A WhatsApp MCP is a connector that gives an AI, such as Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini, access to your WhatsApp chats: reading them, finding the ones waiting for an answer and, if you allow it, replying. There are three kinds: hosted ones on Meta's official API, hosted ones on WhatsApp Web, and open-source ones you run on your own computer. For a business number, the one to pick is a hosted connector on the official API.
If you searched for "WhatsApp MCP", you probably found a bit of everything: GitHub repositories, browser extensions, WhatsApp Business providers. This guide sorts that out for someone who runs a business, not an IT team.
What MCP is, in one paragraph
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard for connecting AI applications to other systems. Its official documentation compares it to a USB-C port: just as USB-C is a standard way to plug in devices, MCP is a standard way to plug tools into an AI. For a business owner, that means two things. The same connector works in Claude, ChatGPT and other apps that support MCP. And the AI uses those tools when you ask in the conversation, not on its own.
So a WhatsApp MCP is an MCP server whose tools touch your WhatsApp. What changes from one to the next is how it reaches your number.
The three kinds of WhatsApp MCP
1. Hosted, on Meta's official API
Your number is connected to the WhatsApp Business API, Meta's product for businesses, through an authorized provider. The provider receives messages through the official channel and exposes an MCP connector. There's no WhatsApp Web session to keep alive and no computer that has to stay on.
Several providers work this way. For example, according to their own pages, Wassenger connects to a WhatsApp Business API number and its MCP server authenticates with an API key per workspace, and Composio has an MCP server on the WhatsApp Business API, with tools such as sending messages and creating templates. Chatty is in this group too.
2. Hosted, on WhatsApp Web
These services keep a WhatsApp Web session running for you, through a browser extension or in the cloud. Blueticks' guide, for example, explains that it links your number through its extension (or the cloud, on its Pro plan) and says it doesn't use Meta's Cloud API.
There's nothing to install, but the connection is still a WhatsApp Web session driven by software. WhatsApp's terms of service prohibit using the service in unauthorized ways, including through automated means.
3. Open source, on your computer
These are projects you install and run yourself. The best known is whatsapp-mcp: according to its documentation, it connects to your personal account through the WhatsApp Web multi-device API, stores messages in a local database, and may ask you to authenticate again after about 20 days.
It's a good fit for experimenting or personal use, if you're comfortable installing and maintaining software. It depends on your computer being on and on the session staying alive.
The comparison, in one table
| What to check | Official API, hosted | WhatsApp Web, hosted | Open source, self-hosted |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it reaches your number | Through the WhatsApp Business API, with an authorized provider | Through a WhatsApp Web session, in an extension or the cloud | Through a WhatsApp Web session running on your computer |
| What you install | Nothing | An extension, or nothing if it runs in the cloud | The server, and you maintain it |
| WhatsApp's terms | It's the route Meta offers to businesses | Risks unauthorized use | Same risk |
| What can cut it off | Meta's policies, as for any business | A WhatsApp change that drops the session | An expired session or a computer that's off |
| How the AI signs in | Depends: a login (OAuth) or an API key | Depends on the service | You configure it |
| Who it's for | A business number | Testing or personal use, accepting the risk | Testing or personal use, if you know software |
How to choose
If it's your business number, the first filter is already done: a hosted connector on the official API. Among those, these questions separate one from another quickly:
- Do I keep the WhatsApp Business app? The official API supports coexistence: the same number stays on the API and in the app on your phone. According to Meta's documentation, messages you send from the app stay free. Ask the provider whether it connects your number that way.
- Does my history come in? The same documentation says chats from the last 6 months can be synced. Without that, the AI starts with nothing.
- How does the AI sign in? A login (OAuth) is easier to revoke than an API key pasted into a file.
- What can it do without my approval? Reading, replying and sending campaigns are very different things. Check whether every message needs your yes.
- Which AI will I use it in? The standard is the same, but each app has its own requirements: ChatGPT needs a plan with developer mode, and Gemini accepts custom apps only in some cases.
Where Chatty fits
Chatty is a hosted WhatsApp MCP on the official API, and Chatty is a Meta Business Partner. It's listed in the official MCP Registry as com.letschatty/whatsapp, with its address: https://asistente.letschatty.com/mcp.
- Coexistence: your number is connected and you keep using the WhatsApp Business app on your phone.
- Your last 6 months of chats come in when you connect, if you leave the chat history option checked in Meta's form.
- No keys to copy: you paste the address and sign in with Google.
- Nothing goes out unless you ask: the send tools are flagged so the assistant asks for confirmation. On the Conector plan, the AI only reads.
We test it most thoroughly with Claude, and the walkthrough is in how to connect WhatsApp to Claude. You get a 15-day free trial, no card; plans are in the pricing section and the full feature list on the connector page (in Spanish). For more detail on each provider named here, see WhatsApp and Claude: official API vs. WhatsApp Web.
Frequently asked questions
What does MCP stand for?
Model Context Protocol. It's an open standard that lets an AI use tools from other applications, like reading your chats or drafting a reply, when you ask in the conversation.
Does a WhatsApp MCP work with any AI?
With the ones that support MCP, yes, but each has its own requirements. Claude accepts custom connectors by URL, ChatGPT needs developer mode, and Gemini accepts them only in some cases.
Is it risky to connect WhatsApp to an AI?
It depends on how it connects. The official API is the route Meta offers to businesses. A WhatsApp Web session driven by software risks the unauthorized use WhatsApp's terms prohibit.
Do I need to know how to code?
Not with a hosted connector: you paste an address and sign in with your account. Open-source servers, on the other hand, you install and maintain yourself.
If what's holding you back is whether your number could get banned, we answer that in can WhatsApp ban my number for using AI?. For anything else, there's support.
Frequently asked questions
What does MCP stand for?
Model Context Protocol. It's an open standard that lets an AI use tools from other applications, like reading your chats or drafting a reply, when you ask in the conversation.
Does a WhatsApp MCP work with any AI?
With the ones that support MCP, yes, but each has its own requirements. Claude accepts custom connectors by URL, ChatGPT needs developer mode, and Gemini accepts them only in some cases.
Is it risky to connect WhatsApp to an AI?
It depends on how it connects. The official API is the route Meta offers to businesses. A WhatsApp Web session driven by software risks the unauthorized use WhatsApp's terms prohibit.
Do I need to know how to code?
Not with a hosted connector: you paste an address and sign in with your account. Open-source servers, on the other hand, you install and maintain yourself.
