You connect ChatGPT to WhatsApp Business by adding Spun as a custom connector in ChatGPT, using the address https://api.spun.com/api/mcp, and signing in with your Spun account. ChatGPT can then read the chats on your own WhatsApp number and draft replies at the access level a manager picks. By default, every message it wants to send waits for a person to approve.
Spun has to sit in the middle because ChatGPT cannot reach a WhatsApp number by itself. This guide covers the clicks, what you need first, what ChatGPT can and cannot do once connected, and where the data goes.
What do you need before you start?
- A Spun workspace with your WhatsApp number connected. Spun links to the number you already use by QR code, so there is no new number and no developer work.
- A ChatGPT plan with connectors: Plus, Pro, Business or Enterprise. On Business and Enterprise, a workspace admin has to turn connectors on.
- A manager of your Spun organization to approve the connection. Other members cannot.
You add Spun to ChatGPT yourself as a custom connector, as described below.
How do you add the connector in ChatGPT?
ChatGPT changes its menus from time to time, and what you can add depends on your plan and workspace settings, which Spun does not control. The Spun MCP page keeps the current path and the date Spun last checked it.
- 1
Open Connectors
In ChatGPT on the web or Desktop, go to Settings, then Connectors.
- 2
Create a connector
Choose Create and paste the address: https://api.spun.com/api/mcp. No API key is needed. If you do not see Create, turn on Developer mode under Connectors, then Advanced.
- 3
Sign in with your Spun account
ChatGPT sends you to a Spun sign-in page. Use the login you use for the Spun inbox.
- 4
Pick the organization and the access level
On the Spun consent screen, a manager chooses which organization ChatGPT may see and how much it may do.
- 5
Ask your first question
Back in ChatGPT, ask something like "Which customers are still waiting for an answer from yesterday?"
Related: Spun MCP: compatibility table and current setup paths
Which access level should you pick?
Start with Read-only analyst and widen it once you have seen how ChatGPT behaves. You can change the level in place later, under Settings, AI Assistant (MCP), Connected AI apps, or disconnect the app there.
| Access level | What ChatGPT can do | Can it send? |
|---|---|---|
| Read-only analyst | Read conversations, groups and contacts | No |
| Assistant, no sends | Also organize chats and draft replies | No |
| Assistant with sends | Also propose and schedule messages | Only through your approval settings |
Photos and voice-note transcripts are a separate choice on the same consent screen.
Can ChatGPT send WhatsApp messages by itself?
Not by default. At Assistant with sends, each message ChatGPT proposes waits in Spun Tools, Automate, AI Sends, showing the real content, recipient, channel and stated reason. A teammate approves, edits or rejects it, and approval is what sends it. Quiet hours and your other sending rules still apply.
A manager can allow one connected app to send text without approval, inside Spun settings and with a typed confirmation. The consent screen never grants this, and photos and files sent by an AI app always wait for a person.
What can ChatGPT see, and where does the data go?
It sees only what your connected number has and what its access level allows: the groups your number is in, and messages since you linked plus the history handed over. Members who hide their number stay hidden. Scanned PDFs and video are not read.
What ChatGPT reads goes to OpenAI, under your own ChatGPT account and its terms, so check your plan's data settings before you connect customer conversations. Spun does not give ChatGPT access to anything outside your Spun organization.
Is this the same as a ChatGPT chatbot on WhatsApp?
No. Your customers do not talk to ChatGPT. ChatGPT stays in your ChatGPT window and works for you and your team when you ask: summarize the week, find open requests, draft a reply. Nothing answers customers on its own because of this connection.
If you want automatic answers to customers, that is a different feature. Spun has auto replies and an optional AI chatbot that you switch on yourself.
Related: AI auto replies
What does it cost?
You pay for your ChatGPT plan with OpenAI and for a Spun plan. Connected AI apps are on every paid Spun plan, plans start at $49 per month with unlimited team members, and smaller plans include a read allowance per billing period. Reads by a connected app never use your Spun AI credit, and the settings panel shows how many reads you have used.
Related: Pricing · How to connect Claude to WhatsApp · Reports your AI can read