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WhatsApp Testing

Desirée M Updated by Desirée M

You’re building your bot and wondering how it’ll actually look and feel in WhatsApp? We’ve got you covered! Whether you're still setting things up or already have an integrated number, there are ways to test your bot in action before going live.

You can use the Test this bot feature directly from the builder. How it works depends on your setup: if you don’t have a number integrated, you can test right away, and if you do, you’ll be able to run tests with your own number.

If you’ve already connected your own number, the testing flow works a bit differently. 👉 Jump to this section to learn how to test your bot with an integrated number.

WhatsApp Testing

The WhatsApp Testing feature allows you to experience what the official API integration feels like from the final user perspective.

The WhatsApp Testing channels work in one direction only, which means only the phone number you connect to it will be able to send and receive messages from the Testing channel.

How to add your number to the WhatsApp Testing Channel

To test your bot on WhatsApp, follow these steps in your Bot Builder:

1️⃣ Click "Test this bot"

2️⃣ Click “Add number” if you haven’t added one yet, or simply select an existing number to test with.

3️⃣ Add a new number (if needed): Select your country code from the drop-down menu, type your phone number in the field.

4️⃣ Click “Add Number & Send Test.”

5️⃣ You’ll receive a WhatsApp message on your phone. Tap “Let’s test” to trigger the bot.

And now you can test the flow ✅ That’s it! You can now test the full flow of your bot directly in WhatsApp. your bot!

IMPORTANT: ⚠️ Only One WhatsApp Testing Channel per Number

Each phone number can have just one Testing channel.

If your number is already linked to another account, you’ll see: “This number already exists.”

To reuse it, delete the existing channel first. Need help? Contact our team.

To test a different bot, go to the builder of the new bot you want to try and follow the steps described above. You’ll receive a WhatsApp message on your phone to start testing the new bot.

The WhatsApp Testing channel

You can access the WhatsApp Testing channel directly from your WhatsApp channel:

• Click the WhatsApp icon in the left sidebar.

• Select the channel named Demo WhatsApp campaign.

Inside, you’ll see the three steps to follow: Message, Audiences, and Review & Send.

Message

With the WhatsApp Business API solution, you can send proactive messages to your clients.

In the testing environment, the Message Templates section includes two pre-approved templates you can use for testing.

While testing your bot, you cannot request new templates. Once you upgrade to a WhatsApp subscription, this option will become available.

To find out more about Message Templates and how they work, click here.

Audiences

In the Audiences section you will find a list with all the numbers you have added to test your bots. The maximum allowed is 10, so you won't be able to add more than that.

How to add contacts to your WhatsApp Testing channel

1️⃣ Click on "Add phone number"

2️⃣ Add each phone number with the + symbol and country code

How to delete numbers from your WhatsApp Testing channel

1️⃣ Inside the Audience section, click on the "x" sign beside the number you want to remove:

Review & Send

In this section, you'll be able to review the message template, along with the list of contacts, before sending out the Testing Campaign:

For more information on how to send Campaigns, please click here.

Metrics

You'll be able to find the data from your testing channel in your Metrics>Channel section:

Learn more about managing your bot's data here.
Next steps after Testing

If once you've finished testing, if you'd like to try the full integration, please check step-by-step instructions in this article.

Important: For security reasons, the chats generated with the Testing Channels cannot be displayed in the Inbox section and an error will pop up if you try to open a Testing Channel chat in that section.

Testing with an Integrated WhatsApp number

If you’ve already integrated your official WhatsApp number, you can still test your bot directly from the builder using the Test this bot feature.

Please make sure you click on Test this bot and not Start a chat to use the testing feature!

One integrated number: enter a recipient number, then open WhatsApp using the provided link or QR code to start the test.

Multiple integrated numbers: enter a recipient number, select which integrated channel to use, and then open WhatsApp with the link or QR code.

Only the recipient number you enter will receive the new bot flow you’re testing. Other users interacting with your WhatsApp number will continue to see the bot connected to its regular channel.

This will trigger the bot just like a real user interaction, allowing you to test your flows, messages, and templates in a realistic environment.

To stop a test in progress, you can:

• Click End test in the builder

• Close the test "Start a chat on WhatsApp" pop up

• Type #reset in WhatsApp (⚠️ this may end the test immediately if messages are in progress)

These chats are counted as a Service category chat – important to keep in mind if you’re on a free trial, for example.

To test specific changes in your flow, you can set up a Global Keyword. For example, create a keyword like “test” (or any word your users wouldn’t normally type) and connect it to a Jump To block that leads to the section you want to check. This allows you to type “test” in your WhatsApp chat and instantly skip to the part to be tested.

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