Configure Whatsapp via Infobip

To configure the WhatsApp chat channel via Infobip, a Luma Administrator needs to complete the following steps:

  1. Register and create an account in Infobip. Once the account is created, set up billing for the Infobip messages/transactions. Refer to Pricing for more details.

  2. Buy a New number and set up Keyword in Infobip.

  3. Copy the Number, Account API Key, Base URL, Keyword, and retain them in an easily accessible location such as notepad or any text editor tool.

  4. Configure and Enable the Infobip WhatsApp chat channel in Luma Virtual Agent using the Number, Account API Key, Base URL generated in the Infobip account.

  5. Invite users to use the Infobip WhatsApp channel to interact with Virtual Agent.

Step 1: Register in Infobip

To use WhatsApp via Infobip with Luma Virtual Agent, you need to first register and create an account on Infobip. To do so, follow the below steps:

  1. Navigate to the Infobip website by entering the URL https://www.infobip.com/ . The Infobip home page appears as shown below.

  2. Click on Login to create an Infobip account. If you already have an account, skip to the next step (point 3).
    For more details on creating the account and other account management details, refer to https://www.infobip.com/docs/essentials/create-account .

    1. Click on Sign-up.

    2. On the Sign-up screen, add the new account details.

    3. Click on Start your free trial to create your account.

    4. An email will be triggered to the email address (added in the above step) to verify your account.

    5. Click on the link in the email and confirm your email address.

    6. The link redirects you back to Infobip account activation page https://www.infobip.com/activate . Create a Username and Password for your login.

    7. Once the login is created, you redirect to the Infobip portal. Complete the infobip account verification.
      Provide your phone number to receive the verification code.

    8. Add the verification code and click Verify.

    9. The account is now verified. Finish account creation and go to the Homepage.

  3. If you already have an account, log in to Infobip using your account details and navigate to the Homepage.

     

  4. Once logged in, the next step is to Add Credits based on your pricing plan.

Step 2: Configure Sender Number in Infobip

Once your account is ready, the next step is to set up the Whatsapp Sender number for your bot. This number is used by the end-users to connect to your Luma VA tenant. To do so, follow the below steps:

  1. On the Infobip homepage, scroll down to the ‘Get numbers’ options. You can also find the option under Application,

  2. Click on ‘Request Number’.

  3. Add the required information such as Number Type, Channel, etc. in the request form and ‘Submit Request’.
    Note: Based on the details in the request form, Infobip provides ETA i.e. the estimated time needed to acquire the number and the price you should pay once the number is acquired and assigned to your account. For more information, refer to Buy Numbers.

  4. Once the number is assigned to your account, it starts appearing at Applications → Numbers.

  5. Copy the Sender number and retain it in an easily accessible location such as notepad or any text editor tool.

  6. The next step is to add a Keyword for the number.
    Keywords are the text in the inbound messages that are used to filter out specific messages received on a number. Each keyword can filter messages and perform a predefined action such as forwarding the message to another system, forward to Email, save the message to log, etc.

  7. Select the number in the grid and click Add a Keyword in the side panel.

  8. On the ADD KEYWORD screen, add the following configuration to enable the number to forward the messages to your Bot.

    1. Add a new Keyword.

    2. Set Forwarding field to ‘Forward to HTTP’.

    3. The Method should be set to POST.

    4. Next login to Bot builder to copy the Message URL for your Bot, from the Infobip WhatsApp configuration page.
      To get the message URL,

      1. Login to Bot builder and navigate to Configurations → Channels under the Bot menu.

      2. Select the Infobip Whatsapp channel to view the configuration details.

      3. Copy the Message URL.

    5. Add the Message URL copied in the above step (step d) to the URL field.

    6. Click on To Save to complete Keyword creation.

    7. Your Infobip account is now configured and ready.

Step 3: Generate API Key

The next step is to generate a valid API key and copy the other details required to configure Infobip WhatsApp as a chat channel in Luma Virtual Agent.

  1. Navigate to Infobip Homepage.

  2. Click on Manage API Keys.

  3. On the API Keys page, click on NEW KEY API.

  4. Create API Key is now open. Add the following details:

    1. Add the Key NAME.

    2. Add EXPIRATION DATE for the key. Upon reaching the expiration date, the key is automatically deactivated. You can either update the expiration date or regenerate a new key.

    3. Select the ROLES to Public API. This provides your bot access to all API calls.

    4. In case, you want to restrict access to the API, add the IP addresses in ALLOWED IP ADDRESSES, SEPARATED BY COMMA field.

    5. Once done, click on SUBMIT to generate the Key.

    6. The new Key is listed on the API Key page. Copy the API Key and retain the information on the notepad or the text editor tool along with the number (as in Step 2 → 5)

       

  5. In addition to the API Key, you need the Base URL to complete the configuration.
    Navigate to the Infobip Homepage and copy the Base URL. Retain the information in the notepad or the text editor tool along with the API Key and number (as in the earlier step).

Step 4: Configure Whatsapp via Infobip in Luma Virtual Agent

  1. The next step is to configure and enable Infobip WhatsApp as a chat channel in Luma Virtual Agent.

    1. Log in to your tenant on the Bot Builder UI.

    2. Navigate to Bot Menu → Configurations → Channels. Click on the Infobip WhatsApp tile and open configurations.

    3. Now add the Base URL, API Key, and Sender number (copied in Step 2 and Step 3) to the respective fields on the configuration screen in Bot builder UI.

    4. On User Reconciliation For Channel Authentication section, specify the user information that should be used for auto authentication and user data reconciliation with Luma Virtual Agent record fields. Since Whatsapp uses the user’s Phone number for authentication, select ‘phone in User Fields and click on Set.

    5. Click on Configure to enable Infobip WhatsApp. The channel is now enabled and set to Active.

    6. Whatsapp via Infobip is now Active and ready for use.

Step 5: Invite Users to Whatsapp

Once the channel is active and configured, you can invite users from your organization to connect to Luma Virtual Agent through WhatsApp.
In order to communicate with Luma VA, the End-user should do the following:

  1. Add the Sender number (generated in Step 2 → 5) to their Whatsapp contact list. You can also scan the QR code at https://portal.infobip.com/apps/whatsapp.

  2. Once the number is added, send a WhatsApp message to the number with the KEYWORD (created in Step 2 → 8).

When you log into our test sending domain, all messages sent from your number to the Infobip sender will be mapped to your account. 

The user is now mapped to your infobip account and users can now start interacting with Luma Virtual Agent through WhatsApp. If the user is already available in Luma Virtual Agent, (with the phone number used for WhatsApp), the user will be auto-authenticated by the system. No manual registration is required.

For Luma to auto-authenticate the user, ensure that the user’s phone number in Luma VA is suffixed with the country code. For example, 919878xxxxxx, 447860xxxxxx

In case, the user is not available in Luma Virtual Agent, the system recognizes such users as Anonymous User and prompts the user to register in Luma Virtual Agent.

All the conversations and messages sent to

Points to Remember:

  1. The user’s Phone number in Luma Virtual Agent should be the same as used in Whatsapp and should follow the format as <Country code><phone number>. If the number is not incorrect, the user will not be auto authenticated in Luma Virtual Agent.

  2. Whatsapp is a text-based channel and does not support cards. Bot Responses set as Cards appear as choices with numbers, that are used to select the required option.

  3. Bot responses set as Quick Replies are presented as Interactive Reply Buttons and Lists. Bot presents up to 3 options as Reply Button. More than 3 options are presented as List.

  4. To unmap the infobip account, the user must respond with STOP to the Sender number. This disconnects the user from your tenant. To instate the connection, the user should resend the Keyword to the Infobip sender number.

Conversation Logs

You can view the log of messages sent by users to Luma Virtual Agent via Infobip Whatsapp. The logs can be used to troubleshoot issues with user conversations.

To view the logs,

  1. Navigate to Homepage → Applications → Whatsapp.

  2. Under Whatsapp → View Logs, click on View logs.

  3. Under the Shipping Records tab, you can view the details of messages sent and received via Infobip Whatsapp.

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