WhatsApp Business API and AI agents — frequently asked questions
The questions that come up most about running WhatsApp support on Meta's official API and with AI agents. Every answer stands on its own — read only the one you need.
Updated September 2, 2026
Nivox and the official WhatsApp API
- What is Nivox?
- Nivox is a WhatsApp customer-conversation platform built on Meta's official Cloud API. You connect your business number through Meta's embedded signup, your whole team answers customers in a realtime inbox, and on that same number you can grant AI agents access with roles and permissions you define.
- What is the official WhatsApp API (Cloud API)?
- The Cloud API is the interface Meta hosts for businesses to send and receive WhatsApp messages programmatically. It is the only official, supported route: the account is registered in your name, messages travel through Meta servers, and there is no phone kept online and no QR code in the loop.
- Is Nivox a Meta partner?
- Nivox connects numbers through Meta's official Tech Provider path: Cloud API plus Embedded Signup, the onboarding that happens inside the site. The WhatsApp Business Account it creates is yours — if you ever leave, the number and its approval history stay with you.
- Do I need a new phone number?
- Not necessarily. You can use a number that is not on any WhatsApp account yet, migrate one that currently lives in the WhatsApp Business app, or get a virtual number inside the platform. What you cannot do is use a number that stays active on regular personal WhatsApp.
- Can I keep using the WhatsApp Business app on my phone?
- Yes, through coexistence mode. The number then works in the phone app and on the official API at the same time: the team can keep replying from the app, and the same conversations show up in the Nivox inbox. You link it once by scanning a QR code inside Meta’s official flow.
- How much does sending WhatsApp messages cost?
- Meta charges per template message sent, with different prices by category — marketing, utility and authentication — and by destination country. Support replies inside the 24-hour window a customer opened are not charged by Meta. The official price list is published by Meta and applies to your account regardless of which platform you use.
AI agents, MCP and OAuth
- How does an AI agent work on my WhatsApp number?
- Nivox exposes the WhatsApp account as an MCP server. Clients such as Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex, n8n or your own agent connect to it and can read the inbox, answer conversations and send templates — always under the same rules the human team follows.
- What is MCP (Model Context Protocol)?
- MCP is an open protocol that standardises how an AI model talks to external tools and data. Instead of writing one integration per assistant, you publish an MCP server once and any compatible client can use it. Nivox speaks MCP over HTTP, authenticated with OAuth 2.1 or an API key.
- Does the customer know they are talking to an agent?
- Yes. Every outgoing message records who sent it — a person on the team or a named agent — and the inbox shows that authorship inside the conversation. The customer sees a single number, and the history makes the hand-off from agent to person explicit.
- What permissions does an AI agent get?
- An agent's credential carries a scope, and that scope is a role: read equals a viewer, messages equals an agent, full equals a manager. A read-scoped credential can never send a message, and no scope grants admin actions such as inviting people or disconnecting numbers.
- Can I revoke an agent's access?
- Yes, at any time and without touching the rest of the team. Credentials are listed in the integrations area — both keys created by hand and access granted over OAuth — and revoking one cuts that agent off immediately.
- Can the agent message any number?
- Only under the same rules that bind the team: an open conversation can be answered freely for 24 hours, and outside that only an approved template can start contact. On top of that, each credential only sees the WhatsApp numbers an admin allowed for it.
Messages, templates and WhatsApp rules
- What is the WhatsApp 24-hour window?
- It is the period in which a business can reply freely, with any message type, after the customer writes. The window reopens with every inbound message and lasts 24 hours. After it closes, only an approved template can restart the conversation.
- What are message templates and why do they need approval?
- Templates are pre-registered messages — with optional variables, buttons and media — that Meta reviews before allowing them to be sent. The review exists to contain spam: because a template is the only way to open a conversation outside the 24-hour window, Meta checks its category and content first. Approval usually lands within minutes.
- Can I send bulk messages on WhatsApp?
- You can send templates to contacts who opted in, using the right category and staying within your account messaging limit. What Meta does not allow is blasting bought lists or people who never agreed: that drives the number quality down and leads to sending restrictions.
- Can my number get banned?
- On the official API the risk comes from message quality, not from the tool: recipient blocks and reports lower the number quality rating and can cut the messaging limit or restrict the account. Messaging only people who asked, picking the right template category and answering fast is what keeps a number healthy.
- What is the difference between the official API and an unofficial QR-code API?
- An unofficial API automates ordinary WhatsApp by scanning a QR code, with no agreement with Meta — it breaks the terms of service and the number can be disabled without notice or appeal. The official API is the opposite: a registered account, published rules, Meta support and a quality history you can watch.
Account, team and data
- How many people can share one account?
- The account belongs to the organisation, not to a person. You invite the team by e-mail and give each member a role — admin, manager, agent or viewer — and each role sees only what it needs. Everyone answers from the same number, in the same inbox.
- Does Nivox read my conversations?
- Messages are stored inside your organisation to build the inbox and the history, isolated by row-level access rules in the database. They are not used to train models, not sold, and not shared with third parties for advertising.
- Where is the data stored?
- The infrastructure runs on Supabase in the São Paulo region (sa-east-1), isolated per organisation at the database level. The WhatsApp account access tokens live in a table with no read policy at all: neither the browser nor the team can reach them.
- How do I delete my account and my data?
- The data deletion page, linked in the site footer, describes the request and the deadline. Deleting the account unlinks the WhatsApp connections and removes the organisation messages and data.
- Can I sign up already?
- Open sign-up is not live yet: new accounts come in through a waiting list while the platform is in controlled access. The agent documentation is already public and can be read before you join.
Still have a question?
The FAQ covers pricing, Meta rules, team roles and agent access. The technical documentation is public and any AI agent can read it.