GoKawiilWhatsApp is working on a new feature that will let users connect third-party AI agents to the app, chat with them, and give them instructions to carry out tasks on their behalf. Here are the details.
WhatsApp working on third-party agent support
When OpenClaw and similar platforms first exploded in popularity, one of the main ways users interacted with their agents remotely was by connecting them to messaging apps.
However, many users soon discovered that setting up a bot on WhatsApp to talk to third-party AI agents could get the WhatsApp account banned.
Telegram, meanwhile, embraced the trend and has since become one of the main platforms users rely on to chat with, or give instructions to, agents running either locally on their computers or in the cloud.
Now, as spotted by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is working on bringing native support for third-party AI agents to its users, with a new feature that lets them connect agents directly to dedicated chats in the app.
Once a new bot is set up in WhatsApp, the app generates an API key that users can then use to connect their agent to the chat. As WABetaInfo explains it, “the exact steps depend on the platform, but most services have a field where users can paste” that API key, allowing them to start chatting with their third-party agent directly through WhatsApp.
Here’s WABetaInfo:
Once the agent is connected to a WhatsApp chat, users can open the new conversation to communicate with it. Users can send messages to the agent and receive responses directly within the app. Note that the agent can only read what the user shared in the chat with it. This means that the agent cannot access other conversations, contacts, or media. At the moment, it is only possible to chat with the agent in an individual chat. For this reason, users cannot add it to group chats and communities. In case the agent is an AI, WhatsApp notes that its responses may be inaccurate. As a result, users should always double-check anything the agent tells them.
The site notes that currently, select Android users have access to the new feature, but it is expected to roll out more broadly soon. WABetaInfo says WhatsApp’s implementation supports up to five agents per account, and lets users customize each one with a name and profile photo. However, chats with third-party agents are currently not end-to-end encrypted.
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