# WhatsApp Coexistence — use the app and the AI agent on the same number > Connect the number you already use in WhatsApp Business to watsi without leaving the app on your phone. Requirements, steps, history import and limitations. Source: https://docs.watsi.ai/en/whatsapp/coexistence **WhatsApp Coexistence** lets you connect to watsi the same number you already use in the WhatsApp Business app, without taking it off your phone. You keep replying from the phone as always and the watsi AI agent answers alongside you: both sides show up in the watsi inbox, watsi imports your contacts and up to 180 days of history, and you decide which chats the agent answers. > **Tip** If you are dedicating a new number to watsi, or one you don't use in the app, choose [WhatsApp Business API](/whatsapp/business-api): you get every feature, calls included, but the app stops working for that number. ## When to choose Coexistence Choose it if you already serve your customers from the WhatsApp Business app on your phone and want to keep doing exactly that. It is the most common case for a real-estate agency: the number in your Inmuebles24, Lamudi or Facebook listings is the WhatsApp you already carry in your pocket. | | Coexistence | WhatsApp Business API | | ---------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | | Keep using the app on your phone | Yes | No: the app stops working for that number | | Keep your number and your conversations | Yes | You need a new number, or one unused in the app | | Imports your history | Yes, up to 180 days | There is no history to import | | Calls in watsi | No | Yes | | Groups, disappearing messages and live location from watsi | No | — | ## Requirements Before connecting, make sure you have all of this: - **WhatsApp Business app 2.24.17 or later.** Update it from the App Store or Google Play. - **The number already lives in the WhatsApp Business app**, not in personal WhatsApp, and you actually use it (it has conversations). - **You are an admin of the Meta business portfolio** (Business Portfolio) and log in with a Facebook account that has access to it. - **Your phone at hand**, unlocked and with a good connection for the whole process. There is no country restriction: Mexican numbers work. ## How to connect your number You can connect from the activation wizard (the **Connect your WhatsApp!** step) or from **Integrations** at any time. **Activation wizard** ### Choose Coexistence In the left panel select **Coexistence** ("You keep using the app on your phone."). On the right you'll see the pros and cons compared with Cloud API. ### Open Meta's window Click **Connect WhatsApp**. Meta's window opens: log in with your Facebook account, pick your business portfolio and follow the instructions to link the number from your WhatsApp Business app. ### Share your history and wait When the app asks, agree to share your chat history if you want watsi to import it. Keep the app open and in the foreground until it finishes: Meta shows no progress bar, so don't close the window even if it looks stuck. ### Done You'll see **Connected number** with your number. The step is complete at that point; the history import keeps running in the background. **Integrations** ### Open the WhatsApp Business card Go to **Integrations** and connect the **WhatsApp Business** card. ### Choose how to connect In **How do you want to connect WhatsApp?** select **Keep WhatsApp on my phone (coexistence)**. ### Complete Meta's window Log in with your Facebook account, pick your portfolio and link the number from the app. Agree to share your history if you want to import it. > **Warning** The connection type is chosen once per number. Once a number is connected with Coexistence, you can't switch it to Cloud API from watsi (or the other way around). When Meta confirms the connection, the number shows up in Integrations with the **Coexistence** label. ## What happens to your history Right after connecting, a card appears in the bottom-left corner: **Bringing your history over**, with the count of chats and contacts that have landed so far. Contacts arrive first, then conversations from up to 180 days back. In the dashboard you can minimize the card; when it's done it reads **Your history is here**. A few things worth knowing: - The import happens **once per number**. If you didn't share your history while connecting, it can't be requested later. - Photos, audio and documents **older than 14 days** arrive without content. - **Groups are never imported**, and neither are the app's labels, quick replies or away messages. All the details in [Import your history](/whatsapp/import-history). ## Which chats the agent answers watsi doesn't switch the agent on for every conversation at once: - **Imported chats:** the agent starts **off** in all of them. - **Chats you start from your phone:** the agent stays off in that chat. - **Chats a customer starts:** the agent replies according to your agent's settings. When the import finishes and your agent is published on WhatsApp, watsi shows you the **Import your WhatsApp chats and contacts** window. There you choose whether to import **Chats** and **Contacts**, and on the next screen, **Which chats should your agent reply to?**, you turn the agent on chat by chat or with **Turn the agent on for all**. Click **Finish** to save. If you closed the window, come back from the wizard's WhatsApp step with the **Review** button. > **Note** Only the workspace's owners and admins see this window, and it appears once per connection. ## When you reply from your phone What you send from the WhatsApp Business app shows up in the watsi chat labeled **WhatsApp app** ("Sent from the business's WhatsApp app, not by the watsi agent."). At that moment the agent **pauses in that chat** (30 minutes by default) so it doesn't reply on top of you. > **Warning** Replies sent from **WhatsApp for Windows** or **WearOS** don't reach watsi, so the agent doesn't know you already answered. If you're going to reply from there, turn the agent off in that chat. For linked devices, use WhatsApp Web, Mac or iPad. If a chat turns out to be family or a friend, mark it as personal: see [Personal and customer chats](/whatsapp/personal-chats). ## Limitations Coexistence comes with Meta limitations that are **permanent** while the number is connected: - **Calls:** they don't reach watsi; they keep ringing on your phone. - **Groups, disappearing messages and live location:** not available from watsi. Meta turns off disappearing messages, "view once" and live location in every one-to-one chat. - **Broadcast lists:** become read-only in the app. For bulk sends, use watsi campaigns with approved templates. - **Linked devices:** they get unlinked when you connect. Re-link them by hand, ideally a day later, once the sync has finished. - **Name and verification:** the display name may stay as the number, and the official-account green tick is not available. - **Sending speed:** fixed at 20 messages per second. > **Warning** **Open the WhatsApp Business app at least every 14 days.** If you don't, Meta disconnects the number from watsi and you have to connect it again from scratch. When the agent handles everything, it's easy to forget. Message templates approved by Meta work normally with Coexistence. ## How to disconnect Only you can disconnect a Coexistence number, and you do it **from the app on your phone**: **Settings → Account → WhatsApp Business Platform → Disconnect**. If you connect it again later, the history import is not repeated. > **Warning** Don't use modified versions of WhatsApp or unofficial APIs on a connected number: Meta can ban it. More in [Can my number get banned?](/whatsapp/number-safety). ## Next steps - [Import your history](/whatsapp/import-history) What gets imported, how long it takes and how to follow progress. - [Personal and customer chats](/whatsapp/personal-chats) Keep family and friends out of your inbox. - [Activate your account](/getting-started/activate-account) The three steps to get watsi running. - [Can my number get banned?](/whatsapp/number-safety) Good practices to protect your number. ## FAQ ### Can I keep replying from my phone after I connect watsi? Yes. With Coexistence you keep using the WhatsApp Business app on your phone. What you send from the phone shows up in watsi labeled "WhatsApp app", and the agent pauses in that chat so it doesn't reply on top of you. ### Does watsi import my previous conversations? Yes, if you agree to share your history while connecting. watsi brings over your contacts and up to 180 days of conversations. Files older than 14 days arrive without content, and groups are never imported. ### Does it work with Mexican numbers? Yes. Meta doesn't restrict Coexistence by country, and Mexico is included. You need WhatsApp Business app 2.24.17 or later and to be an admin of the Meta business portfolio. ### Will the agent reply to my personal chats? Not by default. The agent starts off in every imported chat and you choose where it replies. If a new chat turns out to be family or a friend, you can mark it as personal and it leaves your inbox.