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How to Add Your Custom GPTs to WhatsApp: A Step-by-Step Guide

Have you created an awesome GPT and want to break it out of the ChatGPT site? Here’s how you can connect your custom GPTs to WhatsApp, tapping into its massive user base of over 2 billion monthly active users. This integration can automate key business tasks like customer support, lead generation, or appointment setting.

Let’s walk through the process of setting up a WhatsApp lead generation chatbot from start to finish.

What We’re Building

We’ll create a lead generation chatbot that:

• Answers questions about a specific product or service
• Captures leads by collecting names and phone numbers
• Logs lead information to a CRM (we’ll use Airtable)

To make this happen, we’ll use:

1. OpenAI’s Assistant API
2. Replit for hosting our code
3. MiniChat to connect with WhatsApp

Step 1: Set Up Your Replit Environment

1. Clone the provided Replit
2. Fork the Replit to create your own copy
3. Open the functions.py file to customize your chatbot:
   • Modify the knowledge base document
   • Adjust the prompting in the prompts.py file
   • Add or modify tools as needed

Step 2: Configure Your API Keys

1. Get an OpenAI API key:
   • Create an account at platform.openai.com
   • Generate a new API key
   • Add billing information and credits to your account
2. Get an Airtable API key:
   • Sign up for Airtable
   • Copy the provided base for lead capture
   • Generate a personal access token in the Developer Hub
3. Add your API keys to Replit:
   • In the Secrets panel, add your OpenAI and Airtable keys
   • Ensure the Airtable key includes “Bearer ” before the actual key
4. Update your Airtable base URL in the create_lead function

Step 3: Run Your Application

1. Run the Replit app to create your assistant
2. Note the URL in the “Not Found” web view – you’ll need this later

Step 4: Set Up MiniChat

1. Sign up for MiniChat
2. Connect your Facebook page and set up WhatsApp integration
3. Import the provided MiniChat template
4. Configure the trigger (e.g., keyword “test”)
5. Update the URLs in the MiniChat flow with your Replit URL
6. Assign a team member for error handling

Step 5: Test Your WhatsApp Integration

1. Use the preview link in MiniChat to start a WhatsApp conversation
2. Send the trigger keyword to initiate the chatbot
3. Interact with your custom GPT via WhatsApp
4. Check Replit logs and Airtable for successful lead capture

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

• Double-check all API keys and URLs
• Review Replit logs for error messages
• Ensure your OpenAI account has sufficient credits

Conclusion

By following these steps, you’ve successfully connected your custom GPT to WhatsApp, opening up a world of possibilities for automated interactions with your audience. This integration can significantly enhance your business operations, from customer support to lead generation.

Remember, while this setup is great for testing, consider deploying to a production-grade server for large-scale applications.

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Need help with AI-powered automations? Check out Alacran Labs for expert assistance.

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