WhatsApp Integration

Connect your studio's WhatsApp Business number to Outkite so you can message leads and clients without leaving the app. Every message you send and every reply you get shows up right on that person's timeline, so your whole team can see the conversation history in one place.

What it's for

• Reach out to a lead or client over WhatsApp directly from their record — no switching apps.
• Automatically log every inbound and outbound WhatsApp message on the lead/client timeline.
• Get notified the moment someone replies, so nothing sits unread.
• Power WhatsApp steps in your automated follow-up sequences (if you use those).

Connecting your WhatsApp number

1. Go to Settings → Integrations and find the WhatsApp card.
2. Click Connect and enter your WhatsApp Business phone number ID, WABA ID, and a permanent access token from your Meta Business account.
3. Outkite checks these credentials against Meta before saving. If they're invalid, you'll see a clear error and nothing is stored.
4. Once connected, the card shows a Connected badge. Use the test send option to confirm messages actually go out.
5. If a token expires or is revoked, the card switches to Reconnect required — you'll need to re-enter credentials to resume sending.
6. Disconnect at any time to remove the connection; this doesn't delete past messages already logged on timelines.

Only staff with integration-management permission can connect, reconnect, or disconnect WhatsApp.

Sending messages

Open any lead or client record and use the Send WhatsApp button. A panel opens where you choose one of two ways to send:

• Template message — pick from your approved message templates. Templates can be sent at any time, even if the person hasn't messaged you recently. This is the only option Meta allows once it's been more than 24 hours since their last message to you.
• Free-form message — write anything you like. This option is only available within a 24-hour window after the person's last inbound message to you. Outside that window, the free-form box is disabled and the panel explains why — you'll need to send a template instead.

Every message you send this way is immediately added to the timeline so the conversation stays visible to the whole team.

Receiving messages

When a lead or client replies on WhatsApp, Outkite:

• Matches the incoming number to the right lead or client in your organization automatically.
• Adds the message to that person's timeline as a chat-style entry.
• Sends an in-app notification to the assigned team member (or your org's default recipient if no one is assigned).

If the number doesn't match anyone in your CRM, no timeline entry is created, but you still get a notification flagging a "New WhatsApp from unknown number" along with the number, so you can follow up or add them as a new lead.

There's usually a short delay (well under a minute) between a reply arriving and it showing up in Outkite — messages are processed in the background rather than instantly.

Automated follow-ups

If a follow-up sequence includes a WhatsApp step, Outkite sends the mapped template automatically at the scheduled time — as long as your studio has an active WhatsApp connection. If the connection is missing or broken, that step is marked with an error instead of silently failing, and the rest of your follow-up automation keeps running.

Good to know

• Templates only work outside the 24-hour window. This is a WhatsApp platform rule, not an Outkite limitation — it exists to prevent unsolicited business messaging.
• New templates need Meta's approval, which can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Plan ahead if you want a new template ready for an upcoming campaign or sequence.
• Two people with the same last-10-digit phone number (for example, a lead who later becomes a client, or a shared household number) can occasionally have a reply attributed to the wrong record. If you notice a message on the wrong timeline, move it manually or flag it to your admin.
• Media attachments (photos, documents) sent over WhatsApp aren't fully supported yet — text messages and templates are the primary supported flow today.