You’re a small business owner in São Paulo. Or Bogotá. Or Toledo. You’ve hustled to build a WhatsApp presence. Your customers know your number. It’s printed on your flyers. Your mother has it saved under “Mi bebé.” And now, because you want to level up your automation game, someone tells you, “Yeah… you’ll have to give all that up.”
Excuse me?
Welcome to WhatsApp Onboarding Limbo
Before we understand why Manychat’s Coexistence feature is so valuable, let’s talk about what onboarding used to feel like for many businesses. If you’ve ever connected your WhatsApp Business App (WABA) to an automation platform, you might’ve experienced a few… quirks.
- Like suddenly wondering where your contacts went 🙃
- Or realizing your conversation history didn’t make the journey
- Or having to explain to loyal customers, “Yes, it’s still us, just with a new number.”
- Or getting cozy with Meta’s API docs like it was your bedtime reading
Migrating to the WhatsApp API is like trying to upgrade your car and being told you have to give up the steering wheel, radio, and all your seatbelts. Cool features, but also, uh, that’s kinda essential stuff?
That’s where Coexistence comes in. It’s the future-proof solution WhatsApp users have been begging for, without even knowing it.
TL;DR: Coexistence means you keep your WhatsApp Business App plus leverage the power of Manychat automation.
The Full Breakdown
WhatsApp has three types of accounts, and they don’t all play nice.
- WhatsApp Consumer App: Regular people texting friends, sending voice notes that are way too long, and forwarding conspiracy theories in family groups.
- WhatsApp Business App (WABA): For small businesses that want to look professional. Think store hours, default greetings, and quick replies. Solid stuff.
- WhatsApp API (WAPI): For the grown-ups in the room. Enterprise-level automation, chatbots, multiple agents, and CRMs. Very powerful. Also very unforgiving.
Look, if you want to connect to Manychat, you’re connecting to the WhatsApp API. That means you used to have to ditch your Business App — and everything that made it useful.
Like:
- Voice calls (poof, gone)
- Contact lists (bye)
- Message history (evaporated)
- Verified business badge (hope it wasn’t on your storefront!)
And let’s not forget group chats or multiple logins. If you’ve got a sales team? Too bad. One phone, one desktop. Good luck out there!
But What if You Didn’t Have to Choose?
Coexistence is Manychat’s new feature (currently in Beta!) that lets you connect your existing WhatsApp Business App number to Manychat, without nuking everything you’ve built.
That means:
- You get to keep your WABA features
- You get access to the automation powers of Manychat
- You don’t need to learn to code or cry into Meta’s documentation
- You can finally grow without giving up the WhatsApp setup your business relies on
It’s one of the most common-sense things we’ve ever released.
“Cool, cool… but what’s the catch?” — you, probably.
Okay, you’re smart.
Here’s what you need to know.
1. Coexistence is currently in beta.
Translation: It’s still being poked and prodded by our team, who are logging bugs and glaring at Meta to fix things faster. You might hit some bumps. Bugs happen. You’ll survive. But this isn’t the time to bring your most nervous client on board. Give us a minute to smooth it out.
2. It’s not available everywhere.
If you’re in the EU, UK, India, Japan, Nigeria, South Korea, Russia, South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, or Turkey, sorry, Coex isn’t available to you. Yet. (Yes, that’s a long list. No, we don’t love it either.) However, if you’re in LATAM, Brazil, the U.S., or Israel, you’re in a good position, especially if you’re an agency connecting multiple WhatsApp accounts. Coexistence was basically made for you.
3. It only works for new WhatsApp numbers.
If you already connected your number to Manychat the old way, you can’t retroactively switch it to Coex. You’ll need to start fresh. Why does this matter? Because bots without business context suck.
Imagine a bakery that has been using the same WhatsApp number for five years. Grandma texts every Sunday to order her birthday cakes. The whole town knows the number.
And now you’re telling them to switch to a new number just to automate messages?
Absolutely not. Grams deserves better.
Coexistence means that bakery gets to keep its WhatsApp number, its verified badge, its contact list — and still automate reminders, offers, and customer service through Manychat.
It’s a win for every business trying to scale without having to start over.
Use Cases We’re Hyped About
Let’s get nerdy.
1. Agencies managing multiple WhatsApp accounts
With Coexistence, you can keep your clients’ existing numbers and simply add automation sauce on top — no need to replace them. Your client keeps their reputation, their badge, and their sanity.
2. Local service businesses
Plumbers, restaurants, beauty salons — anyone who relies on WhatsApp for direct bookings or customer convos can now scale without nuking the past. Set up smart FAQs, lead qualification, or time-based responses. Grandma still calls. The bot handles the rest.
3. Creators and coaches who want to keep it personal
That voice note vibe? Still there. That “text me anytime” energy? Still there. But now, your DM flow can be automated to catch leads, book calls, or online courses while you sleep.
What the Onboarding Actually Looks Like
Honestly? It’s simple.
It’s not “connect your Facebook Page and pray” energy. It’s more like:
- Go to your Manychat WhatsApp onboarding
- Choose the Coexistence (Beta) option
- Follow the prompts (they won’t bite)
- Connect your WhatsApp Business App number
- Celebrate. Pop a confetti GIF.
This entire process takes only minutes, not days. And because you’re not disconnecting from WABA, you don’t need to rebuild your business identity from scratch.
So…should you switch?
If you’re already using the WhatsApp API and are satisfied with it, keep doing your thing. This post is not for you.
If you’re:
- New to Manychat
- An agency connecting WhatsApp accounts for clients
- A small business with a WABA number you love
- Tired of hacking together automations while crying in a corner
Yes. You should absolutely use Coexistence.
One More Thing (and it’s Important)
We are NOT doing a massive, shout-it-from-the-rooftops launch right now. Coexistence is still new — still in beta. Still being refined.
But we’re writing this because people are already searching for it. “WhatsApp Coexistence” is appearing in forums, Reddit threads, and conversations with agency partners.
And frankly? We’d rather you hear about it from us than from a sketchy YouTube video with 17 broken links.
The TL;DR TL;DR
- Coexistence = use your existing WhatsApp Business App and Manychat together
- No need to ditch your contacts, badge, or history
- It’s in Beta (aka still bumpy in parts)
- Only available in select countries
- Perfect for new WA connections, not retroactive ones
- Best suited for BOFU users, agencies, and service businesses
- It’s a huge leap forward in how WhatsApp automation works
Try Coexistence (and keep your Gram’s birthday cake orders)
If you’re new to Manychat and have a WABA number you’d like to keep, connect using Coexistence now.
Or, if you’re still undecided, check out our help center articles or send us a message. No bots. Promise.
