Configuring the WhatsApp Channel

Prerequisites

NOTE:

This feature applies only to regions outside the Chinese mainland.

You have obtained the following information from the WhatsApp service path supplier:

• infobip
  • Phone number for registering a WhatsApp service path provider user
  • Username for registering with the WhatsApp service path provider
  • Password for registering with the WhatsApp service path provider
  • API URL prefix provided by the WhatsApp service path provider. An application has been submitted to the system administrator and approved to add the API URL prefix to the address trustlist.

    This information corresponds to the value of BaseUrl in the AICC.

  • Account key provided by the WhatsApp service path provider for authentication
  • Webhook password, which is the authentication password for the channel to receive messages. The webhook password is customized by channel configuration personnel. After the channel is configured, you need to notify Infobip of the webhook password, which corresponds to the account key of the webhook API in Infobip.
  • Authentication certificate. To obtain the authentication certificate, perform the following steps:
    1. Visit the following website:
       • https://api.infobip.com/
       • API URL prefix provided by Infobip, for example, https://***.api-us.infobip.com/
    2. Export a certificate from the browser. The following describes how to export a certificate from https://api.infobip.com/.
       1. Click in the address box. The following information is displayed.

          

       2. Choose Connection is secure > Certificate is valid to view certificate information.

          

       3. Click Export and select a local path to save the certificate.

          

          Customize the value of File name and set Save as type to DER-encoded binary, single certificate.

          

       4. Click Save to export the certificate to the local PC.
    3. Repeat the preceding operations to export a certificate from https://***.api-us.infobip.com/.
    4. Combine the two certificates into a JKS certificate. You can use the certificate combination tool Portecle to combine the certificates.

       Download URL: https://sourceforge.net/projects/portecle/

       Procedure: The Java running environment must be available.

       1. Open the CLI and go to the directory where portecle.jar is stored.
       2. Run the java -jar portecle.jar command to run Portecle.
       3. Choose File > New Keystory Type, select JKS, and click OK.
       4. Click and upload an obtained browser certificate to Portecle.

          You need to run the command twice.

       5. Click , enter a new certificate password, and click OK.
       6. Enter a new certificate name, which is customized, and click Save.
    5. Upload the authentication certificate by referring to Managing a Certificate.
• other: The customer implements the BSP to connect to WhatsApp. The current version supports only ITAU.
  NOTE:

  When WhatsApp Business Solution Provider is set to other, the options of Verification Method are as follows:

  • basic: direct authentication of the WhatsApp service path provider
  • oAuth: authentication of the WhatsApp service path provider using an API

  The information to be obtained varies according to the value of Verification Method.

  • Phone number for registering a WhatsApp service path provider user

    This item is not required when Verification Method is set to oAuth.

  • Username for registering with the WhatsApp service path provider

    When Verification Method is set to oAuth, you need to contact the system administrator to obtain the app key of the app that has subscribed to the sendWhatsappMessage API and bound to the tenant space for which the WhatsApp channel needs to be configured on the Configuration Center > Expansion and Integration > API Management > APP Service > APP Management page, and enter the app key in the UserName text box.

  • Password for registering with the WhatsApp service path provider

    When Verification Method is set to oAuth, you need to contact the system administrator to obtain the app secret of the app that has subscribed to the sendWhatsappMessage API and bound to the tenant space for which the WhatsApp channel needs to be configured on the Configuration Center > Expansion and Integration > API Management > APP Service > APP Management page, and enter the app secret in the Password text box.

  • API URL prefix provided by the WhatsApp service path provider

    When Verification Method is set to oAuth, the API URL prefix must be https://IP address:Port number/apiaccess/rest/ccmessaging, where IP address:Port number indicates the IP address and port number for signing in to the AICC and can be replaced with a domain name.

  • Authentication key provided by the WhatsApp service path provider

    This item is not required when Verification Method is set to oAuth.

  • Authentication password for the channel to receive messages
  • Trust certificate provided by the WhatsApp service path provider. You have uploaded it by referring to Managing a Certificate.
  • Identity certificate of the current system. You have uploaded it by referring to Managing a Certificate.

    This item is not required when Verification Method is set to oAuth.

• cloud-api: Currently, this function can only be demonstrated and cannot be put into commercial use.
  • Information about the app created on Meta for Developers
    1. Log in to Facebook using a Meta for Developers account and access https://developers.facebook.com/apps to create an app.

       Click Other, select the Business type, customize the app name, and retain other default settings.

    2. Return to https://developers.facebook.com/apps, find the new app, copy the app ID, access https://developers.facebook.com/apps/App ID/settings/basic, and view the app information.
       Figure 1 Obtaining app information
       

       The app ID corresponds to the value of APP Key in the channel configuration in the AICC.

       The app secret corresponds to the value of APP Secret in the channel configuration in the AICC.

    3. Add the WhatsApp product to the app.
       Figure 2 Adding the product
       
    4. Choose WhatsApp > Quickstart to configure the quick start.

       If the advertisement placement function is disabled for the Facebook account, you need to apply for enabling the function.

    5. Choose WhatsApp > API Setup and obtain the phone number and base URL.
       • The test number corresponds to the value of Phone Number in the AICC.
       • The URL in the red box corresponds to the value of BaseUrl in the AICC.
       • The recipient number is the mobile number of an object served through the WhatsApp channel and is a mobile number. The recipient number needs to be manually added so that the customer can access the WhatsApp channel.
       Figure 3 Obtaining the phone number and base URL
       
    6. Access https://business.facebook.com/settings/system-users, select the business of the app, choose Users > System users, and add an administrator.
       Customize System user name and set System user role to Employee.

       Figure 4 Adding an administrator
       
    7. Add assets and generate a new token.
       Figure 5 Adding assets
       
       Figure 6 Generating a new token
       

       The generated token must have the whatsapp_business_messaging and whatsapp_business_management permissions.

       The generated token corresponds to the value of access token in the channel configuration in the AICC.

       When generating the token, you need to select a validity period, which corresponds to the token validity period in the AICC.

  • Trust certificate. You have uploaded it by referring to Managing a Certificate.
    • In China: Direct access to https://graph.facebook.com/v8.0 is restricted. You need to configure a proxy server and obtain the trust certificate of the proxy server. The certificate must be in .der format.
    • Outside China: Access https://graph.facebook.com/v8.0 and export the certificate using a browser. The certificate must be in .der format.
  • Identity certificate of the current system. You have uploaded it by referring to Managing a Certificate.

    Access the current system and export the certificate using a browser.

• Twilio:
  • Phone number for registering a WhatsApp service provider user
  • API Key SID for registering a WhatsApp service provider
  • API Key Secret for registering a WhatsApp service provider
  • API URL prefix provided by the WhatsApp service provider. An application has been submitted to the system administrator and approved to add the API URL prefix to the address trustlist.

    This information corresponds to the value of BaseUrl in the AICC, for example, https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01.

  • Account SID provided by the WhatsApp service provider for authentication
  • Webhook user, which is the authenticated user for the channel to receive messages. The webhook user is customized by channel configuration personnel. After the channel is configured, you need to notify Twilio of the webhook user, which corresponds to the username of the webhook API in Twilio.
  • Webhook password, which is the authentication password for the channel to receive messages. The webhook password is customized by channel configuration personnel. After the channel is configured, you need to notify Twilio of the webhook password, which corresponds to the password of the webhook API in Twilio.
  • Authentication certificate. To obtain the authentication certificate, perform the following steps:
    1. Visit the following website:
       • https://api.twilio.com/
    2. Export a certificate from the browser. The following describes how to export a certificate from https://api.twilio.com/.
       1. Click in the address box. The following information is displayed.

          

       2. Choose Connection is secure > Certificate is valid to view certificate information.

          

       3. Click Export and select a local path to save the certificate.

          

          Customize the value of File name and set Save as type to DER-encoded binary, single certificate.

          

       4. Click Save to export the certificate to the local PC.
    3. Upload the authentication certificate by referring to Managing a Certificate.

       Access the current system and export the certificate using a browser.

Context

If the information provided by the WhatsApp service path provider is changed, you need to modify the involved WhatsApp channel as follows: Sign in as a tenant administrator, choose Configuration Center > Access Configuration > Channel Configuration, click Edit in the Operation column corresponding to the involved channel, and update the values of UserName, Password, BaseUrl, and AccountKey.

Procedure

1. Sign in to the AICC as a tenant administrator and choose Configuration Center > Access Configuration > Channel Configuration.
2. Click Newly created. The Configure Channel page is displayed.
3. Set channel information parameters.

   Table 1 Channel information parameters

   Parameter	Description
   Channel Selection	Select WhatsApp.
   Business Solution Provider	The options are as follows: infobip other cloud-api twilio

   Set other parameters based on the information obtained in Prerequisites.

4. Set basic configuration parameters.

   Table 2 Basic configuration parameters

   Parameter	Description
   Channel Name	The channel name must be unique. The code can contain a maximum of 64 characters, including only letters, digits, and underscores (_), and can start only with a letter or an underscore (_).
   OU Configuration	Select an OU created in Configuring OUs to assign it to channel resources.
   Skill Queue	The options are all multimedia called routes of the current tenant space. For details about how to configure a called route, see Configuring Called Routes.
   Keyword for Transfer to Agent	Keywords for switching from robot service to manual service. After a customer enters any of the keywords on the client, robot service is switched to manual service. NOTE: If the intelligent robot is enabled, this parameter must be set.
   Agent Work Time	Workday: A maximum of four working time segments (from 00:00 to 24:00) can be configured. By default, a time segment is displayed. You can click New to add a time segment. Non-workday: A maximum of four working time segments (from 00:00 to 24:00) can be configured. By default, a time segment is displayed. You can click New to add a time segment. Non-working days are set on the Configuration Center > Workbench Configuration > Service Time page.
   Non-Working Time Notification	When a customer call is connected to an agent in non-working time, this message is displayed to notify the customer that the agent is in rest state.
   More
   Last Agent Mode	For details, see How Do I Enable the Last Agent Mode?.
   Session End Due to No Customer Reply	For details, see How Do I Set Session End Due to No Customer Reply?.
   Session Transfer Due to No Agent Reply	For details, see How Do I Set Session Transfer Due to No Agent Reply?.
   Session Transfer	For details, see How Do I Set Session Transfer?.
   Offline Messages	For details, see How Do I Enable Offline Messages?.

5. Set robot configuration parameters.

   Table 3 Robot configuration parameters

   Parameter	Description
   Connecting to the Intelligent Robot	For details, see How Do I Enable Connection to the Intelligent Robot?.
   Access Robot Assistant	For details, see How Do I Enable Connection to the Robot Assistant?.

6. Click The next step. The Channel Integration page is displayed.
   • If the WhatsApp service provider is infobip, the following page is displayed.

     

     Obtain the values of url used to send message to agent and url used to send report to agent generated on the Channel Integration page and notify Infobip of them offline.

   • If the WhatsApp service provider is other, the following page is displayed.

     

     Obtain the values of url used to send message to agent and url used to send report to agent generated on the Channel Integration page and notify the WhatsApp service provider of them offline.

   • If the WhatsApp service provider is cloud-api, the following page is displayed.

     

     Obtain the values of URL and Verification Code and configure them at https://developers.facebook.com/apps/App ID/webhooks.

   • If the WhatsApp service provider is Twilio, the following page is displayed.

     

     Obtain the values of url used to send message to agent and url used to send report to agent generated on the Channel Integration page and notify the WhatsApp service provider of them offline.

7. If scenario key:NO is displayed, click Generate.

   Skip this step if the WhatsApp service provider is cloud-api.

Follow-up Procedure

Export channel information.

NOTE:

• All information under Basic Configuration and Robot Configuration can be exported. Passwords and keys cannot be exported.
• A maximum of 100,000 channel records can be exported at a time, and a maximum of 2000 records are allowed in an exported file.
• If no channel is selected, all channel information is exported by default.

1. Return to the channel list.
2. Select the new channel and click to export the channel information.
3. Click and confirm that Status of the export task is Success.
4. Click Download to obtain the exported channel information.