The problem Coexistence solves
Before Coexistence, connecting a number to the official WhatsApp API normally meant no longer using it in the phone app. For a store that serves customers on WhatsApp, that cost was too high: either automate and lose the phone conversations, or keep the conversations and not automate.
What Coexistence is
It is the ability to connect an existing WhatsApp Business app account to the Cloud API so the same number works in both at once. According to Meta's documentation, messages sent and received are mirrored between the API and the app, and messages sent from the app are not subject to the 24-hour customer service window.
What this changes for a store
- Automatic messages (payment confirmed, tracking, cart reminders) go out from the number your customers already know.
- You keep chatting from your phone, and the customer sees everything in one conversation.
- No new number and no new SIM.
- Contacts and the last 180 days of history can be synced when you connect.
What Coexistence does not do
Meta lists restrictions, and it is worth knowing them before you connect:
- Groups are not synced.
- Disappearing messages are turned off in one-to-one chats.
- View once and live location are turned off in one-to-one chats.
- Existing broadcast lists become read-only.
- Linked devices: WhatsApp for Windows and WearOS are not supported, and other linked devices are unlinked when you connect.
- The number's throughput is fixed at 20 messages per second, far above what a store sends.
What you need
- The WhatsApp Business app (the free one, not regular WhatsApp), version 2.24.17 or newer.
- A WhatsApp Business account tied to the store's number.
- A payment method on the WhatsApp Business account, separate from the ads account, so Meta can charge for messages.
How to connect with Notil
- Install Notil from ShopifyYou authorize it to read orders and carts, and you see your store's diagnosis.
- Open the WhatsApp connectionAn official Meta window asks you to confirm the number and authorize. Notil never asks for your password.
- Keep the app open on your phoneMeta recommends keeping WhatsApp Business open during the connection, so contacts and history can finish syncing.
- Review and send the textsRead the messages, adjust what you like and send them to Meta for approval.
Who it makes sense for
For stores that already serve customers on WhatsApp Business and want to automate order messages without changing how they work. If you depend on groups, broadcast lists or disappearing messages day to day, weigh the limits above before connecting.