WhatsApp automation, word by word.
The terms you meet when you put software on a WhatsApp number — defined plainly, each with a link to the page that goes deeper. Updated 12 Oct 2026.
WhatsApp Business API (WhatsApp Business Platform)
-
Meta’s programmatic interface that lets software send and receive WhatsApp messages on a business’s number — automated replies, approved broadcasts, team inboxes and integrations.
The API has no app of its own; a program uses it on the business’s behalf. It is required whenever something other than a person on a phone answers, or when a business wants to message many customers with delivery receipts. Access is free; Meta charges per business‑initiated template message.
What is the WhatsApp Business API? →Official API & coexistence →
WhatsApp Cloud API
-
The Meta‑hosted version of the WhatsApp Business API. Nothing to install; software calls Meta’s servers directly. It replaced the self‑hosted On‑Premises API.
For small businesses the Cloud API is the only practical option today, and it is what iChatUp uses. Costs are limited to Meta’s per‑message fees for template messages.
Coexistence
-
A Meta feature that lets one WhatsApp Business app number run on the Cloud API at the same time, so software can answer while the owner keeps using the phone app.
Before coexistence, moving a number to the API meant giving up the app. With it, recent chat history and contacts are synced to the API side, the app keeps working, and the owner can reply from either place. Meta expects the app to stay in use; long inactivity can lapse the link.
Embedded Signup
-
Meta’s popup flow that connects a business’s WhatsApp number to the Cloud API through a software vendor in a minute or two, without a separate BSP contract.
The business signs in with Facebook, picks or creates a Meta Business portfolio and a WhatsApp Business Account, selects the number and approves coexistence. iChatUp uses Embedded Signup for its “Official WhatsApp” connection.
BSP (Business Solution Provider)
-
A company Meta lists as a partner for onboarding businesses to the WhatsApp Business API. Since Embedded Signup, any software vendor can connect a number directly.
Some BSPs and vendors add a markup on Meta’s per‑message fees or sell credits; others, including iChatUp, pass Meta’s rates through at cost.
WABA (WhatsApp Business Account)
-
The account inside a Meta Business portfolio that owns one or more WhatsApp phone numbers, their message templates, quality rating and billing.
A WABA is created or reused during Embedded Signup. Meta bills the WABA’s payment method for template messages.
Quick Connect (linked device)
-
iChatUp’s QR‑code connection: the phone’s WhatsApp session is linked like WhatsApp Web, so the AI can reply on a regular or Business number without any Meta setup.
Fast and works on any number, but it is not Meta’s official business channel, so iChatUp keeps it strictly reply‑only and rate‑limited. Broadcasts never run on Quick Connect.
24‑hour customer‑service window
-
The period after a customer’s last message during which a business may reply freely on the API, at no charge. Outside it, only approved template messages can be sent.
Every incoming message reopens the window. Reminders, offers and updates sent after it closes must be templates and are charged by category.
Message template
-
A pre‑approved message format (with numbered variables, optional header, footer and buttons) that a business must use to start or resume a conversation outside the 24‑hour window.
Templates are reviewed by Meta and placed in a category — marketing, utility or authentication — which sets the price. Variables are filled per recipient when the message is sent.
Marketing, utility and authentication templates
-
The three template categories Meta prices differently: marketing (promotions), utility (updates about an existing transaction or relationship) and authentication (one‑time passcodes).
Meta decides the category on review and may re‑categorise content that reads like marketing. Utility is cheaper; some utility messages inside an open window are free.
Opt‑in
-
A customer’s clear agreement to receive messages from a specific business on WhatsApp. Required by Meta before marketing templates are sent; purchased lists never qualify.
Valid methods include a form tick‑box, a keyword reply, a counter or QR sign‑up, or a clear question in an existing chat. iChatUp records consent on every contact and handles STOP automatically.
Quality rating
-
Meta’s green / yellow / red signal for a business number, based on recent blocks, reports and customer responses. A low rating reduces messaging limits and can pause marketing.
Visible in WhatsApp Manager; iChatUp shows the number’s health on the dashboard and paces broadcasts so limits are respected.
Messaging limits (tiers)
-
The number of unique customers a business may open conversations with using templates in a 24‑hour period. New numbers start low; the limit rises with good‑quality volume.
Replies inside the 24‑hour window do not count against the limit. Exact tiers are published by Meta and change over time.
Green tick (verified badge / Official Business Account)
-
Meta’s verification mark showing a business name instead of a number in chats. It confirms identity; it does not improve delivery or messaging limits.
Granted by Meta’s review (Official Business Account) or through a Meta Verified subscription where offered. Nobody can guarantee it.
Broadcast (campaign)
-
One approved template sent to many opted‑in customers, each with their own variable values, with per‑recipient delivery, read and reply tracking.
On the official API a broadcast respects messaging limits, is charged per message by Meta, and must offer an opt‑out. The WhatsApp app’s “broadcast list” is a different, manual feature limited to saved contacts.
AI employee
-
An AI agent that not only answers from a business’s facts but also takes actions — books, holds, collects and verifies payment, captures leads, writes to sheets, escalates — and reports to the owner.
The distinction from a chatbot (scripted menus) and an AI agent (answers only) is the ability to complete work under rules, with a human one tap away.
Business memory
-
The structured set of facts an AI answers from — prices, hours, policies, rooms, services — built from a website, PDFs, FAQs or a Google Sheet and editable by the owner.
In iChatUp every reply is grounded in, and fact‑checked against, the business memory; gaps are flagged to the owner so the memory grows.
Grounding (fact‑checked replies)
-
Restricting an AI to answer only from supplied facts and verifying the reply against them before sending, instead of letting the model guess.
Grounding is what separates a safe AI on a business number from one that invents prices. iChatUp adds a second check pass, a nightly accuracy exam and “Why this answer?” on every reply.
Human takeover (handoff)
-
Pausing the AI on one conversation so a person replies, then handing back. Good systems also escalate complaints and sensitive topics on their own.
In iChatUp takeover is one tap from the dashboard or a reply from the phone app; human replies are labelled with the person’s name.
Hold (booking hold)
-
A short reservation of a slot or item while the customer pays or confirms, preventing two people from booking the same thing.
iChatUp holds for 30 minutes by default (configurable per resource) and releases automatically if the deposit does not arrive.
Payment receipt verification
-
Reading a customer’s payment confirmation (screenshot or message), checking amount and reference against what was requested, and recording the payment before confirming.
Lets businesses collect deposits with the payment link, QR or bank transfer they already use, without a card gateway.
Webhook
-
A web address that receives an automatic notification when something happens — Meta uses webhooks to deliver messages and statuses to software; iChatUp can send leads, bookings and payments to your own tools the same way.
Webhook requests from Meta are signature‑verified before iChatUp processes them.
Session (service) message
-
A free‑form reply sent inside the 24‑hour window after a customer’s message. Free of charge; no template needed.
Most of an AI employee’s replies are session messages, which is why answering promptly is also the cheapest way to use the API.
Click‑to‑WhatsApp ad
-
A Facebook or Instagram ad whose button opens a WhatsApp chat with the business. Conversations started this way get an extended free messaging window under Meta’s terms.
iChatUp answers whoever messages the number, including visitors from ads; ad creation itself is done in Meta’s tools.
Meta Business AI (on WhatsApp)
-
Meta’s own assistant inside the WhatsApp Business app, rolled out by country, that answers questions and captures leads for eligible small businesses.
It lives in the phone app; iChatUp runs on the number via the API or Quick Connect with a booking engine, payments, sheets and an owner console, and the two can run side by side.
Missing a term? Ask us on WhatsApp and we’ll add it.