Let us look at how you can integrate Gmail with WhatsApp and automatically send WhatsApp messages from Gmail using Email Parser and WhatsApp Cloud API.
This automation requires a one-time setup, for which we will use Pabbly Connect.
We will first link Gmail with Pabbly Connect using Email Parser to capture the emails, then link Pabbly Connect with WhatsApp and send a WhatsApp message using the captured details.
Steps to Automatically Send WhatsApp Messages from Gmail Using Email Parser
1. Sign In / Sign Up to Pabbly Connect and Create a Workflow
2. Setup Email Parser by Pabbly as the Trigger App to Capture Emails
3. Setup WhatsApp Cloud API as the Action App to Send Messages
4. Compose a Message Template
5. Map the Necessary Fields
Step 1:- Sign In / Sign Up to Pabbly Connect and Create a Workflow
A. Sign In / Sign Up
To begin this process, visit Pabbly Connect and create your account by clicking on the ‘Sign Up Free’ button. You can also click on Sign In if you already have an account.
Click on the Pabbly Connect ‘Access Now’ button
B. Create Workflow
To create a new workflow, click the ‘Create Workflow’ button.
Name your workflow, and click on ‘Create’.
Step 2:- Setup Email Parser by Pabbly as the Trigger App to Capture Emails
We will now look at the steps through which we will establish a link between Gmail and Pabbly Connect. This will help us to fetch the emails.
A. Trigger App
Trigger allows us to choose the application that will receive the data for Pabbly Connect. In our case, it would be Email Parser by Pabbly.
Choose ‘Email Parser by Pabbly’ as the Trigger App and copy the Email – this Email Address will be used to fetch the emails from your Gmail account.
B. Connect Gmail Account
Login to your Gmail account, and click on ‘Settings’ > ‘See all settings’.
Select ‘Forwarding and POP/IMAP’ and click on ‘Add a forwarding address’.
Paste the Email Address we copied earlier, and click on ‘Next’.
A dialogue box will pop up asking you for confirmation. ‘Proceed’ with forwarding to the given email address.
You will be asked to enter a confirmation code, which you will find under Response Received on Pabbly Connect.
Expand Response Received, copy the Confirmation Code, paste it into its given field, and click on ‘Verify’.
Enable Forwarding, click on ‘Save Changes’ and your connection will be established.
C. Test Connection
To test the established connection, click on ‘Re-Capture Email Parser Response’ and send a test email to your account using a different ID.
Switch to Pabbly Connect, and expand Response Received – under which the latest email details must be visible, thus confirming our connection.
Step 3:- Setup WhatsApp Cloud API as the Action App to Send Messages
Upon receiving the email, we essentially want to use these email details to send WhatsApp messages. Thus, WhatsApp Cloud API will be our Action App.
Note: Follow steps 1 to 3 of this blog to create a new Whatsapp Business Cloud API account if you don’t already have one.
A. Action App
Choose ‘WhatsApp Cloud API’ as your Action App, select ‘Send Template Message’ as an Action Event, and click on ‘Connect’.
B. Connect WhatsApp Cloud API Account
To connect with your WhatsApp Cloud API account, select ‘Add New Connection’. You will be asked to enter your Permanent Token, Phone Number ID, and WhatsApp Business Account ID.
Go to your Facebook Developer dashboard, and copy the Phone Number ID and WhatsApp Business Account ID.
Paste both in their respective fields.
The Token visible on your dashboard is a temporary one that expires every 24 hours. For our workflow, we need a Permanent Token. You can generate a Permanent Access Token by following the steps given in this post.
Paste the Permanent Token, and click on ‘Save’.
Step 4:- Compose a Message Template
You will be asked to fill up a few fields. You can either select your Template Name directly from the list if you already have one ready or create a new message template by following these steps.
A. Create a Message Template
Switch to your WhatsApp Cloud API dashboard, and click the ‘here’ hyperlink. You will be redirected to a new page.
Click on ‘Create Message Template’.
Select a Category, Name the template and pick a Language. Click on ‘Continue’.
B. Body with Dynamic Data Tags
Type in your message in the Body field. To personalize your message, include Dynamic Data Tags in your template.
Dynamic Data Tags help us to include variables in our template, these variables will be replaced with actual data in your message. The actual data can be a name, an email address, date, time, ID number, etc. To add a dynamic tag to your template, write your variables between double curly braces {{variable}}.
‘Submit’ your message and ‘Confirm’.
As you submit your template, it could be approved right away or go to Facebook for a manual review. This process may take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. Reload your page to see if your template is approved and available, as indicated by the green color.
Step 5:- Map the Necessary Fields
Now that you have connected your WhatsApp Cloud API account, all you need is to map the necessary details from the step above. Mapping ensures our data remains dynamic and changes as per the received responses.
Select your Template Name.
Enter the Recipient Mobile Number along with the country code.
Remember the Dynamic Data Tags we talked about? Those tags will be replaced by the data present in Body Fields.
In Body Field, enter or map the relevant data from above. This could vary as per your choice of variable. Click on ‘Save & Send Test Request’.
The moment you click on Save & Send Test Request, a WhatsApp message will be sent to the recipient’s mobile number.
Our automation is complete. We have successfully integrated Gmail with WhatsApp. Each time you receive a new email, a message will automatically be sent to your chosen WhatsApp number.
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