The Old Way Takes Weeks. The New Way Takes Minutes.

Setting up WhatsApp automation used to be a multi-week project. You needed to apply for the WhatsApp Business API, verify your Facebook Business account, provision a phone number, get message templates approved, configure a chatbot builder, and possibly hire a developer to wire everything together.

For many small and mid-sized businesses, this process was a dealbreaker. By the time everything was approved and configured, the urgency had passed or the budget had shifted elsewhere.

Today, you can have a fully functional AI agent handling your WhatsApp conversations in under two minutes. No Business API application. No developer required. No template approvals. Just a QR code scan and a few clicks.

This guide walks you through every step.

What You Need Before Starting

The requirements are minimal:

A WhatsApp account on your phone (personal or business, either works)
An email address for your Waslo account
Your phone nearby to scan a QR code

That is it. No Facebook Business account. No company verification documents. No technical setup.

Step 1: Create Your Account (30 Seconds)

Head to waslo.io/sign-up and create your account. You have two options:

Email and password: Enter your email, choose a password, and you are in
Google sign-in: One click if you prefer using your Google account

After signing up, you will receive a verification email. Click the link to verify your address and sign in.

Your account comes with a 24-hour free trial, no credit card required. This gives you full access to every feature so you can test the platform with real conversations before committing.

Once you sign in, the onboarding wizard launches automatically.

Step 2: Connect Your WhatsApp Number (20 Seconds)

The onboarding wizard's second step displays a QR code on your screen. This is the same type of QR code you would scan to use WhatsApp Web on a computer.

Here is what to do:

Open WhatsApp on your phone
Go to Settings (or tap the three dots menu on Android)
Select Linked Devices
Tap Link a Device
Point your camera at the QR code on the screen

Within a few seconds, your WhatsApp number connects to Waslo. You will see a confirmation on the screen showing your number and a "Connected" status.

Important details:

Your WhatsApp remains fully functional on your phone. Connecting to Waslo is like connecting to WhatsApp Web. It adds an additional linked device.
Your existing chats, contacts, and groups are not affected.
You can disconnect at any time by unlinking the device from your WhatsApp settings.
Your connection is secured with AES-256-GCM encryption.

How This Compares to Business API Setup

For context, here is what the WhatsApp Business API setup process typically looks like:

Create a Facebook Business account (if you do not have one already)
Submit business verification documents to Meta
Wait for verification approval (1-7 business days, sometimes longer)
Choose a Business Solution Provider (BSP) and sign up
Provision a phone number through the BSP
Create message templates for outbound communication
Submit templates for Meta approval (another 24-48 hours)
Configure your chatbot or automation rules
Test everything in a sandbox environment
Go live

This process routinely takes one to three weeks. Some businesses report waiting over a month for full verification. And if your business verification is rejected, you start parts of the process over.

With QR code connection, steps 1 through 7 do not exist. You scan, you connect, you are live.

Step 3: Choose Your AI Template (30 Seconds)

This is the step that turns a basic WhatsApp connection into an intelligent AI agent. Waslo offers six pre-built prompt templates designed for common business scenarios:

Sales and Lead Closing

Best for businesses focused on qualifying leads, handling objections, and closing deals. The AI agent asks discovery questions, identifies buying signals, and guides prospects toward a purchase or booking.

Customer Support

Designed for handling support inquiries, troubleshooting issues, answering FAQs, and creating support tickets. The AI agent maintains a helpful, patient tone and knows when to escalate.

Appointment Booking

Built for businesses that schedule meetings, consultations, or appointments. The AI agent collects availability preferences, suggests time slots, and confirms bookings.

Real Estate Agent

Tailored for property inquiries, viewing requests, and pricing discussions. The AI agent qualifies buyers by budget, location preferences, and timeline.

E-commerce Store

Optimized for product questions, order status, returns, and recommendations. The AI agent can discuss product features, compare options, and guide purchasing decisions.

General Assistant

A balanced, multi-purpose template for businesses that do not fit neatly into one category. Works well as a starting point that you can customize later.

How to choose: Select the template that best matches your primary use case. Each template includes a system prompt (the AI's personality and knowledge base), a welcome message (sent to first-time contacts), and classification criteria (how leads are scored).

After selecting a template, you will see placeholders in brackets like [YOUR BUSINESS NAME] and [YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE]. Fill these in with your specific details. This takes about 30 seconds for a basic setup. You can always refine the prompts later from the settings panel.

What Happens Behind the Scenes

When you select a template, Waslo configures three things simultaneously:

System prompt: This tells the AI agent who it is, what it knows, and how to communicate. It is sent to Google Gemini as a system instruction, which means it is treated as a trusted instruction set separate from user messages. This prevents prompt injection attacks where someone tries to override the AI's behavior through conversation.
Welcome message: The first message new contacts receive. Typically a greeting that acknowledges them by name and asks how you can help.
Classification criteria: The rules that determine whether a lead is HOT (ready to buy), WARM (interested but exploring), or COLD (not a fit or unresponsive). The AI uses these criteria to automatically score every lead.

Step 4: Go Live (10 Seconds)

Click the "Complete" button, and your AI agent is active. From this moment:

Every new WhatsApp message to your number gets an AI-powered response
Leads are automatically created and classified
HOT leads trigger instant Telegram notifications (if configured)
COLD leads get scheduled follow-up messages
Everything appears in your real-time dashboard

You are live. The entire process, from sign-up to active AI agent, takes less than two minutes.

What Happens After Setup

Your First Incoming Message

When someone messages your WhatsApp number, here is the flow:

The AI agent receives the message instantly
If it is a new contact, they receive your welcome message
The AI reads the message, considers the conversation context, and generates a natural response
The response is sent back through WhatsApp within seconds
As the conversation progresses, the AI classifies the lead as HOT, WARM, or COLD
All messages appear in your Waslo dashboard in real time

Monitoring Your Dashboard

Your dashboard shows:

Total leads with their classification breakdown
Active conversations happening right now
Needs Attention widget for leads that triggered human handoff
Message statistics and response metrics

The dashboard updates in real time via WebSocket connections, so you see new leads and messages appear instantly without refreshing.

Customizing After the Initial Setup

The template you chose during onboarding is a starting point. As you see real conversations flow through, you will want to refine things:

AI Settings (Settings > AI Configuration):

Edit the system prompt to add product details, pricing, policies, or any specific knowledge
Adjust the welcome message based on customer feedback
Switch between prompt templates if your use case evolves

Classification Settings (Settings > Classification):

Fine-tune what makes a lead HOT vs WARM vs COLD for your business
Use one of the four classification presets (Sales Pipeline, Support Priority, Booking Intent, General) or create custom criteria

Follow-up Settings (Settings > Follow-up):

Enable automatic follow-ups for leads that go quiet
Set the delay (e.g., follow up after 24 hours of silence)
Customize the follow-up message template
Set the maximum number of follow-ups before giving up

Handoff Settings (Settings > Handoff):

Define keywords that trigger human handoff (e.g., "speak to a person," "manager," "complaint")
Customize the message sent when handoff is triggered
The Needs Attention widget on your dashboard highlights these leads

Telegram Notifications (Integrations):

Connect a Telegram bot for instant alerts
Get notified when HOT leads come in, when handoff is triggered, or when specific keywords appear

CRM Webhooks (Integrations):

Push lead data to your existing CRM via webhooks
Triggered on lead creation, classification changes, and handoff events

Google Sheets Sync (Integrations, Growth plan):

Sync your leads to a Google Sheet automatically
Great for teams that manage leads in spreadsheets

Adding More WhatsApp Numbers

If your business uses multiple WhatsApp numbers (different departments, different markets, different team members), adding more is just as simple:

Go to Integrations > WhatsApp
Click "Connect New Number"
Scan the QR code with the additional phone
Configure per-number AI settings (Growth plan and above)

Each number can have its own AI personality, classification criteria, follow-up rules, and notification settings. A sales number can be aggressive about qualifying leads while a support number focuses on resolving issues.

Common Questions

Does this work with WhatsApp Business app?

Yes. You can use either a regular WhatsApp account or the WhatsApp Business app. Both work with QR code connection.

Will my existing WhatsApp conversations be affected?

No. Connecting to Waslo is like connecting to WhatsApp Web. Your existing chats remain on your phone. The AI only responds to new incoming messages received after connection.

Can I still use my phone normally?

Absolutely. WhatsApp continues to work on your phone as usual. You can send and receive messages, use groups, and make calls. The AI agent handles messages through the linked device connection.

What if I want to reply manually to a conversation?

You can send manual messages from the Waslo dashboard at any time. You can also pause the AI for specific leads when you want to handle a conversation personally. The "Needs Attention" view shows leads that need a human touch.

Is there a message limit?

There are no per-message fees or artificial message limits. Your AI agent handles as many conversations as come in. WhatsApp's standard usage policies apply.

What happens after the 24-hour free trial?

After the trial, you can subscribe to a paid plan to continue using the platform. If you do not subscribe, your AI agent pauses but your account and data remain accessible.

Why Two Minutes Matters

The speed of setup is not just a convenience feature. It fundamentally changes who can use WhatsApp AI automation.

When setup takes weeks, only businesses with dedicated IT resources and patient management can get through the process. Small businesses, solo entrepreneurs, and lean teams get priced out by complexity, not by cost.

When setup takes two minutes, a restaurant owner can set up WhatsApp AI for reservations during a lunch break. A real estate agent can start qualifying leads between property showings. A small e-commerce brand can automate customer support on a Sunday afternoon.

The democratization of AI-powered WhatsApp communication starts with removing the barriers to getting started. No gatekeepers, no approval processes, no waiting periods. Just scan and go.

Ready to Get Started?

Waslo gives you an AI-powered WhatsApp agent with flat pricing, zero per-message fees, and setup in under 2 minutes. No WhatsApp Business API required — just scan a QR code and go live.

Start your free trial today — no credit card required.

How to Set Up a WhatsApp AI Agent in Under 2 Minutes