> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dialtu.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction to WhatsApp agents

> What they are, what they can do, and how the editor is laid out

A WhatsApp agent holds chat conversations with your customers: it replies, runs actions —
querying your system, booking, sending a template — remembers the contact between
conversations, and hands the chat to a person when needed.

<Info>
  **📷 Screenshot needed** — the full WhatsApp agent editor, with its three columns.

  Save to `/images/en/whatsapp-agents/editor-overview.png`
</Info>

## First, the number

A WhatsApp agent needs a **connected WhatsApp Business number**. Dialtu doesn't provide it —
you connect your own Meta account.

<Card title="Connect your WhatsApp Business account" icon="link" href="/en/channels/whatsapp/connect">
  The full process, screen by screen.
</Card>

## The editor at a glance

A single screen with three columns. There's no step-by-step wizard.

| Column              | What's in it                                                                       |
| ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Settings** (left) | Six collapsible groups: model, channel, behaviour, **memory**, follow-up, and tags |
| **Prompt** (centre) | A single document holding the agent's instructions                                 |
| **Right panel**     | Three tabs: **Atlas**, **Test** and **Summary**                                    |

The top bar holds the name, agent type, the **Active / Paused** state, and the **FAQ** and
**Tools** buttons.

## The three agent types

**Agent Type** decides what it can do, and it's one of the first things to choose:

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Omnichannel" icon="arrows-left-right">
    Receives and can also start conversations. This is the default.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Inbound" icon="inbox">
    Only replies. Can't start conversations or send itself follow-ups.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Outbound" icon="paper-plane">
    Only starts conversations. Doesn't answer incoming messages.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## What's in this section

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Create your first agent" icon="plus" href="/en/whatsapp-agents/create-agent">
    The minimum fields to get it replying.
  </Card>

  <Card title="The prompt, FAQs and variables" icon="pen-to-square" href="/en/whatsapp-agents/prompt">
    How you instruct it and how to personalise it.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Channel, audience and behaviour" icon="sliders" href="/en/whatsapp-agents/channel">
    Number, schedule, which customers it serves, and how it writes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Contact memory" icon="brain" href="/en/whatsapp-agents/memory">
    What the agent remembers and what it contributes to shared memory.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Follow-up, reminders and closing" icon="bell" href="/en/whatsapp-agents/follow-up">
    Reminders, sequences, opt-out and human handover.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Tools and testing" icon="screwdriver-wrench" href="/en/whatsapp-agents/tools">
    Real actions, the test panel, and going live.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Two things that surprise people

<Warning>
  **Saving publishes immediately.** There's no server-side draft and no version history. The
  *Draft saved* chip is a browser autosave, nothing more.
</Warning>

<Warning>
  **Your agent is already contributing to contact memory.** *Record to memory* is **on by
  default** on every agent, new and existing. Reading memory is opt-in; writing it is on unless
  you turn it off.

  See [Contact memory](/en/whatsapp-agents/memory).
</Warning>