Guide · For developers
How to use the WhatsApp Groups API for business conversations
The practical steps to create and use a WhatsApp business group through the Cloud API: eligibility checks, the invite link, sending into the group and reading its webhook events.
By Broadchat teamPublished 6 min read
In short
The WhatsApp Groups API lets an Official Business Account create small (up to 8-member) groups through the Cloud API, where people join only through an invite link you generate and share. Set it up by confirming eligibility, creating the group through the API, sharing the invite link, and handling the webhook events the group's messages trigger.
Key takeaways
- Only an Official Business Account not connected through coexistence can use the Groups API; everyone else gets a permission error.
- Groups are capped at 8 participants and created only through an invite link; nobody is added without tapping it.
- A business can hold up to 10,000 groups per phone number, which supports one group per customer, order or project rather than one shared group.
- Group messages are billed like any other Cloud API message, and incoming group messages arrive on the same webhook as 1:1 chats, tagged with the group's ID.
- Groups are for small, ongoing conversations with a handful of people; a broadcast of an approved template is still the right tool for reaching many customers at once.
Set up and use the WhatsApp Groups API
Time needed: 45 min. You will need: WhatsApp Business account with Official Business Account status, A server that can call the Graph API and receive webhooks.
Confirm the number is eligible
The Groups API is open to Official Business Accounts only, and is not available on numbers connected through coexistence with the WhatsApp Business app. Check the number's status before building anything else; a number without OBA status gets a permission error on the group-creation call.
Decide what each group represents
Because a group tops out at 8 participants, plan for many small groups rather than one large one: one per customer order, one per project, or one per small cohort. Write down the naming pattern you will use so your team can find the right group later.
Create the group through the API
Call the group-creation endpoint on your WhatsApp Business account with the group's subject (name). Meta returns a group ID you store against the customer, order or project record it represents.
Generate and share the invite link
Request the group's invite link from the API and send it to the people you want inside, for example in a WhatsApp message, an email or an SMS. Nobody is added to the group until they tap the link and confirm; there is no bulk-add call.
Send a message into the group
Post into the group the same way you send a 1:1 message, using the group's ID instead of a customer's phone number as the recipient. All the usual message types (text, media, documents) are supported.
Handle incoming group messages on your webhook
Messages members send into the group arrive on your existing messages webhook, with the group's ID in the payload instead of a 1:1 wa_id. Route these to the right conversation record using that ID, the same way you already key chats on wa_id for 1:1 messages.
Decide when a group should end
Build a rule for closing or archiving a group once its purpose is done, for example when an order is delivered or a project closes, so your group list does not grow indefinitely toward the 10,000-per-number ceiling.
Who can use the Groups API
Meta opened the WhatsApp Groups API to all Official Business Accounts on 3 February 2026, after a limited launch on 6 October 2025. Two things rule a number out:
- The number is not an Official Business Account yet. OBA status requires meeting WhatsApp's policy, 30+ days of registration, business verification, two-step verification and an approved display name, and Meta's own notability review.
- The number is connected through coexistence with the WhatsApp Business app. Meta does not make the Groups API available on coexistence numbers; groups created inside the app before or after connecting the API keep working as ordinary app groups, just not through this API.
If your plan depends on the Groups API, confirm OBA status before writing any code against it, since a number without it gets a permission error on the very first call.
What a WhatsApp group is for (and isn't)
A WhatsApp business group through this API tops out at 8 participants, joined only by invite link, with up to 10,000 groups per phone number. That shape makes it suited to small, ongoing, multi-person threads, not to mass communication:
| Good fit | Not a fit |
|---|---|
| A wedding planner's group for the couple, two parents and the coordinator | Announcing a sale to 5,000 opted-in customers (use a broadcast) |
| A clinic's care-coordination group for a patient and the family members who manage appointments | A single company-wide announcement channel |
| A small project team on the client side kept in sync with the agency handling it | A support queue for hundreds of unrelated customers |
Because each group is its own entity with its own ID, plan a clear naming and record-keeping convention before you create your first one in production. "Order #48219 - Rangoli Home" is easier to manage at scale than an unlabelled group your team has to open to identify.
Creating the group and the invite link
Group creation and invite-link generation are both calls against your WhatsApp Business account on the Graph API, authenticated the same way as any other Cloud API call, with your permanent access token. Creating the group returns a group ID; requesting its invite link returns a URL you can send through any channel you like, including a WhatsApp template message if the recipient has not messaged you yet.
Sending and receiving messages
Sending into a group uses the same message-sending call as a 1:1 chat, with the group's ID as the recipient instead of a customer's phone number. All the regular message types work: text, image, document, and so on. Group messages are charged the same way any other Cloud API message is charged; see WhatsApp API pricing for the current rate card.
Reading group events on your webhook
A message a group member sends arrives on the same messages webhook your integration already listens to for 1:1 chats, with the group's ID in the payload in place of a customer's wa_id. If your webhook handler assumes every incoming message has a 1:1 wa_id, add a branch that checks for the group ID first and routes the message to that group's conversation record instead of trying to match it to a single customer.
Winding a group down
Since there is no bulk-add and groups are meant to be numerous and purpose-specific, build the other half of the lifecycle too: a rule for when a group's job is done (an order delivered, a project closed, a patient discharged) and what you do with it then, whether that is leaving it inactive or archiving the record on your side. Without that, a business running many short-lived groups can accumulate clutter well before it nears the 10,000-group ceiling.
Groups API and Broadchat
The Groups API is a Meta capability on the Cloud API, callable through any integration with a valid access token, including through Broadchat's channel access token and Graph-compatible proxy; it is not a dedicated group-management screen inside the Broadchat panel today. Teams that want a group-based workflow typically build it against the API directly, or ask a developer partner to, while running their 1:1 conversations, campaigns and chatbots through Broadchat's chatbot builder and team inbox as usual. Background on the wider platform is in what the WhatsApp Business API is; agencies offering this as a build for clients can do it under their own brand through the partner program.
Sources
- Groups (WhatsApp Business Platform) — Meta for Developers, checked 5 November 2026
- Official Business Accounts — Meta for Developers, checked 5 November 2026
- WhatsApp Business Platform changelog — Meta for Developers, checked 5 November 2026
Broadchat team · Product and partner success team
The people who build and support Broadchat, the white-label WhatsApp Business API platform. We write from what we see while onboarding partners and their clients on the official WhatsApp Cloud API, and we check every article against Meta's current documentation.
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Frequently asked questions
Can I add customers to a WhatsApp group without asking them?
No. There is no bulk-add call. Every member joins by tapping the invite link you generate and share, so nobody ends up in a group without choosing to be there.
Why did my group-creation call return a permission error?
The most common reason is that the number is not yet an Official Business Account, or it is connected through coexistence with the WhatsApp Business app, which does not support the Groups API.
How many groups can one WhatsApp number manage?
Up to 10,000 groups per business phone number, each holding up to 8 participants. Plan for many small, purpose-specific groups rather than one large one.
Are group messages billed differently from 1:1 messages?
No. Group messages are billed the same way as other Cloud API messages, following the normal rate card for the message category you send.
Does Broadchat have a group-management screen?
Not today. The Groups API is a Meta capability called through the Cloud API with a valid access token; Broadchat's panel focuses on 1:1 conversations, campaigns and chatbots, and a group workflow is typically built against the API directly.