Your Dapta agent and Meta's Business Agent
WhatsApp Business has its own AI assistant. What it is, how it differs from a Dapta Text Agent, and why Dapta's onboarding asks you to turn it off.
WhatsApp Business now has an AI assistant of its own, built by Meta. If you have seen it in the app, this page explains what it is, how it relates to Dapta, and how to choose.
They are two different products
Built by
Meta
Dapta
Where it lives
Inside WhatsApp Business
In Dapta, answering on your WhatsApp line
Turned on by
You, in Meta's tools
You, by assigning the agent to a line
Billed by
Meta
Dapta, for the agent; Meta, for delivery
Connecting your line to Dapta does not switch Meta's assistant on, and using Dapta does not require it. They are separate things that happen to work on the same number — which is exactly why only one of them should be answering.
One number, one AI. If Meta's assistant is enabled on a number you want Dapta to answer on, turn it off before you connect. Dapta's onboarding requires it. Your team can still reply by hand from the WhatsApp Business app exactly as before — that is a person writing, not an AI.
Where each one fits
Meta's assistant is built into WhatsApp and needs very little setup. If what you need is a greeting, your opening hours, and answers to a handful of common questions, it is right there and it will do that.
A Dapta Text Agent is built for what comes after the first answer: knowing your real inventory, doing something in your systems, recording the result, reaching out first, and involving a person at the right moment.
Greet, give hours, answer FAQs
Yes
Yes
Answer from your catalogue, files or website
From what you can load into Meta's tools
Brains built from your own sources
Reach into your systems
Possible — Meta's platform can call external APIs, with technical setup
Actions plus ready-made connections like CRM Pipeline Sync and calendar booking
Record what each conversation produced
Read the chat
Post-conversation analysis extracts the fields you define
Start conversations with a list of contacts
Not the same workflow
Sequences: import, schedule, retry, fall back to a call
Protect the line while you send at volume
Not offered as a campaign feature
Line protection: quality monitoring, send limits, automatic pauses
A team operating one number together
Limited to the app
Inbox: assign, take over, release, tag, filter
How to choose
Meta's assistant is probably enough if your WhatsApp is mostly people asking the same few questions, you answer them yourself today, and you are not sending campaigns.
A Dapta Text Agent earns its place when any of these is true:
You want to start conversations, not only answer them — campaigns, reminders, re-engagement.
The answer depends on something only your systems know: stock, an order, an appointment, a price for this customer.
The conversation should do something afterwards: move a deal, create a record, book a slot.
More than one person works the number and you need to see who is handling what.
You want the same agent on your website, with everything in one place.
Some customers who had been using Meta's assistant and moved to Dapta have told our team they preferred the quality of Dapta's answers. That is early feedback from a handful of businesses rather than a measured benchmark — the honest test is your own: set both up against the same questions and compare.
What to do next
Prepare your Meta accountDapta and WhatsApp BusinessWhat people use Text Agents forLast updated