Coexistence is a Meta feature that allows the same WhatsApp number to be used simultaneously on a phone (via WhatsApp Business App) and through tools that use the official WhatsApp API (WABA)—such as Cloud Humans.

In other words:

You can continue to use the number on your phone normally and at the same time automate messages or support via the official API with solutions like ClaudIA, CloudChat, or Controlled Flow.

How does it work in practice?

With coexistence enabled:

On the phone (WhatsApp Business App): you can still send and receive messages manually, as usual.
On the official API (WABA): you can use bots, helpdesks, system integrations, automated sends, etc.
Both access the same conversation history.

Important: synchronization between phone and API is in real-time. If someone replies via the phone, the system on the API sees it. If ClaudIA responds through the API, it appears in the app.

What changes for Cloud Humans users?

You can use:

ClaudIA for automating part of support via API;
CloudChat as a helpdesk with human agents;
Controlled Flow to fetch data from your system and respond via API;
Keep groups (they won't work in Cloud Chat because it doesn't work via API, but they remain on the phone);
And continue using the number on the phone as a support tool for the team.

This is great for teams that want to gradually automate support or keep part of manual support on the phone while testing AI. For example: salespeople or account managers who need the phone.

How to enable coexistence?

Follow the step-by-step in this FAQ or contact our support.

What are the main use cases for coexistence?

Gradual transition to the API without losing phone use.
Small teams using the phone as support but wanting to automate part of the support.
Testing automations or bots while still having human support via the app.
Manual redundancy/backup in case of automation issues.

Are there limitations?

Yes, some:

The experience on the phone may become slower if many flows are running through the API.
It's not possible to send messages simultaneously via phone and API to the same contact—sessions might conflict.
Some advanced API features (like templates with buttons or interactive media) are not fully visible on the mobile app as they are on the Cloud Humans system.
Groups are still not supported by the official API (meaning they only exist on the phone).
⚠️ Messages sent or received on unsupported devices (like Windows WhatsApp Desktop or WearOS WhatsApp) are not reflected in Cloud Chat—even though they remain visible on the main phone. This is because Meta does not generate webhooks (smb_message_echoes) for these devices. For more details, see the article: Coexistence Limitation: messages from unsupported apps by Meta (e.g., WhatsApp Desktop) are not reflected in Cloud Chat.

📘 Important: WhatsApp Web (browser) is supported, and messages continue to be reflected normally via API.

Is Cloud Humans compatible with coexistence?

Yes! All our platform (ClaudIA, CloudChat, and Controlled Flows) is 100% compatible with coexistence, but you need to be using CloudChat.

How many numbers can I connect via API? How to increase the limit?

By default, each verified account starts with an initial limit of 2 WhatsApp numbers connected via the official API (WABA).

To increase this limit, Meta automatically assesses certain criteria:

Significant usage volume (at least 1,000 conversations initiated by the company in 30 days).
High message quality (low block/reports rate).

When these criteria are met, your limit may automatically increase to up to 20 numbers. If you need more than 20 numbers, you must contact Meta support directly via Enterprise Support.

We created a specific FAQ about limits (line limits) that you can access here.

More information is available on Meta's site: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/cloud-api/phone-numbers/?utm_source=chatgpt.com