How the pieces fit together
Before the step-by-step chapters, here’s the whole system on one page. Don’t worry about the details — just get a feel for how information flows and how the parts relate.
The big picture
At the centre is your Workspace. Your WhatsApp number is the door messages come in and out of. Everything else — contacts, inbox, templates, campaigns, bots, commerce — are tools that act on the messages flowing through that door.
Notice the arrows into and out of the number at the top. Every message — whether a human typed it, a campaign sent it, or a bot replied — goes through that one door to Meta. That’s why the rules about what you’re allowed to send (like the 24-hour window) apply everywhere.
Reading the flow, step by step
- A customer messages your WhatsApp number. Meta forwards it to MsgBuddy.
- MsgBuddy finds or creates that person as a Contact, and drops the message into a Conversation in your Inbox.
- Someone (or something) replies:
- a human teammate types a reply, or
- an automation rule fires (e.g. an after-hours auto-reply), or
- a Flow or the AI assistant answers automatically.
- Separately, you can reach out first to many people at once with a Campaign, which sends an approved Template to a Segment of your Contacts.
- Everything that happens — sent, delivered, read, replied — feeds Analytics.
How the tools relate (who uses whom)
| This tool… | …depends on… | …so that you can… |
|---|---|---|
| Inbox | the connected number + Contacts | reply to conversations as a team |
| Campaigns | Templates + Contacts/Segments | announce to many people at once |
| Templates | Meta approval | reach out first, within the rules |
| Automation / Flows / AI | the Inbox + (for AI) your Knowledge base | reply automatically |
| Commerce | a connected Meta product catalog | show products inside a chat |
| Subscriptions | Plans + a prepaid Wallet + Templates | run recurring deliveries |
| Analytics | everything above | measure and improve |
A good mental model: Contacts are who, Templates are what you’re allowed to say, Campaigns/Flows/AI are how it gets sent, and the Inbox is where the back-and-forth lives. Almost every chapter is just a deeper look at one of those four ideas.
Next: learn the handful of core concepts and terms → you’ll see throughout the handbook.