Deprecated 23 September 2026: WhatsApp through Azure Communication Services is deprecated and will be removed on 30 September 2028. Existing channels keep working until then. New deployments should use WhatsApp through Twilio. See Deprecations.
What it does
Routes WhatsApp to D365 queues via Azure Communication Services + Event Grid. Reps send and receive messages in Copilot Service workspace. A 24-hour window controls when reps can send free-form vs template messages.
Key facts
- Requires ACS resource in the same tenant as the D365 organisation: one ACS resource per organisation
- Event Grid webhook uses Microsoft Entra app authentication: requires an Entra ID app registration with admin consent
- Five values needed from Azure: ACS resource name, Event Grid app ID, Event Grid app tenant ID, ACS connection string, Channel ID
- 24-hour window: free-form messages allowed within 24 hours of last customer message; outside that window, only approved WhatsApp templates can be sent
- Only text-based message templates are supported in workstream configuration
- June 2026 breaking change: WhatsApp replacing phone numbers with Business-Scoped User IDs (BSUIDs) for customers who adopt WhatsApp usernames. Format:
US.13491208655302741918. Any routing rule or flow usingmsdyn_CustomerPhoneNumberwill break for those customers.
When to use / skip
Use WhatsApp if it's a significant channel in the customer's market, high relevance in LATAM, MENA, South Asia, Southeast Asia. Less relevant for North American B2B.
Configuration decisions
- Message templates to configure: only text-based templates; design them before go-live so reps can contact customers outside the 24-hour window
- Whether to keep the WhatsApp Contact Book enabled: disabling it loses phone number identification for customers who adopt usernames; this decision is permanent
- Routing rule design: must handle both phone number and BSUID patterns if deploying close to June 2026
Gotchas
Deprecated 23 September 2026: WhatsApp via ACS is on a removal clock ending 30 September 2028, and from 30 September 2026 tenants without an existing ACS resource can no longer acquire or port numbers into ACS at all. Twilio is the supported destination. Templates and consent move with the provider, so budget for re-approval. See deprecation page and migration planning.
Event Grid Entra authentication is where most setups fail. The Entra app registration and admin consent step often gets blocked by IT security. Plan this dependency early.
The June 2026 BSUID change is breaking. Audit routing rules and Power Automate flows using
msdyn_CustomerPhoneNumberbefore then. Add fallback routing for customers without a phone. Don't put this off.The 24-hour template boundary catches reps out. Free-form messaging works in testing, then fails in production when a customer doesn't reply for a day. Train reps and have templates ready before launch.
ACS resource must connect to only one D365 organisation. Reusing it across multiple D365 environments won't work.
Consultant notes
- The June 2026 BSUID change needs an active audit on any project currently live or in late implementation. Any routing rule or flow using
msdyn_CustomerPhoneNumberfor WhatsApp is a ticking clock. Don't wait for clients to report it broken. - Event Grid Entra authentication is the step that blocks the most setups. It almost always hits an IT security approval queue. Put it in the project plan as a named dependency on day one: not as a config step in week four.
- WhatsApp message templates need to be designed, written, submitted, and approved before go-live: not after. Build this into the pre-go-live checklist and give the client enough lead time to draft them.
Revisit once WhatsApp-via-Twilio migration tooling is published, and as the 30 September 2028 removal approaches