WhatsApp Groups API: What We Learned as an Alpha Partner
As an Alpha partner with WhatsApp's new Groups API functionality, we've spent the past year deep in the trenches, and we're sharing what we learned.
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How to connect your integrations to your CRM platform?
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Techbit is the next-gen CRM platform designed for modern sales teams
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Why using the right CRM can make your team close more sales?
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As an Alpha partner with WhatsApp, we've spent the past year deep in the trenches, integrating this technology and shipping real value for businesses. WhatsApp's technical docs are solid, but they don't answer the questions businesses ask when they're trying to reimagine customer communication. And that’s ok, technical docs rarely answer business questions. So we're sharing what we've learned. Here are the top questions we've fielded since August 2024:
1. What is the WhatsApp Groups API, and what's it actually for?
The WhatsApp Groups API provides medium to large businesses with the ability to include multiple employees and customers in a single group chat. The business is the admin. And because it's built on top of the WhatsApp Business API, you can place AI agents behind your business phone number.
2. What verticals does WhatsApp Groups API offer the most value?
WhatsApp Groups API offers value across all verticals simply because it should be used where your best customers are already chatting with your employees. In other words, it is to be applied to your most valuable customer conversations, regardless of vertical. Obvious verticals include: Private Banking, Luxury Retail, Travel, Hospitality, Automotive, B2B Software & Professional Services.
3. What is an example use case for WhatsApp Groups API?
WhatsApp Groups API is best used for high value relationships across verticals. In the real estate vertical, consider a couple purchasing their first home. With the Groups API, both buyers can communicate with their real estate agent, mortgage broker, lawyer, and an AI-powered concierge, all in one thread with complete business workflow integration.
4. How many participants can join a group?
Eight participants plus the business phone number. Not huge, but that's the point. These aren't broadcast channels. They're microgroups built for high-value, multi-party relationships.
5. Can we use WhatsApp Groups API for marketing purposes?
Yes, but be strategic. You can run marketing use cases inside groups, and you can send business-initiated templates inside groups. Our recommendation: lean into utility templates wherever possible. Marketing templates get rate-limited faster than one-to-one conversations, and WhatsApp iswatching closely.
6. Can we scale groups beyond 8 participants?
No, at least not right now. WhatsApp will never let these groups become spam factories. The architecture is intentional: high-value relationships in micro groups, not loosely connected macro groups. If you're thinking broadcast, you're looking at the wrong API. It is possible WhatsApp could raise the limit from 8 to 20, but Coral doesn't predict groups will be larger for the foreseeable future.
7. Can we just add people to groups?
No, you have to first invite all participants, and they can choose to join the group by clicking a link. This is true opt-in, and is part of the WhatsApp process.
8. Can we customize the group subject and thumbnail?
Yes. You can change both via API for groups. Brand it, personalize it, make it yours.
9. What's WhatsApp's business model for WhatsApp Groups API?
WhatsApp charges for all business-initiated template sends, just as it does in direct chats. Standard stuff. However, here's where it gets interesting: all messages from participants on the WhatsApp consumer app are free. That's a massive cost advantage for businesses running multi-party conversations.
10. Can we add our business number to existing consumer groups?
No. WhatsApp considers this a data privacy risk. You need to create a new group via API and invite employees and customers into it. Clean slate only. This means, as a business, you need to think about when and how to create a new group with new customers, which Coral can help you solution.
11. Does WhatsApp distinguish between employee and customer phone numbers?
WhatsApp doesn't. At Coral, we distinguish between employee and customer phone numbers in our data schema and the AI agents we create on top. It matters for workflows, permissions, and intelligence.
12. How long do groups last?
Indefinitely. WhatsApp built for the long term, and even if the business phone number never sends a message, participants can chat forever.
13. Can I delete a group that I created?
Yes, you can delete a group that you created, this follows the same flow as creating and deleting a group in the WhatsApp Consumer App, but for business you need to do so using APIs
14. Are all phone numbers visible in the group?
Yes. Every phone number is visible to all participants, including the business API phone number. Everyone who's invited needs to opt in to enter.
The bottom line: The WhatsApp Groups API isn't just a feature release. It's a fundamental shift in how businesses can orchestrate high-value, multi-party relationships at scale. We've seen it unlock use cases that were impossible twelve months ago. If you want to build on WA Groups API, reach out. We've made the mistakes so you don't have to.
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