WhatsApp calling

A customer opens a chat with your business in WhatsApp and taps the call button. The call arrives at SignalWire, runs whatever Resource you attached to the number, and records, transcribes, and shows up in your logs the way the rest of your traffic does.

WhatsApp calling uses the same Meta-verified business number as WhatsApp messaging, so a number your customers already message can take their calls too. It handles calls that customers place to your business number from WhatsApp.

How a call reaches your code

You attach the number to the Resource that should answer, such as an AI Agent, a SWML Script, or a Call Flow, and every call placed to the number then runs that Resource. Each call arrives with your business number as to, carrying a whatsapp: prefix, and the caller’s number as plain E.164 in from. One agent can therefore serve your phone number and your WhatsApp number. Receive WhatsApp calls shows the request body and a complete agent that does this.

What WhatsApp calling supports

• Inbound calls only: customers call your business number from WhatsApp. SignalWire doesn’t place calls to WhatsApp users, so a whatsapp: number isn’t a valid destination for connect or the REST Calling API.
• Audio only: a caller can’t start a video call to your business number, even when a Video Room answers.
• No hold: putting a WhatsApp call on hold doesn’t behave the way it does on a phone call, so leave hold and hold music out of flows that handle them.
• Everything else an inbound call can do: AI Agents, SWML Scripts, Call Flows, Relay Applications, and Video Rooms can answer, and recording, transcription, and the rest of SWML work as they do on a phone call.

Next steps