Meta Business Agent in Qontak
How MBA configuration will look, per lifecycle part — Onboard · Configure · Operate — on today's pages, with every new element mapped to the Meta API surface it handles.
Meta's own lifecycle (MBA Platform API Guide §11). The three highlighted stages are the customer-facing parts wireframed below; Setup is invisible to the customer.
The bigger picture — omnichannel for AI agents
Qontak's vision: the customer chooses which AI agent powers each channel — the Qontak AI Agent (Mekari AI) or Meta Business Agent — on the existing AI agents page (Bot automation ▸ AI agents), where agents already meet channels: one "Runs on" column and one provider field in the existing deploy-to-channel drawer, no new page. Knowledge, actions, testing, and the inbox are a shared shell; MBA is the first alternative provider, and future providers become one more option in that select plus a new sync target — not a redesign. Two topologies per number, no MBA-specific flow: MBA-primary (MBA answers, the flow is dormant, Qontak observes on standby) or flow-primary (the flow orchestrates and reaches MBA as a capability-gated hand-off node with a fallback port). (Vision note 21 Jul 2026; panels B and D of part 1.)
1 · Onboard — enable MBA on a WhatsApp number
Enable MBA on the existing WhatsApp Account details page (Settings ▸ Channel integration); choose the AI provider on the existing AI agents page (Bot automation); go live with an optional pilot allowlist. Order enforced: Eligibility → Onboarding → Configure → Allowlist → ON.
Meta surfaces handled in this part
| UI element | Meta API surface | State |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility row (badge + reason on the channel page) | Eligibility — per-number check (EU WABA, excluded verticals, trust, conflicting product) | NEW |
| "Connect Meta agent" → Prepared status | Onboarding — creates agent config + knowledge container (agent stays OFF) | NEW |
| Webhook status chips | Webhook fields — messages · standby · messaging_handovers; subscribed by Qontak (Tech Provider, BISU token) | NEW (backstage) |
| ToS callout | MBA Terms of Service — accepted in WhatsApp Manager (external step, deep-linked) | NEW (external) |
| Provider choice — "Runs on" column + provider field in the existing AI agents page's deploy drawer | — (Qontak abstraction; selects which sync target the channel uses) | NEW · vision on existing page |
| Test allowlist in the go-live drawer | Allowlist — restrict replies to pilot consumer numbers | NEW |
| Agent settings summary (read-only) + visibility toggle | Settings — persona · language · handoff/follow-up policy · enable (new conversations only); values authored in the existing AI agent builder and mapped on publish | adapt |
"Hand over to Meta Business Agent" node in the flow (flow-primary topology) — terminal hand-off with a fallback port; gated by NodeRegistry supported_channels + MBA-active per number, with a save-time lint on multi-channel flows | Thread Control — release at the hand-off boundary; flow dormant until take-over | NEW · vision (lands with Automation Flow Builder) |
2 · Configure — what the agent knows and can do
One builder, two destinations. The existing Resources, AI agent Profile, and Actions pages stay the single source of truth; publishing syncs each field to its Meta endpoint. ~90% of the configuration surface is reused — the build is the sync layer, plus one genuinely new form (Business info).
Meta surfaces handled in this part
| Qontak surface (existing) | Meta API surface | State |
|---|---|---|
| Resources · Text content | FAQs — Q&A pairs | adapt (chunked into Q&A on publish) |
| Resources · External URL | Websites — Meta crawls the URL | clean reuse |
| Resources · File / OCR upload | Files — document ingestion | clean reuse |
| — (no counterpart today) | Business info — structured hours · locations · policies | NEW form |
| Profile · goals, tone, guidances, guardrails | Skills — system instructions / brand voice | adapt (mapper, no new inputs) |
| Actions · per-action expose toggle | Connectors (Qontak-hosted gateway; credentials never sent to Meta) + Connector tools (name · description · input/output schema) | adapt (schema derivation) |
| Backend events (no UI) | Agent Event — proactive follow-ups on business events | NEW backstage |
3 · Operate — one inbox, whoever answers
MBA is the primary responder; Qontak runs on standby and sees everything. An agent takes over by simply replying, and hands back with Thread Control release. The same inbox interaction applies whichever AI provider drives the channel. Eval results loop back into Configure.
Meta surfaces handled in this part
| UI element / behaviour | Meta API surface | State |
|---|---|---|
| Standby copies + receipts rendered in the room; "Meta AI" room tag | standby webhook field — persist echoes so the inbox stays complete | NEW processing, existing UI slots |
| Take-over (send a reply) | messages webhook field takes effect — sending implicitly takes control | NEW control logic |
| Control banner + timeline markers | messaging_handovers — source of truth for who holds the room | NEW |
| "Return to Meta agent" action | Thread Control (Cloud API) — action = release (only release functions today; pass reserved) | NEW |
| Testing · "Run vs Meta agent" + eval column | Agent test (send questions) + Agent eval (score performance) | adapt (existing suites, new target) |