How to connect Grok to WhatsApp
Grok supports custom connectors, so it can work with your WhatsApp chats through Spaces: reading what came in, drafting replies and sending them from your own number. This guide covers the setup on grok.com, a worked example from a restaurant, the notes that keep Grok's replies accurate, and what to do if your number is new.
What you need
- A Grok account that can add custom connectors. xAI decides which plans can do this, and it changes from time to time, so check their help pages if you cannot find the option.
- A Spaces account on a plan. You choose a plan before you connect a chat account.
- The WhatsApp account your customers already message you on.
- A short note about your business: what you sell, prices, opening hours and the things you never want promised. You will paste it into Grok later.
- About ten minutes for the setup, and a little longer to try it on a few real messages.
Step 1: connect your WhatsApp account to Spaces
You scan a QR code with the phone that has the number, the same way you would link WhatsApp on a computer. Your account stays yours, and you keep using it on your phone as normal.
Once it is connected, the account shows in your Spaces dashboard. Connecting does not send anything. It only means Spaces can read and send on that account when an AI agent you have added asks it to.
Connect the number your customers already message. A number with a real history of conversations is much safer than a brand-new one, which WhatsApp treats with more suspicion.
Step 2: add Spaces to Grok
- Go to grok.com/connectors and choose New Connector, then Custom.
- Paste https://api.spacesos.com/mcp as the URL.
- Sign in to Spaces and approve access.
- On Business and Enterprise plans an admin adds the connector first.
To check it worked: Ask Grok to list your Spaces accounts.
You sign in on Spaces' own page during this step, so Grok never sees your WhatsApp login or your Spaces password. If Spaces does not show up:
- Open a new chat and check the Spaces connector is turned on in it.
- Sign in to Spaces again from the connector, in case the first sign-in did not finish.
- Remove the connector and add it again, checking the address is exactly https://api.spacesos.com/mcp.
- If it still does not appear, xAI's help pages have their current steps, and our Grok setup page has ours.
Step 3: try it
Open a new chat in Grok, make sure Spaces is turned on, and ask in plain words:
- What WhatsApp messages came in overnight?
- Reply to Tom that we have a table for four at 9pm.
- Group today's WhatsApp questions by topic.
- Draft replies for everything unanswered and show me first.
Start with a question that only reads, like the first one. It shows you that Grok can see your WhatsApp messages before you let it send anything. Then try a draft, read it carefully, and only then let it send.
Good to know
Grok acts when you ask it to in a chat. It does not watch your inbox on its own. For replies around the clock, use an agent that runs all the time, such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenClaw or Hermes, or set up a Spaces routine that sends set replies to set questions.
In practice, treat Grok as a quick helper you sit down with a few times a day: first thing, at lunchtime and before you close. Each time, ask what came in, check its drafts and let it send the ones you are happy with. Customers who message in between wait until your next session, just as they would if you were answering by hand.
A Spaces routine is not an AI. It sends a reply you wrote in advance when something happens, such as a new message or a keyword. That makes it a good way to send "Thanks for your message, we will reply first thing tomorrow" after hours, while Grok writes the real answers in your next session.
On Grok Business and Enterprise plans, an admin needs to add the connector before others can use it.
A worked example: the overnight messages at a restaurant
Here is how a morning session might go for a neighbourhood restaurant. Names and details are examples.
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| You, to Grok | What WhatsApp messages came in overnight? |
| Grok | Six messages. Tom wants a table for four tonight at 9pm. Hana asks if you can do a birthday for 12 on Saturday. Two people ask if you have vegan options. One asks if you are open on bank holiday Monday. Raj says his order last night was missing a side. |
| You | Tonight 9pm for four is fine. Saturday for 12 is possible upstairs. We have three vegan mains. We are closed bank holiday Monday. Leave Raj for me. Draft the rest. |
| Grok | Tom: "Hi Tom, a table for four at 9pm tonight is booked. See you then." Hana: "Hi Hana, we can host 12 upstairs on Saturday. What time were you thinking? We ask for a £50 deposit for groups." Vegan: "Yes, we have three vegan mains, and most starters can be made vegan." Bank holiday: "We are closed on bank holiday Monday, and open again Tuesday at noon." |
| You | Send them. |
| Grok | Sent five replies. Raj's message is still unanswered for you. |
Grok did not know the deposit or the vegan mains on its own. That came from the owner's note, below. It also could not see the booking book, so the owner confirmed the 9pm table before Grok replied.
Notes to give Grok
Paste a note like this at the start of each chat. Keep it next to the booking book so whoever opens the chat can update it.
About us: Lucca's, Italian restaurant, 40 covers plus an upstairs room for up to 16.
Hours: Tue-Sun 12pm-3pm and 6pm-10.30pm. Closed Mondays and bank holiday Mondays.
Bookings: only confirm a table I have told you is free. Otherwise say "let me check and come back to you".
Groups: 8 or more need a £50 deposit.
Food: three vegan mains, most starters can be made vegan. Allergens: always say to tell the server on arrival.
Never: promise a refund, discuss a complaint, or confirm a table you have not checked with me.
Tone: friendly, short, first names.If your number is new
WhatsApp is warier of new numbers. Spaces starts no new chats from a newly connected number for the first 24 hours, then builds up slowly over four weeks, as the table below shows. Replies to people who message you are not held back, so customers still get answers on the first day.
If you can, connect the number you have used with customers for a while rather than a new SIM. If you must start fresh, use it only for replies at first, and let customers message you before you message them.
Using Grok alongside other AI agents
You can add Spaces to Grok and to another AI agent, such as ChatGPT or Claude, and use whichever you prefer. The limits belong to the WhatsApp account in Spaces, not to the agent, so they are shared whichever one sends.
Pick one as your main tool for WhatsApp, and keep one business note you paste into whichever you use. Two agents answering the same chat at the same time leads to double replies.
What to let Grok answer at a restaurant
| They ask | Let Grok |
|---|---|
| Opening hours, menu, dietary options | Send, once you trust the drafts. |
| A table for tonight | Send only after you have checked the booking book. |
| Group bookings and parties | Draft, so you can check the room and the deposit. |
| A complaint about food or service | Leave for you. |
| Allergies | Send a set line asking them to tell the server, and nothing more. |
| Job enquiries | Summarise for you. |
Common mistakes to avoid
- Letting Grok confirm bookings it cannot see. Always check the book first.
- Answering allergy questions with "it should be fine". Use one careful set line.
- Asking Grok to message last month's customers about a new menu. WhatsApp's terms prohibit bulk messaging, and Spaces refuses the same cold text to many people.
- Connecting a brand-new number and starting new chats on day one.
- Using two agents on the same chats at the same time.
Summing up
Grok, Spaces and your own WhatsApp number make a quick way to get through the messages that came in while you were busy or asleep. Give Grok a clear note, check bookings yourself, keep complaints for a person, and let the limits pace what goes out.
How Spaces keeps your account safe
Whatever you ask, Spaces keeps your WhatsApp account inside safe limits: at least 15 seconds between messages, up to 200 a day, and 10 new conversations a day at most, with a gentler start for a newly connected account. If your AI tries to go faster, Spaces holds the message and says when it can try again.
New conversations warm up over the first weeks after you connect:
| Since connecting | New chats an hour | New chats a day |
|---|---|---|
| First 24 hours | None | None |
| Rest of week 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Week 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Weeks 3 and 4 | 3 | 8 |
| After that | 5 | 10 |
Replies to people who message you are not held back by the warm-up, so customers get answers from the first day.
These are Spaces' own limits. They lower the risk of a restriction, but they cannot remove it, because WhatsApp makes its own decisions about accounts. Read the note at the top of this page before you connect.
Pricing
FAQ
Does Grok need my WhatsApp password?
No. You link WhatsApp to Spaces with a QR code, and Grok signs in to Spaces. Grok never sees a WhatsApp login.
Can Grok reply when I am not chatting with it?
No. It acts when you ask. For replies around the clock, use an always-on agent or Spaces routines.
Can I use Grok and ChatGPT with the same number?
Yes. Both connect to Spaces, and the same limits apply whichever one sends.
Is this the same as Grok on X?
Grok on grok.com is where you add connectors. Once Spaces is added there, Grok can use your WhatsApp through it.
Can Grok send a booking confirmation the day before?
Only if you ask it in a chat that day. For a message at a set time, Spaces can schedule a message, or a routine can send a set reminder.
Do my customers see anything different?
No. Replies come from your own number and look like any other message from you. You can keep chatting on your phone as normal.
What if I disconnect WhatsApp by mistake?
Scan the QR code again to reconnect the number. Replies can carry on, but wait a day before starting any new chats, and never reconnect as a way to get round a limit.