WhatsApp coexistence: The ultimate 2025 guide for business communication

Introduction

For years, businesses have relied on the WhatsApp Business app to connect with customers, manage inquiries, and drive sales. However, as companies scale and customer interactions grow, many are shifting to the WhatsApp Cloud API for its automation, multi-agent access, and CRM integrations.

Despite these advantages, migrating from the WhatsApp Business app to the API has been a challenge. Businesses often had to abandon their existing phone numbers and conversation history, losing valuable customer insights. This transition barrier prevented many companies from fully leveraging the benefits of automation and seamless integrations.

That’s now changing with the introduction of WhatsApp Coexistence—a game-changer for businesses. This breakthrough allows companies to use the WhatsApp Business App and WhatsApp Cloud API together without sacrificing past conversations or switching numbers.

In this guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know about WhatsApp Coexistence, how it transforms customer communication, and why it’s a must-have solution for businesses looking to scale efficiently.

What is WhatsApp coexistence?

WhatsApp coexistence is a groundbreaking update that enables businesses to use the WhatsApp Business app alongside the WhatsApp Cloud API, unlocking the full potential of both platforms without any disruption.

This update allows businesses to connect their WhatsApp Business app to the Cloud API while retaining:

• Their existing business phone number
• Contacts and past conversation history
• Features like product catalogues, status updates, and groups
• Full control over conversations, team collaboration, and costs

By bridging the gap between the WhatsApp Business app and WhatsApp Cloud API, businesses can continue using their familiar setup while gaining access to advanced sales, automation, and analytics tools. This innovation simplifies API onboarding and makes WhatsApp CRM integrations more accessible, empowering businesses to scale customer engagement effortlessly.

Benefits of WhatsApp coexistence for businesses

Seamless transition without losing data

Businesses can now integrate the WhatsApp Business app with the WhatsApp Cloud API without the fear of losing essential data. All existing chats, contacts, groups, and communities remain intact, ensuring a smooth transition while unlocking advanced features of the WhatsApp API.

Real-time WhatsApp chat synchronisation across platforms

With WhatsApp coexistence, all messages sent and received via the WhatsApp Business app are automatically synced with the WhatsApp Cloud API and integrated CRM systems. Businesses can respond to customer inquiries from both the app and the CRM, enabling a unified communication experience across multiple devices and platforms.

Unlock advanced WhatsApp Business API features

Businesses can now access high-level automation, CRM integrations, WhatsApp chatbots, multi-agent live chat, and unlimited message broadcasting—all while continuing to use their WhatsApp Business app. These advanced tools enhance customer engagement, streamline sales pipelines, and boost overall efficiency.

Click-to-WhatsApp ads lead sync for better engagement

One of the most powerful advantages of WhatsApp coexistence is the ability to sync Click-to-WhatsApp ad leads directly with the WhatsApp Business app. Businesses running ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram can now manage leads effortlessly from their WhatsApp CRM, improving response time and lead conversion rates.

Cost-effective upgrade without changing business numbers

Unlike the previous WhatsApp API onboarding process, which required businesses to migrate to a new number, WhatsApp coexistence allows them to upgrade to the WhatsApp Cloud API while retaining their existing WhatsApp Business number. This eliminates unnecessary expenses and prevents the loss of customer connections built over time.

By implementing WhatsApp coexistence, businesses gain access to cutting-edge tools without sacrificing their current setup, ensuring a cost-efficient, highly scalable, and customer-centric communication strategy.

Step-by-step guide to enabling WhatsApp coexistence in 2025

Seamlessly integrating WhatsApp coexistence into your business operations requires careful configuration of the WhatsApp Business app, WhatsApp Cloud API, and Pepper Cloud CRM. This guide will walk you through the essential steps to ensure a smooth transition, real-time synchronisation, and efficient customer management.

Check eligibility: Requirements for activating WhatsApp coexistence

Before setting up WhatsApp coexistence, businesses must ensure they meet the necessary criteria:

• Your business must be registered in an eligible country, including India, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, the U.S., Hong Kong, or Singapore.
• Your WhatsApp Business app should be updated to the latest version (2.24.17 or higher).
• You must have a verified Meta Business Account to access the WhatsApp Cloud API.

Meeting these requirements ensures a hassle-free setup and prevents disruptions in communication.

Set up WhatsApp Cloud API: Connect it with Pepper Cloud CRM

Connecting the WhatsApp Cloud API to Pepper Cloud CRM is a seamless process that allows businesses to streamline customer communication through a centralised platform. Follow these steps to get started:

1. Log in to Pepper Cloud CRM: Start by logging into your Pepper Cloud CRM account using your business credentials.
2. Go to Integrations: From the dashboard, navigate to “Settings” and select the “Integrations” tab.
3. Open the Channels Section: Under Integrations, click on the “Channels” option to view your communication channels.
4. Create a New Channel: Click on “Create new” and select “WhatsApp Cloud API” from the available options. Then click “Next” to proceed.
5. Select your current usage scenario: On the next screen, choose the option that best matches your current use of WhatsApp:
   • No, I’ve never used it with WhatsApp
   • Yes, I’ve used it with WhatsApp Personal or Business App
   • Yes, I’ve used it with WhatsApp Cloud API (not with Pepper Cloud)

Enable WhatsApp Business app access: Ensuring real-time synchronisation

Once the WhatsApp Cloud API is set up, businesses must enable synchronisation between the WhatsApp Business app and Pepper Cloud CRM. Here’s how:

• Open your WhatsApp Business app and navigate to Settings > Business Tools > Facebook & Instagram.
• Link your WhatsApp account to a Facebook Business Page for enhanced functionality.
• Go to Settings > WhatsApp > Sign Up with Facebook and connect to the Cloud API.
• During the setup, you can import your contacts and up to six months of chat history to the API for continuity.

This step ensures that all messages, customer data, and interactions remain synchronised across devices and platforms, preventing communication gaps.

Managing conversations efficiently: Assigning chats, tracking leads, and automating follow-ups

With WhatsApp coexistence, businesses can enhance customer support and sales management by implementing structured communication workflows:

• Assign conversations to the right team members in Pepper Cloud CRM, ensuring no query goes unanswered.
• Use lead tracking features to monitor customer interactions, responses, and follow-ups.
• Automate chat responses, appointment scheduling, and lead nurturing using WhatsApp chatbots.
• Leverage analytics tools within Pepper Cloud CRM to gain insights into customer behaviour and sales performance.

By following these steps, businesses can maximise engagement, streamline sales processes, and maintain a centralised customer communication system through WhatsApp coexistence.

The limitations of managing WhatsApp coexistence without a CRM

While WhatsApp coexistence brings flexibility to business communication, managing it without a WhatsApp CRM can present several challenges. Without a centralised system, businesses may struggle with scattered conversations, inefficient workflows, and a lack of real-time synchronisation. Below are the key limitations of handling WhatsApp coexistence without CRM integration.

Lack of centralised control over business communications

Without a WhatsApp CRM, businesses lack a single platform to monitor and manage all customer interactions. This leads to:

• Disorganised communication across WhatsApp Business App and WhatsApp Cloud API.
• Difficulty in tracking customer queries, follow-ups, and sales conversations.
• No unified customer database, making it hard to retrieve past conversations.

A WhatsApp-integrated CRM ensures seamless chat history synchronisation, providing full control over customer engagement and sales operations.

No team collaboration features for customer support

Managing WhatsApp messages across multiple agents without a CRM can result in:

• Overlapping or missed customer responses.
• No role-based access or chat assignment features.
• Confusion in handling multiple queries simultaneously.

A WhatsApp CRM enables multi-agent support, ensuring smooth team collaboration, chat delegation, and better customer service.

Limited automation and analytics for lead tracking

Without a CRM, businesses lack automation and analytics tools, making lead tracking inefficient. This leads to:

• No automated follow-ups, delaying lead conversions.
• No access to real-time customer insights.
• Difficulty in measuring engagement metrics for marketing and sales performance.

By integrating WhatsApp with a CRM, businesses can automate follow-ups, track leads, and generate detailed reports to improve engagement and conversion rates.

Inconsistent message synchronisation across platforms

Without CRM integration, messages sent via WhatsApp Business App and WhatsApp Cloud API remain fragmented. This can cause:

• Delayed message delivery between platforms.
• Loss of customer conversation history when switching between manual and automated messaging.
• Difficulty in managing bulk messages or scheduled broadcasts.

A WhatsApp-integrated CRM ensures real-time message synchronisation, enabling businesses to respond instantly while keeping all conversations in one place.

While WhatsApp coexistence offers businesses the ability to use both the WhatsApp Business app and WhatsApp Cloud API, managing it without a WhatsApp CRM can limit operational efficiency. A CRM solution provides centralised control, enhanced team collaboration, automation, and real-time data insights, helping businesses scale their WhatsApp marketing and customer service efforts effectively.

How Pepper Cloud CRM enhances WhatsApp coexistence

Managing business communications effectively is crucial for sales and customer engagement. While WhatsApp Business coexistence enables businesses to use both the WhatsApp Business App and WhatsApp Cloud API, integrating it with Pepper Cloud CRM can further streamline operations. With features like seamless integration, AI-powered automation, multi-agent access, and advanced analytics, businesses can enhance productivity, improve response times, and drive sales more efficiently.

Seamless integration

Pepper Cloud CRM integrates effortlessly with WhatsApp Business coexistence, allowing businesses to:

• Manage WhatsApp chats and customer interactions from a single platform.
• Sync real-time conversations between WhatsApp Business App and WhatsApp Cloud API.
• Eliminate the need for switching between multiple apps, ensuring a smooth workflow.

With this centralised communication hub, businesses can enhance customer engagement and team collaboration.

AI-powered automation

Using Pepper Cloud CRM, businesses can leverage AI-driven automation to:

• Set up instant replies and chatbots to handle common queries.
• Automate lead follow-ups, ensuring no potential customer is lost.
• Schedule bulk messaging and broadcasts to engage customers efficiently.

By reducing manual workload, businesses can focus more on building relationships and closing deals.

Multi-agent access

Managing WhatsApp chats across multiple agents can be challenging without proper tools. With Pepper Cloud CRM, businesses can:

• Assign chats to specific team members to avoid confusion.
• Enable real-time collaboration, allowing multiple agents to handle customer inquiries.
• Tracked responses and ensured accountability, improving customer satisfaction.

This feature helps businesses provide faster, more organised customer support.

Advanced sales and lead management

Pepper Cloud CRM helps businesses capture, track, and nurture leads efficiently by:

• Automatically assign leads to sales representatives based on predefined criteria.
• Track customer interactions across multiple touchpoints.
• Providing detailed insights into customer behaviour and sales progress.

With structured lead management, businesses can optimise sales strategies and increase conversions.

Conversation analytics and reports

Understanding customer engagement is key to business growth. Pepper Cloud CRM offers:

• In-depth analytics on WhatsApp conversations to measure performance.
• Reports on response times, customer interactions, and engagement rates.
• Actionable insights to refine marketing and sales efforts.

These data-driven reports help businesses improve their WhatsApp marketing strategy and enhance customer experience.

Integrating WhatsApp Business coexistence with Pepper Cloud CRM transforms customer interactions, making them more organised, automated, and insightful. With features like seamless integration, AI-powered automation, multi-agent access, and advanced analytics, businesses can streamline communication, improve response times, and boost overall productivity.

Use cases: How businesses can leverage WhatsApp coexistence

WhatsApp Business coexistence is transforming the way businesses communicate by allowing them to use the WhatsApp Business App and WhatsApp Cloud API simultaneously. This feature helps businesses streamline customer interactions, automate conversations, and improve response times, all while maintaining a human touch. Here are some key ways businesses can leverage WhatsApp coexistence to scale their operations efficiently.

Use the same WhatsApp number for both manual and automated communication

One of the biggest advantages of WhatsApp coexistence is the ability to use the same phone number across both the WhatsApp Business App and WhatsApp Cloud API. This allows businesses to:

• Handle personal, one-on-one customer interactions manually using the WhatsApp Business App.
• Automate repetitive conversations and bulk messaging through the WhatsApp Cloud API.
• Ensure seamless synchronisation of messages between both platforms, preventing miscommunication.

Reduce messaging costs with flexible communication options

WhatsApp Business coexistence enables businesses to optimise costs by choosing the most suitable messaging platform:

• Send free messages through the WhatsApp Business App for direct one-on-one conversations.
• Leverage the WhatsApp Cloud API for bulk campaigns and automated responses, where business-initiated messages are chargeable.
• Balance manual engagement and automation to maintain an effective communication strategy.

Instantly capture and sync leads for efficient follow-ups

Lead management becomes more efficient with WhatsApp coexistence, as businesses can:

• Automatically sync leads from WhatsApp conversations into their CRM system.
• Eliminate the need for manual data entry, reducing human errors.
• Ensure every lead is properly tracked and followed up, improving conversion rates.

Mix automation with human interaction for better customer engagement

With WhatsApp coexistence, businesses no longer have to choose between manual interaction and automation. They can:

• Use AI-driven chatbots to handle routine queries and FAQS automatically.
• Assign human agents for complex or high-value conversations to maintain a personal touch.
• Set up smart automation workflows that trigger responses based on customer actions.

Maintain a unified message history across platforms

A major challenge businesses face is losing customer conversations when switching between the WhatsApp Business App and WhatsApp API. With WhatsApp coexistence, they can:

• Sync all messages across both platforms, ensuring a complete chat history.
• Continue conversations from either the mobile app or CRM, regardless of where they started.
• Improve customer experience by keeping track of previous interactions.

Improve response time and manage high-volume messaging efficiently

Timely responses are crucial for customer satisfaction. With WhatsApp coexistence, businesses can:

• Scale their customer support efforts, handling higher message volumes through the WhatsApp Cloud API.
• Send bulk messages and broadcasts to a larger audience, boosting reach and engagement.
• Ensure faster responses with AI-powered chatbots and automated workflows.

WhatsApp Business coexistence is a game-changer for businesses looking to optimise communication, improve customer engagement, and scale efficiently. By combining manual and automated messaging, integrating lead management, and synchronising conversations, businesses can create a seamless and cost-effective messaging strategy.

Exclusive benefits of choosing Pepper Cloud CRM for WhatsApp integration

Using Pepper Cloud CRM with WhatsApp Coexistence provides businesses with a centralised and automated customer communication platform. 

Easy integration with WhatsApp Cloud API in just a few steps

• Manage all customer chats in one place with multi-user access
• Supports WhatsApp coexistence with the same phone number
• Real-time message syncing across platforms
• Automate replies and create WhatsApp message templates
• Access CRM features like lead tracking and pipeline management
• No technical setup required – user-friendly interface
• Maintain chat continuity without losing existing conversations
• Built-in tools for reporting and conversation analytics
• Fully compliant with WhatsApp’s business policies

By setting up WhatsApp Cloud API with Pepper Cloud CRM, businesses can unlock smarter, more efficient customer communication. From real-time chat synchronisation to AI-powered automation, this integration ensures businesses stay ahead in delivering seamless, personalised customer experiences.

FAQs

What is WhatsApp coexistence in Pepper Cloud CRM?

WhatsApp Coexistence is a new feature that enables businesses to use the same phone number on both the WhatsApp Business App and WhatsApp Cloud API simultaneously. This allows businesses to manage customer conversations more efficiently while leveraging Pepper Cloud CRM’s advanced tools for automation, marketing, and customer support.

How does pricing work for messages sent via WhatsApp coexistence?

Messages sent through the WhatsApp Business App remain free, while business-initiated messages sent via the WhatsApp Cloud API are subject to WhatsApp’s official pricing structure.

Can multiple team members manage WhatsApp chats in Pepper Cloud CRM?

Yes, with the WhatsApp Cloud API, multiple team members can collaborate and manage customer conversations directly within Pepper Cloud CRM.

Will my old WhatsApp chats sync when enabling WhatsApp coexistence?

Only new messages will sync between the WhatsApp Business app and Pepper Cloud CRM. Old chats will not be transferred, but if you are moving from WhatsApp Lite, the source merge feature can help retain historical messages.

What are the requirements to enable WhatsApp coexistence in Pepper Cloud CRM?

To activate this feature, you need:

• A Pepper Cloud CRM admin account.
• The latest WhatsApp Business app (version 2.24.17 or newer).
• A Facebook Business Portfolio (can be created during setup). Follow Meta’s guide for step-by-step instructions.
• A phone number with a supported country code.

For detailed guidance on setting up WhatsApp coexistence, visit our contact Pepper Cloud CRM support.

Conclusion

WhatsApp coexistence is a game-changer for businesses, enabling seamless communication by integrating the WhatsApp Business app with the Cloud API. This innovation ensures real-time chat sync, automation, and CRM integration without losing existing data or switching phone numbers. By leveraging WhatsApp coexistence with tools like Pepper Cloud CRM, businesses can enhance customer engagement, streamline operations, and scale efficiently. Now is the time to adopt this powerful solution and take your business communication to the next level!