Why Zapier for WhatsApp Automation
Zapier is the most popular automation platform on the web, connecting more than 7,000 apps. With the new Tenreply Zapier integration, you can plug your WhatsApp Business inbox straight into that ecosystem — HubSpot, Salesforce, Shopify, Google Sheets, Stripe, Calendly, Typeform, and thousands more — without writing a single line of code.
If you've ever wished a new lead would automatically get a WhatsApp welcome, or that every incoming message would log itself to your CRM, Zapier is how you make it happen in an afternoon.
What You'll Need
- A Tenreply account with a connected WhatsApp Business API number
- A Zapier account (the free plan is enough to start)
- 5 minutes
Step 1 — Create Your Tenreply API Key
In Tenreply, open Settings → Features and switch on Developer Mode. Then go to Settings → Developer and create a new API key. It will look like trl_live_…. Copy it somewhere safe — you'll paste it into Zapier in a moment.
Step 2 — Connect Tenreply in Zapier
- In Zapier, click Create → Zap.
- Search the app directory for Tenreply and select it.
- Click Connect Account and paste your
trl_live_…API key. - Zapier verifies the key against the Tenreply API and shows your workspace name on success.
Step 3 — Choose a Trigger
A trigger is the event that starts your automation. Tenreply offers:
| Trigger | Fires when… |
|---|---|
| New Inbound Message | a customer sends you a message |
| New Contact | a new contact is created |
| New Conversation | a new conversation starts |
| Conversation Status Changed | a conversation is opened, closed, or re-labelled |
| Message Status Update | an outbound message is delivered, read, or fails |
The trigger can live in any app — Tenreply, your CRM, your store, a form. For example, pick New Contact in HubSpot to react every time a lead is added.
Step 4 — Choose an Action
An action is what Zapier does in response. Tenreply's actions are:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Send Message | send a text or media message to a conversation |
| Send Template Message | send an approved WhatsApp template |
| Create Contact | add a new contact to your workspace |
| Update Contact | update a contact's name, email, or tags |
| Start Conversation | find or start a conversation with a contact |
| Close Conversation | close an open conversation |
A Complete Example Zap
"New HubSpot contact → Create Tenreply contact + send welcome template"
- Trigger: New Contact in HubSpot.
- Action: Create Contact in Tenreply — map the phone number and name from HubSpot.
- Action: Send Template Message in Tenreply — select your approved welcome template.
Turn the Zap on, and every new HubSpot lead is now added to Tenreply and greeted on WhatsApp automatically. When they reply, the conversation appears in your Tenreply shared inbox for a human to take over.
Tips for Reliable Zaps
- Use templates for the first message. WhatsApp requires an approved template to message a customer outside the 24-hour window. The Send Template Message action handles this correctly.
- Test with the Find Contact search before creating duplicates — it looks a contact up by phone or email first.
- Watch Message Status Update to branch your Zap on delivered vs. failed messages.
Next Steps
Prefer a self-hosted, open-source option? Tenreply also ships an n8n community node — see the n8n-nodes-tenreply package on npm. And for the full reference, head to the Zapier getting-started docs.
Zapier gets your automations running in minutes; Tenreply gives your team the inbox to handle every reply those automations generate.