WhatsApp Business app or Business Platform: which do you need?
Most businesses start with the free WhatsApp Business app on one phone. It works well until messages arrive faster than one person can answer, or several people need to share the same number.
The app: one phone, one person
The app gives you a business profile, quick replies, labels and a simple catalog. Everything happens on the phone, and replies are typed by whoever is holding it. There is no way for software to read and answer messages for you.
The Platform: your number, connected
The WhatsApp Business Platform is Meta's official way to connect a number to software. Messages arrive at a system that can answer them, share them across a team and keep a record. This is what Heyozo uses.
- Your number stays yours, in your own WhatsApp Business account.
- Several people, and an AI assistant, can answer on one number.
- Marketing messages use templates that Meta approves first, and go only to customers who opted in.
- Meta charges for some messages, such as marketing templates, billed to your own account.
Can I keep using the app?
Often, yes. Meta lets many numbers use the app and the Platform together (called coexistence), so the owner can still reply from the phone while the assistant answers the rest. Whether your number qualifies depends on your country and account; we check it with you during setup.
A simple rule
If one person can comfortably answer every message within a few minutes, the app is enough. If customers wait, messages arrive after hours, or more than one person needs to answer, it is time for the Platform.