🔹 Introduction: Connecting WhatsApp to Azure Events
Before conversations can begin, your app needs to “hear” messages from WhatsApp. Azure Communication Services (ACS) and Event Grid make this possible.
📘 What is Azure Communication Services (ACS)?
ACS connects your application to multiple communication channels including WhatsApp, SMS, voice, and email. Here, it helps receive and send WhatsApp messages securely.
📊 Visual Tip:
Consider adding a diagram: WhatsApp → ACS → Event Grid → Azure Function → Your Bot Logic
🔐 Azure Role Requirement:
Make sure the user/service principal creating the ACS setup has Communication Services Contributor role access.
🔹 Setup Steps and Snippets
1. Create ACS Resource:
az communication create –name MyACS –resource-group MyGroup
2. Enable WhatsApp Channel:
az communication channel create –channel-type whatsapp
3. Subscribe to Events:
az eventgrid event-subscription create –name WhatsAppEvents –endpoint –source-resource-id
4. Function App Binding:
{
"type": "eventGridTrigger",
"name": "azeventgrid",
"direction": "in"
}
🔹 Engagement Tip:
You’re now “listening” to the world—every incoming message becomes an event you can automate. This is the starting point for AI-driven customer journeys.
Section Summary
This section walked you through connecting WhatsApp to your Azure environment using Azure Communication Services and Event Grid. You learned how to create communication resources, enable the WhatsApp channel, and configure event subscriptions to receive incoming messages. With this setup, your bot is now equipped to “listen” and react to user messages via WhatsApp.
