> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.claruswms.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Connect WhatsApp to Clarus
> Turn on WhatsApp so approved phone numbers can message the Clarus AI Assistant — ask about stock and orders from anywhere, with tight control over who's allowed.
WhatsApp is the channel for people away from a desk. Your team messages the Clarus WhatsApp number from their phone and gets an answer back in the chat.
It's also the most tightly controlled channel: **only phone numbers you've approved can message the assistant.** Anyone else is turned away, and nothing they send ever reaches your data.
**AI accuracy:** AI-generated responses can sometimes be inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading. Always verify the assistant's output before acting on it — especially for stock movements, order changes, or any actions that affect your live warehouse data. The assistant is a tool to help you, not a replacement for your own judgement.
## Before you start
* A Clarus login with **administrator** rights.
* Your own mobile number to hand — you'll be added as the first approved user so you can test it immediately.
* The phone numbers of anyone else who needs access, in full international format.
You don't need a WhatsApp Business account or any setup on Meta's side. Clarus provides the number.
## Turn on WhatsApp
In the AI Assistant, click the **Settings** cog at the bottom of the conversation list, then choose **Integrations**.
On the **WhatsApp** card, click **Set up WhatsApp**.
* **Description** — required. A short label such as `Acme Logistics warehouse assistant`.
* **Default model** — leave as **Sonnet** unless you have a reason to change it.
* **Agent** — optional. Leave blank to use the default assistant.
* **Your WhatsApp number** — required, and only asked for the first time. Enter it in full international format, for example `+44 7700 900123`. This becomes the first approved number.
Click **Enable WhatsApp**.
The screen now shows the number your team should message. Save it to your phone's contacts — this is the number every approved user messages.
In the **Authorised users** section, add each person who needs access:
* **Name** — optional, but it makes the list far easier to manage later.
* **Email** — required.
* **Phone** — required, in full international format including the country code, for example `+44 7700 900123`.
Click **Add**. They can start messaging straight away.
Enter phone numbers in **full international format with the country code** — `+44 7700 900123`, not `07700 900123`. A number stored in national format won't match when that person messages, and they'll be turned away.
## Manage who has access
Everything happens in the **Authorised users** table on the same screen.
* **Pause someone** — click their **Enabled** status to switch it to **Disabled**. They keep their place in the list but can no longer message the assistant. Click again to re-enable.
* **Fix a name** — click the pencil icon, type, and save.
* **Remove someone** — click the bin icon and confirm. Use this when someone leaves.
* **Correct a number** — phone numbers can't be edited. Remove the entry and add a new one.
There's no invitation or confirmation step. Adding someone approves them immediately, so double-check the number before you add it. A phone number can be approved for **one** Clarus account only — if a number is already on another Clarus organisation's list, you'll be told so and it can't be added.
## Using it in WhatsApp
Message the Clarus number as you would any contact:
> **You:** how many units of WIDGET-RED-500 are in stock?
>
> **Clarus:** There are 1,240 units across 3 locations…
**One-to-one chats only.** Group chats aren't supported — the assistant only answers direct messages to the Clarus number.
**Picking up where you left off.** Your chat stays one continuous conversation, so follow-up questions work. After **an hour** with no messages, the next thing you send starts a fresh conversation — handy when you switch topic, but it means the assistant won't remember this morning's questions if you message again in the afternoon.
**Files.** Send a photo or a document with your question and the assistant can read it — for example, photograph a damaged pallet label and ask what product it is. Add your question as the caption. Images up to 3 MB, documents up to 10 MB, 10 files per message.
**Formatting.** Answers use WhatsApp's own formatting, so tables and headings from the assistant come through as plain bold text and lines. Long answers arrive as several messages.
### If someone isn't approved
Anyone messaging from a number that isn't on your list gets:
> This number isn't authorised to use ClarusWMS. Please contact your ClarusWMS admin to be added.
Their message never reaches your data, and the reply deliberately doesn't reveal which Clarus organisation the number belongs to.
Every approved number gets your organisation's full assistant access — it isn't limited to any one person's Clarus permissions, and it can change data as well as read it. Approve numbers individually rather than adding a whole team as a matter of course, and remove people promptly when they leave.
## Turning it off
There's no single disconnect button for WhatsApp. To stop people using it, remove them from the **Authorised users** list — or set each one to **Disabled** if you want to keep the list and re-enable it later. With no approved numbers, nobody can message the assistant.
## Troubleshooting
Almost always a number-format mismatch. The stored number must be the full international number including the country code and no leading zero — `+44 7700 900123`, never `07700 900123`. Numbers can't be edited, so remove the entry and add it again in the correct format.
A phone number can be approved for one Clarus account at a time. That number is on another Clarus organisation's approved list and must be removed there before you can add it here.
The one shown on the WhatsApp setup screen in **Settings → Integrations → Set up WhatsApp**. It's the same number for every approved user. If the panel doesn't show a number, WhatsApp hasn't finished being enabled for your account — contact Clarus support.
Conversations reset after an hour of inactivity. Anything before that gap is no longer in context, so include the detail again — the order number, the product code — in your new message.
No. Group chats aren't supported; the assistant answers direct messages to the Clarus number only. If you need a shared conversation the whole team can see, use [Slack](/knowledgebase/ai-assistant/connect-slack) or [Microsoft Teams](/knowledgebase/ai-assistant/connect-teams) instead.
Not yet — WhatsApp is for conversations you start. For notifications pushed to your team, connect [Slack](/knowledgebase/ai-assistant/connect-slack) and set a default alert channel.
Check your organisation hasn't used up its monthly AI credits — see [Credits and usage](/knowledgebase/ai-assistant/credits-and-usage). Also confirm the person's status in the Authorised users table is **Enabled** rather than **Disabled**.