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WhatsApp

Connect an agent to WhatsApp so people can chat with it from the world's most popular messaging app. AETHER uses your own Twilio account — you keep control of the number and billing, and AETHER handles the conversation.

Everything the agent can do on the web applies on WhatsApp too — knowledge, tools, workflows and artifacts. When the agent produces a file — a PDF, an image, a spreadsheet — it arrives in WhatsApp as a real attachment, not just a link.

How it works

  1. A person messages your Twilio WhatsApp number.
  2. Twilio calls your agent's unique AETHER webhook URL.
  3. AETHER runs the agent and replies through your Twilio account — text, images and documents included.

Each phone number gets its own private conversation with the agent. Sending reset starts a fresh conversation, and conversations also start fresh automatically after 24 hours of inactivity — mirroring WhatsApp's own session behaviour, so old context never bleeds into a new chat.

Note: the agent's host whitelist (Security tab) does not apply to WhatsApp — it protects the website embed channel. WhatsApp traffic is authenticated by Twilio's request signature instead, so no whitelist changes are needed.

What you'll need

  • A published agent in AETHER.
  • A free Twilio account — the trial works; no WhatsApp Business Account is needed for testing with the sandbox.
  • Your phone, to chat with the agent.

The whole sandbox setup takes about five minutes. The Connect WhatsApp button on the agent's published page opens a guided panel with these same steps and your copy-ready webhook URL.

Step 1 — Create your Twilio account

Sign up at twilio.com/try-twilio. The free trial account is enough for the sandbox; you don't need to buy a number yet.

Step 2 — Activate the WhatsApp sandbox

In the Twilio Console go to Messaging → Try it out → Send a WhatsApp message. This activates your sandbox and shows you two things to note:

  • the sandbox number (usually +1 415 523 8886), and
  • your join code (e.g. join egg-upon).

Step 3 — Get your Account SID and Auth Token

On the Twilio Console home page, under Account Info, you'll find:

  • Account SID — starts with AC; copy it.
  • Auth Token — click Show to reveal it, then copy it.

AETHER stores the Auth Token encrypted and never displays it again.

Step 4 — Connect the agent in AETHER

  1. Open your agent's published page and click Connect WhatsApp (next to Web Integration).
  2. In the panel, enter the Account SID, Auth Token and the WhatsApp number (the sandbox number for testing), keep Twilio sandbox ticked, and click Connect. AETHER verifies the credentials with Twilio before saving.
  3. Copy the webhook URL shown — it's unique to this agent, in the form https://your-aether-host/api/whatsapp/messages/{agent-id}.

Step 5 — Point Twilio at your agent

In the Twilio Console go to Messaging → Settings → WhatsApp sandbox settings:

  1. Paste the webhook URL into "When a message comes in" and set the method to POST.
  2. Leave "Status callback URL" empty — AETHER doesn't need delivery receipts (and safely ignores them if they're ever sent).
  3. Save.

Step 6 — Join the sandbox and chat

From your phone, send your join code (e.g. join egg-upon) via WhatsApp to the sandbox number. Twilio confirms you've joined — then just start chatting with your agent.

Sandbox limits: the number is shared and unbranded, every tester must send the join code first, and sandbox sessions lapse after 72 hours of inactivity — just send the join message again. It's for testing only.

What your agent can do on WhatsApp

  • Answer with its full capabilities — knowledge base, tools, workflows and specialists all apply, exactly as on the web.
  • Understand what you send it — photos and documents you send are passed to the agent along with your message.
  • Send you real files — ask for a PDF, chart or spreadsheet and it arrives as a proper WhatsApp document; ask for an image and the picture lands in the chat. Images are generated in the background: the agent tells you it's on the way, and the finished image is delivered automatically — with the same file name the agent announced.
  • Start over on request — send reset for a fresh conversation at any time.

Going live with your own number

When you're ready for a real, branded number (this requires a WhatsApp Business Account):

  1. In the Twilio Console, complete WhatsApp sender registration — this links your Meta business profile and verifies your number.
  2. On the agent's page, open the WhatsApp panel and reconnect with the production number, this time with Twilio sandbox unticked.
  3. On the production sender's messaging configuration, set the same webhook URL in "When a message comes in" (POST).
  4. Share your number or the wa.me link (shown on the agent's WhatsApp panel) with your users — no join codes needed on a production number.

Security

  • Every incoming message is verified against Twilio's request signature using your Auth Token — requests that aren't genuinely from your Twilio account are rejected.
  • Your Auth Token is stored encrypted and is never shown again in the UI or returned by any API.
  • Disconnecting WhatsApp preserves all conversation history.

Troubleshooting

  • The agent doesn't reply at all — check that the webhook URL is saved in Twilio's "When a message comes in" with method POST, and that you've joined the sandbox from your phone. If you've changed your Twilio Auth Token, reconnect the agent with the new one.
  • "The agent is temporarily unavailable" — the message reached AETHER but the agent run failed (for example, the platform's AI model quota is exhausted). Try again in a moment, or contact your administrator if it persists.
  • Files arrive as names without attachments — the platform's public base URL isn't configured; ask your administrator to set it.
  • Message wasn't answered after a Twilio retry — each message is processed at most once by design; simply send it again.

Conversations are still logged

WhatsApp chats are recorded like web or API conversations — the same invocation logs, tokens and cost and admin reports apply, and they appear in the Conversation Explorer.

Next steps