For a lot of businesses, especially outside North America, WhatsApp isn't a secondary channel — it's the main one. Here's what actually goes into supporting it well.
WhatsApp runs through Meta's Business Cloud API rather than a script tag on your site, which means the setup involves connecting a business phone number rather than embedding code. It's a real integration step, not a copy-paste snippet — worth knowing upfront rather than discovering after you've already committed to a platform.
Beyond just receiving and replying to messages, a properly built integration keeps the conversation grounded in the same content and rules as every other channel, and can hand off to a human the same way a website chat would — a WhatsApp conversation shouldn't be a lesser experience than the website one.
Some platforms treat WhatsApp as a premium, separately-priced add-on rather than a standard channel — worth checking explicitly before you assume it's included, since the difference in real cost can be significant.
WhatsApp is one of ChatGenio's four included channels at no extra cost — see the full list on the pricing page.