What you can do with the Anthropic Claude integration
Put Claude on WhatsApp for your business. Connect your Anthropic API key to Whautomate and a Claude-powered assistant answers customers on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram and website live chat, all from one omnichannel team inbox.
There is no official "Claude WhatsApp number" for businesses, and the scripts that link Claude to a personal WhatsApp account through WhatsApp Web break Meta's terms and get numbers banned. Whautomate runs your Claude bot on the official WhatsApp Business Platform, Instagram and TikTok messaging APIs instead, with your key, your prompt and your brand voice.
Claude is known for careful, well-written answers and for following instructions closely, which makes it a strong fit for clinics, salons, consultancies and any business where tone matters. It can look up your services, suggest open slots, book or reschedule appointments and classes, update the contact record and hand the chat to a human when it should.
Key features
Claude WhatsApp bot
Claude replies to WhatsApp messages on your own business number through the official Cloud API, 24/7, in the language the customer writes in.
Claude for Instagram DMs
The same assistant answers Instagram Direct messages, so leads from Reels, Stories and ads get an instant, on-brand reply.
Claude for TikTok DMs
Reply to TikTok direct messages with Claude and turn video viewers into bookings. Available for TikTok business accounts outside the US and Europe.
Books appointments and classes
Built-in tools let Claude list services and staff, suggest available slots, book, reschedule or cancel appointments, and book or cancel class spots.
Human handoff
Claude can move the chat to the unassigned queue or round-robin it to an agent, so your team picks up with the full conversation in the inbox.
Updates the CRM as it chats
Captures phone numbers, tags, notes, lifecycle stage and custom variables on the contact while it talks, ready for follow-up automations.
Answers from your documents
Upload your price list, policies and FAQs. With Claude the files are attached in full to every reply, so keep them short and focused (up to 10 documents).
Understands images
Customers can send a photo, screenshot or product image and Claude reads it before replying.
Optional web search
Let Claude check the web for answers your documents do not cover.
Custom functions
Point Claude at your own webhook to check order status, stock or loyalty points, and use the answer in the reply.
What businesses use a Claude chatbot for
- Customer service on WhatsApp - opening hours, pricing, policies and "where is my order" answered in seconds, with a human handoff for anything sensitive.
- Appointment booking bot - "Can I see Dr. Lee on Thursday afternoon?" becomes a confirmed booking with a reminder, without a form. Pair it with Google Meet or Zoom for online sessions.
- Instagram and TikTok lead capture - Claude answers DMs from ads and posts, asks qualifying questions, tags the contact and passes hot leads to sales.
- Class and membership questions - studios and gyms let Claude find classes, book a spot and check a client's upcoming bookings.
- After-hours cover - Claude handles the evening rush and routes anything it cannot resolve to the morning queue.
Ready-made AI automation templates cover a customer service chatbot, lead qualification and appointment booking, so you can start from a working flow and edit the prompt.
Which Claude model should you use?
Whautomate loads the model list straight from your Anthropic account, so new Claude releases appear as soon as your key can use them. The default is Claude Sonnet, which balances quality, speed and cost for customer conversations.
- Claude Sonnet - the everyday choice for support and booking bots.
- Claude Opus (for example Opus 5.5) - the strongest reasoning, worth it for complex sales or advisory chats.
- Claude Haiku - the fastest and lowest-cost option for high-volume, simple questions.
You pay Anthropic directly for tokens at their published API rates. Because Claude reads your documents in full on each reply, a short, well-structured knowledge file keeps both cost and response time down.
Is a Claude bot allowed on WhatsApp in 2026?
Yes, when the bot serves your own customers. Since 15 January 2026 Meta's WhatsApp Business Solution Terms stop AI providers from offering general-purpose AI assistants on the WhatsApp Business Platform when the AI itself is the main product. That is why public "chat with an AI" numbers were switched off.
A Claude-powered assistant that answers questions about your services, books appointments, qualifies leads and hands off to your team is a business bot: the AI supports your business rather than being the product. That use stays allowed, and it runs on the official WhatsApp Business Platform through Whautomate as a Meta Business Partner, not on the unofficial WhatsApp Web or personal-number scripts that get numbers banned.
Good practice: keep the bot's instructions focused on your business, let customers reach a human, and do not use customer conversations to train a model.
OpenAI vs Claude vs Gemini vs Grok on Whautomate
All four providers run the same chatbot engine, the same booking and handoff tools and the same channels. Where they differ is how they read your documents and whether they understand voice notes:
| Capability | OpenAI | Claude (this page) | Gemini | Grok |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge base | Vector search over your files | Files attached in full to each reply (up to 10, keep them focused) | Vector search, text and image embeddings | Vector search (needs an xAI management key) |
| Voice notes from customers | Transcribed | Not supported, replies to the text | Transcribed | Not supported, replies to the text |
| Images from customers | Understood | Understood | Understood | Understood |
| Web search | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, plus X (Twitter) search |
| Book appointments and classes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hand off to a human | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Channels | WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, website live chat | |||
You are not locked in. Connect more than one key and choose the provider on each AI step of an automation, for example a fast, low-cost model for first replies and a stronger model for sales conversations.
Sister product
Take your Claude assistant from chat to calls
Customers do not only type. When they call your WhatsApp number instead, the conversation should not stop.
WhautoVoice is the voice platform built by the Whautomate team. Link it from Integrations and every client record and inbox chat gets a call button, while incoming WhatsApp calls are answered by a voice bot, a queue, a person or an IVR menu.
- Answer and place WhatsApp calls from the same number you chat on
- Voice bot that answers, takes a message or books an appointment
- Call recordings, transcripts and summaries on the client record
- Choose the region where calls and recordings are stored
How to connect Anthropic Claude to Whautomate
Create an Anthropic API key
Sign in to the Anthropic Console and create an API key for your workspace.
Connect Claude
In Whautomate go to Integrations → Anthropic (Claude), open the Configuration tab and paste the key.
Add your knowledge
Upload short documents (prices, policies, FAQs) in the documents tab so Claude answers from your facts.
Turn it on per channel
Start from an AI automation template or add an AI reply step for WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram or live chat, and pick Claude as the provider.
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Learn more
WhatsApp Business API
Send messages, run broadcasts and automate replies on the official Cloud API.
WhatsApp Chatbots
Build no-code WhatsApp chatbots that book appointments and take orders.
Marketing Automation
Automate WhatsApp journeys triggered by behaviour, tags and events.
Omnichannel Team Inbox
One shared inbox for WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram and live chat.
WhautoVoice (sister product)
WhatsApp calling, AI voice agents, IVR and call recordings linked to your inbox.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Claude available on WhatsApp?
Anthropic does not run a public Claude number on WhatsApp for businesses. To use Claude on WhatsApp for your business, connect your Anthropic API key to a WhatsApp Business Platform provider like Whautomate, which runs Claude as the assistant on your own number.
Can I connect Claude to WhatsApp Business?
Yes. Connect your number through Integrations → WhatsApp (Meta Embedded Signup), connect Claude under Integrations → Anthropic (Claude), then add an AI reply step to a WhatsApp automation and choose Claude.
Is a Claude bot allowed after Meta's January 2026 AI policy?
Yes, when it is your business's assistant. Meta's terms bar general-purpose AI assistants as the main product on the WhatsApp Business Platform; bots that support your customers with service, orders and bookings remain allowed.
Can the same Claude bot answer Instagram and TikTok DMs?
Yes. One Anthropic key powers AI replies on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram and website live chat. TikTok messaging is available for business accounts outside the US and Europe.
How much does a Claude chatbot cost?
The integration is included in your Whautomate plan. You pay Anthropic directly for API tokens, and Meta for any WhatsApp template messages you send. Instagram, Messenger, Telegram and live chat have no per-message fees.
Can Claude understand voice notes?
Not at the moment: with Claude selected, a voice note is answered using any text in the message. If voice notes matter to you, choose OpenAI or Google Gemini for that automation step, since both transcribe voice notes.
Does Claude remember the conversation?
Yes. Claude sees the recent conversation history for the chat, plus the contact details it has captured, so follow-up questions keep their context.
Can Claude hand the chat to a person?
Yes. Claude can move the conversation to the unassigned queue or round-robin it to an available agent, and your team continues in the shared inbox.
Can I switch between Claude and other models?
Yes. Connect OpenAI (ChatGPT), Google Gemini or xAI Grok as well, and choose the provider on each AI step. Different automations can use different models.