4 ways to automate WhatsApp Business

WhatsApp is one of the most widely used messaging platforms in the world. It's the same app you'd use to text a relative vacationing abroad—which is exactly why it's such a powerful tool for your business. That familiarity gives you a fast and trusted way to reach your customers directly, whether you're answering questions or confirming appointments. But if you're like me, you don't love manually copying information between apps or sending one-off texts all day long.

That's where automation comes in. With Zapier, you can create Zaps (that's what we call automated workflows) that connect WhatsApp Business to the rest of your tech stack—and build in true two-way automation. For ideas and ready-to-use Zap templates that'll get you started, keep scrolling.

Skip ahead

• Capture and qualify leads

• Resolve customer support requests

• Keep orders and appointments on track

• Nurture customer relationships and reduce churn

Capture and qualify leads

When someone reaches out via WhatsApp Business, it's often a sign of strong intent. With Zapier, sales and marketing teams can instantly turn those messages into new lead records—and respond while their interest is high.

For example, when a potential client messages your business on WhatsApp asking for more information, you can automatically create a new lead in your CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, or others) and send a follow-up message thanking them for reaching out. You might include a link to schedule a consultation, a quick overview of your services, or a special offer to encourage the next step.

You can also use Zapier and WhatsApp Business to quickly respond to form submissions and guide leads toward action. If someone fills out a Typeform or submits their information through a landing page, you can immediately send a WhatsApp Business message with a template that confirms receipt and outlines what to expect next. By automating lead capture, you create a smoother experience for your team and your prospects—and you're communicating with customers in an app they already love using.

Resolve customer support requests

We've all been on the customer side of support requests, sometimes having to wait days for a response or acknowledgement of your issue. When a customer asks a support question, speed and clarity matter. Instead of manually transferring those messages into your help desk, Zapier can auto-create a ticket in tools like Zendesk, Freshdesk, or Help Scout, ensuring every request is tracked and routed to the right team quickly without added effort.

Customer support and success teams can also use WhatsApp Business to keep customers in the loop throughout the support process. For example, after a ticket is created, you can send a follow-up confirmation message with a case number. If the ticket status changes to "resolved," you can trigger an automatic WhatsApp update to let the customer know. These quick, proactive touches help reduce confusion and create a smoother support experience.

Keep orders and appointments on track

Customers expect to hear from you with details and confirmations after they place an order or schedule an appointment. Unfortunately, managing those updates manually can be tedious, especially for high-volume eCommerce businesses.

With Zapier, ops and customer experience teams can use WhatsApp Business to automate these routine messages—and you'll know they were delivered. Unlike traditional email or SMS, you can track whether your messages are received, giving you an added layer of reliability and peace of mind that critical information actually reached your customer. Plus, using WhatsApp Business is free, even when you're communicating outside of the U.S.

After a customer places an order in Shopify or WooCommerce, you can instantly send a WhatsApp Business message confirming the purchase. As the order moves through fulfillment, you can trigger additional messages to keep them updated, like sending a tracking link when an item ships via ShipStation or DHL Express Commerce. This setup keeps your customers informed and reduces support requests asking about order status and updates.

The same approach works for appointments. When someone books time with you via Calendly or a similar scheduling tool, you can send a confirmation message with all the relevant details. As the appointment approaches, follow up with a reminder pulled from Google Calendar to make sure they don't forget. For service businesses that collect payments up front, you can even use a Stripe trigger to send a payment confirmation with WhatsApp, giving clients peace of mind that their transaction was successful.

Nurture customer relationships and reduce churn

Beyond support messages and transactional updates, WhatsApp Business helps you maintain genuine, ongoing conversations with your customers in their preferred app. For customer success and account management teams, this means interactions aren't limited to one-way notifications. You get true back-and-forth dialogue—and with Zapier, you can automate intelligent responses that feel personal.

When a customer reaches out asking about their account details, order status, or saved preferences, you can use a Zapier agent to generate custom, freeform responses based on data from your CRM or database, no rigid templates required. The customer gets a helpful, personalized answer in seconds, and you get the conversation logged automatically in your system.

You can also use WhatsApp Business to send timely messages that build loyalty and proactively address issues before they lead to churn. If you're in lifecycle marketing, you might send a welcome message when someone joins your email list in Mailchimp or Kit, offering helpful resources or delivering a lead magnet. If your business relies on events, notify contacts when a new event is published in Eventbrite.

If you're a service provider, a quick reminder when an invoice is coming due (triggered from QuickBooks) can reduce late payments. These simple touchpoints—both automated messages and real conversations—help strengthen customer relationships and improve retention over time.

Streamline communication with WhatsApp and Zapier

Automating WhatsApp Business with Zapier helps you stay responsive without adding to your workload. Whether you're capturing leads or managing support requests, these Zaps make it easy to connect WhatsApp to the rest of your business tools.

So what will you automate first? Head to the Zap editor to get started today.