need to pass the WhatsApp review before it can be used. Once the WhatsApp review is approved, your WABA will be bound to the channel and its status will display as APPROVED. At this point, you can proceed to the Phone Number Management section to add, synchronize, and configure phone numbers. For more information, see Manage phone numbers.

      1. Follow the prompts on the page to fill in the business information, including the enterprise name, enterprise email, enterprise website or business homepage, and the country/region where the enterprise is located. Click to continue.

         Note

         Please provide true and complete business information; otherwise, it may affect the enterprise verification and the application for a WhatsApp Official Business Account (OBA).

      2. Set the WABA name and select the time zone as prompted. Click to continue.

      3. Check the permissions requested by Chat App Message Service. Click to continue.

         Note

         If you want to allow Chat App Message Service to manage your WABAs, you must grant Chat App Message Service the access permissions and bill management permissions.

      4. Wait for Facebook to verify the information, then click Finish.

2. Verify the enterprise: After completing the WABA registration, go to Meta Business Manager Security Center for enterprise verification. For the enterprise verification process, see Meta documentation.

Migrate phone numbers: Phone number migration supports migrating phone numbers registered with other Business Solution Providers (BSPs) to Alibaba Cloud. The migrated phone numbers will retain their original display names, quality scores, message-sending restrictions, OBA status, and all previously approved high-quality message templates. For specific steps on number migration, see Migrate phone numbers.

Register MML: Marketing Messages Lite (MML) is a new type of optimized marketing message introduced by WhatsApp, designed to help enterprises improve performance and enhance message quality. It features automatic optimization for sending and reading, providing a higher-quality experience and relatively better business performance. Enterprises are encouraged to complete MML registration as soon as possible. For more information, see Notice on the implementation timeline for Marketing Messages Lite.

Manage phone numbers

Prerequisites: A WABA has been registered and bound, and approved by WhatsApp.

1. Add a phone number:

   1. Log on to the Chat App Message Service console.

   2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Channel Management.

   3. On the Channel Management page, find the WhatsApp channel, and click its ID or click Manage in the Actions column.

   4. On the channel details page, select WABA Management from the left-side navigation pane.

   5. In the Phone Number Management section of the WABA Management page, click Add Phone Number.

   6. In the Add Phone Number dialog box, set the display name, country/region, and the phone number, and then click OK.

      Note

      The newly added number will appear in the phone number list with a status of "Phone Number Unverified". It must be verified before it can be used.

2. Verify the phone number: When verifying the phone number, you need to receive a verification code provided by Meta. Please ensure that your phone number can receive messages normally.

   1. In the Phone Number Management section, find the number and click Verify Phone Number in the More Settings column.

   2. In the Verify Phone Number dialog box, select the language to be used for verification, and click Send Verification Code or Obtain Voice Verification Code.

      Note

      If your phone number is a landline, please select Obtain Voice Verification Code. If it is a mobile number, you can select either Send Verification Code or Obtain Voice Verification Code.

   3. Enter the verification code you received.

      Note

      • After successful verification, the verification status will be updated to "Phone Number Verified". You can now use this number to send messages.

      • If verification fails, please retry according to the error message.

3. Disable the phone number: After disabling the phone number, you will no longer be able to use this number to send messages. If you need to re-enable it, please verify the number again.

4. Configure the phone number: You can configure or update information for the verified phone number.

   • Basic information:

     1. In the Phone Number Management section, find the number and click Basic Information Settings in the More Settings column.

     2. Set the basic information as prompted, including Profile Picture, Industry, Description, Email, and Website.

     3. Click OK.

   • Workbench settings:

     • Triggered by Keyword: Specify whether to enable the keyword-triggered message workbench.

     • Keyword: Configure the trigger keywords. Multiple keywords can be set and separated by commas (,).

       Note

       When the phone number is online in the message workbench, if a user sends an inbound message containing a configured keyword, the message will be displayed in the workbench. Subsequently, the enterprise can initiate real-time communication with the user.

   • Business settings:

     • Shopping Cart: Specify whether to display the Shopping Cart icon and "Add to Cart" button on the WhatsApp Product Catalog > View Product page.

     • Category: Specify whether to add a Catalog icon on the WhatsApp enterprise information page. Clicking the Catalog icon will open the product catalog that you have linked. For information on how to link a product catalog, see Catalog management.

   • Other settings:

     Limit Sending: After enabling the switch, the current phone number will no longer send messages to users who have clicked the "Stop Promotion" button in marketing messages. The switch is turned off by default; please enable it when needed.

     Note

     You can check the list of users who have clicked the Stop Promotion button through the unsubscribe query feature, and when sending messages, you can actively filter users who have stopped receiving marketing messages.

5. Synchronize phone numbers: Through phone number synchronization, you can synchronize phone numbers under the WABA that has been bound and approved with Meta Business Manager.

   In the Phone Number Management section, click Synchronize Phone Number.

6. Configure Chatbot: You can bind or remove a chatbot, or change chatbot settings. For more information, see Use Chatbot.

   Note

   Alibaba Cloud Chatbot will be discontinued from July 1, 2025. For more information, see Notice on Alibaba Cloud Chatbot service discontinuation.

7. What to do next: To configure webhook settings, refer to Configure message receipts.

References

• Template design

• Send WhatsApp messages