WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger
Bring WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger messages into the inbox with your own Meta app; replies from the AI and your team go back to the same chat.
purser connects through your own Meta app: you have an app in the Meta developer dashboard, you enter its credentials in purser, and you enter the webhook address purser gives you back in Meta. There is no "connect with your Facebook account" button yet.
- WhatsApp uses the WhatsApp Cloud API.
- Instagram uses the Instagram API (with Instagram Login).
- Messenger uses the Messenger Platform, connected to one Facebook Page.
1. Connect in purser
Open Settings (设置) → Channels (渠道). On the WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger card, click Connect WhatsApp (连接 WhatsApp), Connect Instagram (连接 Instagram) or Connect Messenger (连接 Messenger) and fill in:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Phone number ID (WhatsApp) | The Phone number ID from Meta developer dashboard → WhatsApp → API Setup, not the phone number itself |
| Instagram account ID (Instagram 账号 ID) | The account ID from Meta developer dashboard → Instagram → API setup, a string of digits |
| Facebook Page ID (Facebook 主页 ID) (Messenger) | The Page ID listed under Meta developer dashboard → Messenger → Messenger API Settings, a string of digits |
| Display name (显示名称) | Identifies this connection on the card, e.g. +1 555 000 1111 or @your_shop |
| Access token (访问令牌) | A permanent / System User token, used to send messages as your account. For Messenger, use the Page's access token |
| App secret (应用密钥) | 32 hexadecimal characters, used to confirm webhooks really come from your Meta app |
Click Save (保存). The token and secret are stored encrypted and never shown again. The same number or account can be connected only once per workspace.
2. Set up the webhook in Meta
After you save, the card shows two values:
| Value | Content |
|---|---|
| Callback URL | https://askpurser.com/api/channels/meta/<connection ID> |
| Verify token | A random string |
Enter both under Webhooks in the Meta developer dashboard and subscribe to the messages field. For Messenger, subscribe the Page to messages and messaging_postbacks.
The status on the card:
- "Waiting for Meta to verify the webhook" (等待 Meta 验证 webhook): no signed event from Meta yet.
- "Received messages from Meta" (已收到 Meta 的消息): Meta has sent events, and the connection works.
Every event must be signed with your app secret; anything with a wrong signature is refused, and messages addressed to other numbers or accounts are ignored.
Incoming messages
- Each customer (each WhatsApp number, Instagram user or Messenger user) has one conversation per connection, and later messages go into it.
- Text, images, voice messages and button replies (WhatsApp buttons, Messenger buttons and Get Started) come in; stickers and reactions are ignored. Voice messages are turned into text, and agents can reply by voice; see Voice messages.
- On Messenger, purser asks your Page for the customer's name on their first message, and the inbox shows it.
- A phone number, an Instagram account or a Messenger user does not prove which of your customers someone is, so these conversations are anonymous: the AI does not reveal any order details.
Meta's 24-hour window
Meta only allows free-form replies within 24 hours of the customer's last message. After that, a reply is not sent and the conversation gets a note such as "没有发出：WhatsApp 只允许在顾客最后一条消息后 24 小时内回复。等顾客再发消息，或在 WhatsApp 里用模板消息联系。" (Not sent: WhatsApp only allows replies within 24 hours of the customer's last message. Wait for the customer to write again, or contact them with a template message in WhatsApp.) purser does not send template messages.
On Messenger, a person on your team can still reply for up to 7 days after the customer's last message: past 24 hours, purser sends the reply with Meta's Human Agent tag. The AI never replies outside 24 hours. The tag works only if your Meta app has the Human Agent permission, which you request in Meta's App Review. Without it, Meta refuses the message and the conversation gets a note saying the app may not have that permission yet. After 7 days nothing is sent.
Other sending limits:
- A WhatsApp reply can be up to 4,096 characters, a Messenger reply up to 2,000 and an Instagram reply up to 1,000; anything longer is cut off.
- When the access token stops working, the conversation gets a note that the token is no longer valid (访问令牌失效了), and the card shows the last send failure (最近一次发送失败). To replace the token, delete the connection and connect again. The new connection has a new Callback URL and Verify token, so update both in Meta.
Handing over to a person
These channels are not live chat. Handing over puts the conversation in the waiting-for-a-reply state instead of a live queue, and the customer gets one acknowledgement saying when someone will reply. It is sent once per wait.
AI disclosure
The AI's first reply in each conversation starts with one line in the customer's language, for example "(This is Blind Box Tokyo's AI assistant. Ask for a person any time.)". Replies from your team do not.
Plans
| Plan | WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger |
|---|---|
| Free | You can connect, and messages still reach the inbox for your team to answer; the AI does not reply |
| Starter, Growth, Scale | The AI follows your AI autonomy settings: by default it drafts and a person reviews before sending |
| Test workspace | Not available; connect it to a real workspace |
See AI autonomy and Billing.
Amazon buyer messages
Bring the buyer messages Amazon relays into purser: the AI and your team reply from the inbox, replies go back to the buyer through Amazon, and Amazon's messaging rules are enforced.
Knowledge base
The AI answers policy and product questions only from what is in your knowledge base: articles, Q&A, files and imported help centres.