What it is
Coexistence lets one WhatsApp number work in the app and on the Cloud API at once.
It's part of Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Before coexistence, moving a number to the platform meant leaving the WhatsApp Business app behind. Now you keep both.
One number, two places
Customers message the same number and see the same business. Your team answers from the app or from Avox.
Nothing to give up
The app keeps working on your phone. Avox adds the platform side: shared inbox, Avox AI, templates, Flows, analytics and the Avox API.
One conversation
Replies from the phone show in the Avox inbox, and messages sent through Avox appear in the app, so nobody answers twice.
How Avox sets it up
Connected through Meta's own Embedded Signup.
You never copy tokens or touch Meta's developer tools. Avox opens Meta's secure signup window, you confirm on your phone, and Avox takes it from there.
Step 1
Choose Existing number
In Avox, start a connection and pick Existing number (Coexistence). Name it and choose how messages are handled.
Step 2
Continue in Meta's window
Meta's own Embedded Signup opens. Pick your number and confirm the business profile from your WhatsApp Business app.
Step 3
Confirm on your phone
Scan the QR code with WhatsApp Business, tap Connect, and choose whether to share your chat history.
Step 4
You're connected
Click Finish. The number shows Connected, and your inbox, contacts and the rest of Avox are ready.
What syncs
Your chats, contacts and replies, in one place.
Everything arrives from Meta as it happens, so the Avox inbox and the app on your phone always tell the same story.
WhatsApp Business app
Avox
Your chat history
Once, right after you connect, if you choose to share it on your phone. Each message lands at its original date and time.
Into AvoxContacts and their names
After you connect, and again whenever a name changes in the app's contact list.
Into AvoxReplies your team sends from the phone
As they're sent, in the same conversation in the Avox inbox.
Into AvoxNew customer messages
As they arrive. They reach the app and Avox, so anyone can answer.
Both sides
On your coexistence number
Everything the platform adds, on the number customers already know.
Your WhatsApp username
Where Meta has opened usernames, set one for your number from its page in Avox, so customers can find and message you by @name instead of only your phone number.
WhatsApp calls
Turn on Calling for a number and every WhatsApp call is listed on the Calls page, searchable by contact and outcome. Ask a customer for permission to call them in one click.
Approved templates
Create templates, start from the Avox library, submit them to Meta and track approval. Templates start conversations outside the 24-hour window.
WhatsApp Flows
In-chat forms for bookings, sign-ups and details, built and published from Avox. An automation opens one at just the right moment.
Use cases
How businesses run on coexistence.
Real flows, built only from what's in Avox today. The team keeps the app; the platform does the repetitive work.
Retail order updates
Shops that sell online and in store
- Your store's server sends an order confirmation template through the Avox API.
- When the order ships, a second template goes out with the tracking link button.
- A customer replies "where is my order" and a keyword automation answers with the latest status.
- Staff on the shop floor pick up anything else from the WhatsApp Business app.
- Avox API
- Templates
- Keyword trigger
- Shared inbox
Clinics and appointments
Clinics, dentists, physios and labs
- A patient messages "book" and a WhatsApp Flow opens to pick a service and a time.
- Your booking system sends a reminder template through the Avox API the day before.
- Messages outside opening hours get a business-hours reply with what to do next.
- Reception keeps chatting from the front desk phone as usual.
- WhatsApp Flows
- Business hours
- Avox API
- Templates
Admissions and classes
Schools, colleges, coaching and course creators
- A new enquiry triggers a welcome message with the course brochure as a document.
- An automation asks which course they're interested in and tags the contact with it.
- The team is notified, and a counsellor asks the student for permission to call on WhatsApp.
- Reminders before each class go out as approved templates from your own system.
- New contact trigger
- Ask a question
- Calls
- Tags
Travel and bookings
Travel agents, tour operators and stays
- A booking confirmation template goes out from your booking system through the API.
- A Flow collects traveller names and preferences in the chat.
- Agents on the move answer from the WhatsApp Business app; the office sees every reply in Avox.
- If a customer hasn't had a reply yet, a follow-up automation lets the team know.
- Avox API
- WhatsApp Flows
- Coexistence
- No-reply follow-up
Real estate leads
Agencies, brokers and developers
- A lead from your ad messages your number and becomes a new contact on its own.
- An automation asks which area they're looking in, with a list to choose from.
- Condition branches tag each lead by area, and a tag-added automation sends matching listings.
- A Flow books the site visit, and the agent takes it from there in the app or in Avox.
- Interactive lists
- Condition branches
- Tag added trigger
- WhatsApp Flows
D2C customer support
Brands that sell direct to consumers
- Every question lands in one shared inbox, with the full history from the app.
- Common questions get instant answers from keyword automations with buttons and lists.
- New customer messages are forwarded, signed, to your own helpdesk server.
- Team members see only what their role and permissions allow.
- Shared inbox
- Interactive buttons
- Message forwarding
- Permissions
Service businesses
Salons, repairs, cleaning and home services
- A customer sends a photo of the job, and an automation asks a few quick questions.
- A Flow books a slot, and the team is notified with the details.
- WhatsApp calls to your number are listed on the Calls page, with their outcome and length.
- After the visit, a template asks for feedback with one tap.
- Ask a question
- WhatsApp Flows
- Calls
- Templates
Meta's role and billing
Two clear bills: Meta's messages, and your Avox plan.
- Meta runs WhatsApp and the Cloud API, reviews your message templates, and sets each number's messaging limits and quality rating.
- Meta bills its WhatsApp charges straight to your own WhatsApp Business Account, at Meta's rates. Avox adds no markup.
- Your Avox plan is a separate, flat price for the platform itself.
- Billing in Avox shows the Meta charges reported for your numbers, by day and category, and each number's Meta payment status, with a link to view your invoices in Meta.
Your Avox plan
Meta's WhatsApp charges
Good to know
A few simple habits keep coexistence running smoothly.
Keep the app in use
Meta expects the WhatsApp Business app on your main phone to be opened regularly. Keep it signed in on a phone your team uses every day, and Health in Avox shows each number's heartbeat.
History is a one-time choice
Whether to share your existing chats is decided once, on your phone, during signup. Everything after that syncs as it happens.
WhatsApp's own rules apply
Replies follow WhatsApp's 24-hour customer service window. Outside it, you start conversations with templates Meta has approved. Messaging limits and quality ratings work the same as on any business number.
Automations act on new messages
Imported history fills your inbox with context and never triggers an automation, so nobody gets a surprise reply to an old chat.
Go deeper on coexistence
Setup, sync, Meta's signup window and calling, in full detail.
Questions about coexistence?
The essentials are below. Planning a move to the platform with a number your team already uses - a real person replies.
People
A person reads every message
Tickets
Track replies in your dashboard
Email us or open a ticket
Bring your team onto Avox today
No switch, no lost history just faster replies from day one.