When you connect your number with WhatsApp Coexistence, watsi imports your contacts and up to 180 days of conversations from the WhatsApp Business app. The import runs on its own in the background and usually takes a few minutes: you can keep using watsi meanwhile. The agent starts off in every imported chat and you choose where it replies.
Only numbers connected with Coexistence have history to import. With WhatsApp Business API the number brings no previous conversations.
What gets imported
| Imported | Not imported |
|---|---|
| Your contacts | Groups |
| One-to-one conversations up to 180 days old | Calls |
| Photos, audio and documents from the last 14 days | Files older than 14 days (they arrive without content) |
| The app's labels, quick replies and away messages |
History only arrives if you agree to share it in the app while connecting. Meta shares it once per number: if you declined or the connection was interrupted, there's no way to request it later.
Follow progress
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.
- Your history is here — when it's done.
- We could not bring over all of your history — what already landed stays in your inbox; reach out and we'll look into it with you.
Inside the activation wizard the card stays fixed; in the dashboard you can minimize it and it stays in the sidebar. The counts show what has already landed, not what's left.
While the import runs, keep the WhatsApp Business app open on your phone until Meta finishes syncing, and don't close or uninstall it.
What the agent does with imported chats
The agent is off in every imported chat. When the import finishes and your agent is published on WhatsApp, watsi shows you the Import your WhatsApp chats and contacts window:
- 1
Choose what to import
Check Chats ("Review which chats your agent replies to.") and Contacts ("Save your contacts into watsi."). Click Continue, or Not now if you'd rather decide later.
- 2
Choose where the agent replies
In Which chats should your agent reply to? turn the agent on in the chats you want, or use Turn the agent on for all.
- 3
Finish
Click Finish. You'll see "Done — coexistence setup complete."
If you uncheck Chats or Contacts, those records are hidden from your inbox. If you closed the window, come back from the wizard's WhatsApp step with Review.
While your agent is being prepared, the WhatsApp step reads "Your conversations are in. As soon as your agent is ready you can choose which chats it replies to."