Migrate SMS Automations to WhatsApp

If you connected WhatsApp the legacy way, it overrides your sub-account’s native SMS. Your workflows still say Send SMS and Customer Replied, but the messages go out over WhatsApp. That works. It just hides WhatsApp behind SMS - no attachments, no per-number routing, no WhatsApp filters, no reply-aware waits. The WhatsApp QR custom provider adds its own triggers and actions to the workflow builder, so your automations run on WhatsApp on purpose instead of by inheritance. This guide swaps them, one workflow at a time.

	Legacy method (native SMS override)	WhatsApp QR custom provider
How WhatsApp runs	It overrides the sub-account’s native SMS	As its own channel, linked by QR scan
What you build with	HighLevel’s native SMS trigger and actions	The WhatsApp provider’s own triggers and actions
Where they live	The standard trigger and action lists	The Apps tab
What you get	Plain text - WhatsApp treated as SMS	Attachments, per-number sending, WhatsApp filters, reply-aware waits

This page covers the workflow side only. For the connection itself, see WhatsApp Setup and Legacy WhatsApp Setup.

Nothing breaks if you do nothing. While the native SMS override is in place, native Send SMS keeps delivering over WhatsApp. Migrating is about gaining WhatsApp’s real capabilities, not repairing a broken setup.

Do you need this guide?

You do if any published workflow uses one of these and you expect it to reach people on WhatsApp:

Send SMS action
Customer Replied trigger with Reply Channel set to SMS
Internal Notification action on SMS or WhatsApp
Wait action set to the contact to reply on SMS

Before you start

Update the WhatsApp provider app

App Marketplace → Installed Apps → WhatsApp provider → Update

Connect a WhatsApp number

Use the WhatsApp Settings dashboard to connect one or more instances

Until both are done, the WhatsApp triggers and actions will not appear on the Apps tab. If you cannot find them, you are either on the wrong tab or the app needs updating.

What replaces what

Today (native)	Switch to
Customer Replied, Reply Channel = SMS	WhatsApp Inbound trigger
Nothing - the trigger always had a contact	Find Contact or Create Contact action
Send SMS	Send WhatsApp Message action
Internal Notification, SMS or WhatsApp	Send Internal WhatsApp Notification action
Wait, the contact to reply on SMS	Wait Step, Channel = WhatsApp

Every WhatsApp replacement lives on the Apps tab → WhatsApp provider app, never in the standard lists. Find Contact and Create Contact are HighLevel built-ins, already in every workflow.

How to migrate a workflow

Work through one workflow at a time.

Duplicate, do not edit in place

Copy the workflow and rename it, for example “Lead Follow-Up - WhatsApp”. The original stays published and untouched while you build.

Swap the trigger, then resolve the contact

Replace Customer Replied with WhatsApp Inbound, then add Find Contact or Create Contact directly below it. Everything downstream depends on the contact existing.

Swap the actions

Use the table above. Re-insert variables with the tag icon rather than pasting them, so they bind to the right field.

Move dropped filters into the workflow

Tag checks, Intent Type, and Replied to Workflow become If/Else conditions after the contact step.

Publish the copy and test it on yourself

Message your connected number from your own phone and walk the whole path - reply arrives, contact resolved, message sends, internal alert lands.

Retire the original

Only once the new one is confirmed, set the old workflow back to Draft. Contacts already in it finish normally.

Never leave the old and new versions of the same workflow published at the same time - every contact gets messaged twice.

1. Customer Replied → WhatsApp Inbound

	Customer Replied	WhatsApp Inbound
Fires when	A contact replies to a message	A message arrives on a connected WhatsApp number, including a first-ever message from an unknown number
Channels	Email, SMS, WhatsApp, Social, All-in-One Chat	WhatsApp only
Filters	Contains Phrase, Exact Match Phrase, Has Tag, Doesn’t Have Tag, Intent Type, Replied to Workflow, Reply Channel	Contact ID, Lid, Location ID, Message, Receiver Name, Receiver Phone Number, Sender Name, Sender Phone Number, WhatsApp Username
Contact	Always a known contact	You resolve it yourself - see step 2

What you gain - filtering on Receiver Phone Number lets you run a different workflow per connected number, and the Message contains filter covers the keyword routing you did with Contains Phrase.

Before	After
Customer Replied, Reply Channel = SMS, Contains Phrase = “pricing”	WhatsApp Inbound, Message contains “pricing” → Find Contact → your actions

2. Resolve the contact: Find Contact or Create Contact

This step has no native equivalent, and skipping it is the number-one migration mistake. Customer Replied always handed the next step a known contact. WhatsApp Inbound does not - the message can come from a number that is not in your CRM yet. Add this action immediately after the trigger.

Both are HighLevel built-in actions, so there is nothing extra to install. Pick one:

Action	Map this field	To this value
Find Contact	ContactID	Whatsapp, imessage and SMS → Whatsapp Inbound → ContactID
Create Contact	Phone	Whatsapp, imessage and SMS → Whatsapp Inbound → Sender Phone Number

Click + Add below the trigger

Search for and select Find Contact or Create Contact

Map the field from the table above, inserting the value with the tag icon

Click Save action

Which one? Use Create Contact when the sender may be new to your CRM - it skips creation if the contact already exists, so it never makes duplicates. Use Find Contact when every sender is already a saved contact and you only need to look them up. Every action after this one - Send WhatsApp Message, Send Email, Create Task - then has a contact to work with.

3. Send SMS → Send WhatsApp Message

	Send SMS	Send WhatsApp Message
Channel	SMS, reaching WhatsApp only because of the native SMS override	WhatsApp, explicitly
Media	Attachments go as MMS, subject to carrier size limits, and oversized files become media-library links	Real attachments: images, video, documents, from upload or the Media library
Sending number	Not selectable	Optional WhatsApp Number field, or leave empty for your dashboard’s priority order
Formatting	Plain SMS text	Custom variables, emojis, and line breaks render as written

Before	After
Send SMS: “Hi `{{contact.first_name}}`, thanks! Link: example.com/brochure”	Send WhatsApp Message: “Hi `{{contact.first_name}}`! Thanks for your interest, we will be in touch shortly.” with the brochure PDF attached

4. Internal Notification → Send Internal WhatsApp Notification

	Internal Notification	Send Internal WhatsApp Notification
Delivery	Pick one: Email, In-App, SMS, or WhatsApp	WhatsApp and the CRM at once
Recipients	All Users, Particular Users, Assigned User	Assigned Users, Particular User, Custom Number
Outside the team	Not possible	Custom Number reaches any phone number
WhatsApp templates	Must use approved templates	None needed - write the message you want

Map your old recipient setting onto To User Type:

Was	Set To User Type to
Assigned User	Assigned Users
Particular Users	Particular User, then pick people in Choose User
All Users	Particular User, and select everyone who needs it
An external or on-call number	Custom Number

Before	After
Customer Replied → Internal Notification, SMS, Assigned User, “Contact replied”	WhatsApp Inbound → Find Contact → Send Internal WhatsApp Notification, Assigned Users, “`{{contact.first_name}}` just replied.”

5. Wait → Wait Step

Only one flavour of Wait migrates. The native Wait handles eight kinds of waiting. The Wait Step replaces exactly one - the contact to reply - and only on your connected WhatsApp, iMessage, or SMS number. Everything else stays native, and the two work together in the same workflow.

What you want	Use
A fixed delay, a date, a recurring schedule, an appointment offset	Native Wait
A trigger-link click, an email open, a field condition, a team member’s reply	Native Wait
The customer to reply on your connected WhatsApp number	Wait Step
To branch on whether they replied, and use what they said downstream	Wait Step
A reply to one specific connected number only	Wait Step

What you gain

The reply comes with it. Message text and attachments are handed to the steps after Customer Responded, so you can branch on what the customer actually said
Two named branches - Customer Responded and Timeout - instead of one path with a timeout escape
Per-number scoping with the optional Connected Number field

Using both together

Send WhatsApp Message: "Hi {{contact.first_name}}, confirming tomorrow at 3pm. Reply YES to confirm."
   |
Wait Step - Channel: WhatsApp - Timeout: 1 day
   |-- Customer Responded -> If/Else on the reply text
   |      |-- contains "yes" -> add tag "confirmed"
   |      |-- else           -> Send Internal WhatsApp Notification to the assigned user
   |-- Timeout -> Native Wait (2 hours) -> Send WhatsApp Message: "Just checking you got this?"

FAQs

Can native SMS steps and WhatsApp provider steps coexist in one workflow?

Yes, and it is the recommended way to migrate gradually. It is also required when part of the workflow needs a native-only feature, such as an email internal notification or a recurring-schedule Wait.

Why can't I find the WhatsApp trigger or action in the builder?

They only appear under the Apps tab, never in the standard lists. If the Apps tab has no WhatsApp provider app, update it from App Marketplace → Installed Apps and connect at least one number.

Should I use Find Contact or Create Contact?

Create Contact when the sender may be new to your CRM - it skips creation for existing contacts, so no duplicates are made. Find Contact when every sender is already saved and you only need to look them up.

What happens to contacts already sitting in an old workflow?

They finish the workflow they are in. Setting it back to Draft only stops new contacts entering, so let in-flight contacts drain before you delete anything.

I used Has Tag and Intent Type filters. What now?

Those filters do not exist on WhatsApp Inbound. Leave the trigger unfiltered or filter on message text, then add an If/Else after the contact step to check tags or any other contact field.

Do I need to migrate my Wait steps too?

Only the ones set to the contact to reply on SMS. Every other kind of Wait stays on the native action.

Support

If you need help with the migration:

WhatsApp Support: Chat on WhatsApp
Email: support@goghl.ai

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Data & Privacy

Migrate SMS Automations to WhatsApp

Do you need this guide?

Before you start

What replaces what

How to migrate a workflow

1. Customer Replied → WhatsApp Inbound

2. Resolve the contact: Find Contact or Create Contact

3. Send SMS → Send WhatsApp Message

4. Internal Notification → Send Internal WhatsApp Notification

5. Wait → Wait Step

FAQs

Support

​Do you need this guide?​

​Before you start​

​What replaces what​

​How to migrate a workflow​

​1. Customer Replied → WhatsApp Inbound​

​2. Resolve the contact: Find Contact or Create Contact​

​3. Send SMS → Send WhatsApp Message​

​4. Internal Notification → Send Internal WhatsApp Notification​

​5. Wait → Wait Step​

​FAQs​

​Support​

Do you need this guide?

Before you start

What replaces what

How to migrate a workflow

1. Customer Replied → WhatsApp Inbound

2. Resolve the contact: Find Contact or Create Contact

3. Send SMS → Send WhatsApp Message

4. Internal Notification → Send Internal WhatsApp Notification

5. Wait → Wait Step

FAQs

Support