WhatsApp Business API and your number: can you keep both the app and a chatbot?
You can use a chatbot on the number you already have: Meta lets a number run on the WhatsApp Business app and the WhatsApp Business API at the same time (called coexistence). Crew01 connects this way, so you keep your number, your chats and the app on your phone.
Updated
The app and the API, in one paragraph
The WhatsApp Business app is what you use on a phone: chats, labels, quick replies, away and greeting messages. The WhatsApp Business API is how software connects to WhatsApp so it can answer and send messages automatically. A business chatbot or AI assistant needs the API. Meta now lets one number use both at once, so a business does not have to choose between the app and automation.
How Crew01 connects
You press connect in Crew01 and complete Meta's own connection dialog with your WhatsApp Business number. We do not ask for your WhatsApp password and we do not provide a number of our own. Your customers keep writing to the same number.
When you reply from the WhatsApp Business app, Crew01 treats that as you taking over the chat and stays out of it.
What to know first
- The number must be on the WhatsApp Business app. A personal WhatsApp number cannot be connected this way: install WhatsApp Business first.
- Meta bills WhatsApp's own message charges, where they apply, directly to your account. Crew01's wallet pays for the assistant's replies.
- You can disconnect Crew01 at any time from the dashboard or in the WhatsApp Business app's settings.
You keep your own WhatsApp number
Crew01 connects to the WhatsApp Business number you already use. You do not get a new number and your customers do not change who they write to. The WhatsApp Business app stays on your phone, and when you reply to a chat yourself, Crew01 leaves that chat to you.
A personal WhatsApp number cannot be connected this way: install the WhatsApp Business app on that number first.
What Crew01 does not do
- It never claims to be a person. Asked, it says it is the business's assistant and offers someone from the team.
- It does not guess. A price or a time you did not give it is not invented: it saves the request and tells you.
- It does not give medical, legal or safety advice. A message that sounds like an emergency is flagged to your team straight away.
- It answers on WhatsApp only. Instagram and Facebook Messenger are not offered yet.
- It is not available to sign up by yourself yet. We are setting up a small group of businesses personally, one at a time.
What it costs
Crew01 has three plans. Team is $29 a month for up to 10 team members, the owner included. Business is $99 a month for up to 50 team members. Enterprise is agreed with us for larger teams. Every plan has every feature: the plans differ only in how many people are on your team. Your customers are never counted.
Conversations are never included in a plan. The assistant's replies are paid from a prepaid wallet in your dashboard, only for what you use, with every charge listed. A starter credit is added when your plan begins, and automatic top-up is off until you turn it on. WhatsApp's own message charges, where Meta applies them, are billed by Meta to your own account, not taken from the wallet.
How setup works
- Apply for early access. We set up each business personally and contact you.
- Connect your WhatsApp Business number through Meta's own connection dialog. Nothing changes for your customers.
- Add your hours, services and first answers. If you have a website, Crew01 can read it and suggest services, hours and FAQs, and nothing is used until you approve each item.
- Choose your plan and put a first amount in the wallet.
- Send a test message, then publish. Until you publish, the assistant answers nobody.
FAQ
Questions people ask
Do I need the WhatsApp Business API to use a chatbot?
A chatbot needs the API behind it, but you do not have to set the API up yourself. Crew01 connects through Meta's own dialog, using your existing WhatsApp Business number.
Can I use the WhatsApp Business app and an AI assistant on the same number?
Yes. Crew01 connects in coexistence mode, so the app stays on your phone and the assistant answers on the same number. When you reply yourself, it leaves that chat to you.
Do I have to give up my number to use a chatbot?
No. Crew01 does not provide numbers of its own. It connects to the one you have.
Can I connect a personal WhatsApp number?
No. Install the WhatsApp Business app on the number first.
How much does Crew01 cost?
The Team plan is $29 a month for up to 10 team members, the owner included, and the Business plan is $99 a month for up to 50. Enterprise is agreed with us. Every plan has every feature. Conversations are not included: they are paid from a prepaid wallet, only for what you use.
Does Crew01 pretend to be a human?
No. It never claims to be a person. If a customer asks, it says it is the business's assistant and offers someone from the team.
Early access
See it on your own WhatsApp number.
We set up each business personally. Apply, and we'll contact you to get you started.