Integrations / Artificial Intelligence
Connect Needle to WhatsApp: files by chat
Flann is an AI agent your business talks to on WhatsApp. Connect Needle once, then ask Flann to look things up in it or get work done in it, by text or voice note. AI output is useful and fallible. Flann treats it that way.
16 actions in Needle. 10 only look things up, and 6 create, update, send or delete. You connect with your API key.
What you can ask Flann to do in Needle
Send any of these on WhatsApp, in your own words. Flann finds the right Needle action and fills in the details from the conversation.
“Show me my collection files in Needle.”
“Show me my connectors in Needle.”
“Look up the collection in Needle.”
“Add files in Needle.”
“Create a collection in Needle.”
“Create a local connector in Needle.”
What Flann can work with in Needle
Needle gives Flann 16 actions across 6 kinds of record. These are the ones you are most likely to use.
| Record | What Flann can do | Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Files | adddelete | 4 |
| Collections | createlook upsearch | 4 |
| Local connectors | createlook up | 3 |
There are three ways to get files work done in Needle. Side by side:
| Compare | Opening NeedleLog in, find it, do it | A rules toolRuns the steps you wired up | Needle through FlannAsk and get it done |
|---|---|---|---|
| Getting started on a job | Open the app and find the right page | Only what was wired up in advance | A WhatsApp message, typed or spoken |
| Finding answers about files | Filters and searches you run yourself | Only the look-ups someone built | 10 look-ups, answered straight away |
| Making changes | Typed in by hand | Run unchecked once built | 6 changes, made from a message |
| Needle records | All of them, one screen at a time | Only the ones you wire up | 6 kinds, from one chat |
| Getting connected | Nothing new to set up | Someone builds and maintains each flow | Your Needle API key, once |
YesPartlyNo
Step by step: Needle jobs you can hand to Flann
Each step below names the Needle action Flann actually runs.
Create a collection from a voice note
- You message Flann on WhatsApp: “Create a collection in Needle with these details.”
- Flann runs
List Collectionsin Needle and shows you what it found. - Flann runs
Create Collectionin Needle. - Flann creates it in Needle and confirms in the chat.
Get answers about your collection files
- You message Flann on WhatsApp: “What is the latest on our collection files in Needle?”
- Flann runs
List Collection Filesin Needle and shows you what it found. - Nothing in Needle is changed: these are look-ups, so they run straight away.
Add a local connector while you are on the move
- You message Flann on WhatsApp: “Add a local connector to Needle: here are the details.”
- Flann runs
List Local Connectorsin Needle and shows you what it found. - Flann runs
Create Local Connectorin Needle. - Flann creates it in Needle and confirms in the chat.
Repetitive Needle work Flann takes off your plate
These are the jobs that come back every day or every week. Message Flann instead, and keep the decisions for yourself.
Transcribe and summarise a call
Today
Long supplier calls and meetings end with a recording nobody listens to again. The decisions get lost.
With Flann
“Transcribe this recording and give me the decisions and who owes what.”
Flann sends the recording to Needle for transcription and reads the result itself. You get the decisions, the actions and who agreed to each, in a few lines.
What you stop doing: Replaying recordings to remember what was agreed is a thing of the past.
Checking an AI answer before it goes out
Today
AI tools sometimes state wrong things with great confidence. Checking every claim yourself defeats the point of using them.
With Flann
“Ask Needle what our returns policy should say, then check it against our current terms.”
Flann gets the draft from Needle and compares it with the policy text it can find in your connected apps. It marks anything that contradicts your terms or promises something you do not offer.
What you stop doing: Fact-checking AI output line by line is no longer yours alone.
More on this: how to hand repetitive tasks to an AI agent on WhatsApp.
How Flann connects to Needle
- In Flann, go to Connectors and find Needle.
- Paste your Needle API key into the secure form Flann opens. You will find the key in your Needle account settings.
- Ask Flann for what you need on WhatsApp, by text or voice note. It picks the right Needle action itself.
Look-ups run as soon as you ask and change nothing in Needle. You can disconnect Needle from Connectors at any time.
Ways to use Needle with Flann
Results you can check
Anything Needle produces comes back to you in WhatsApp to review before you use it.
One conversation, many tools
Ask Flann for the outcome. It decides when Needle is the right tool and uses it.
No new app to learn
You keep talking to Flann. Needle works in the background.
Everything Flann can do in Needle
The full list of Needle actions available to Flann once you connect it.
Looks up 10
- Get Collection
- Get File Download URL
- Get File Upload URL
- List Collection Files
- List Collections
- List Connectors
- Get collection stats
- Get local connector
- List Local Connectors
- Search Collection
Changes 6
- Add files to a collection
- Add Files to Local Connector
- Create Collection
- Create Local Connector
- Delete files from a collection
- Delete files from local connector
More Artificial Intelligence apps Flann works with
Common questions
What can Flann do with files in Needle?
Flann can add and delete files in Needle, using 4 actions (Add files to a collection, Add Files to Local Connector, Delete files from a collection, Delete files from local connector). Each one changes something in Needle.
What can Flann do with collections in Needle?
Flann can create, look up and search collections in Needle, using 4 actions (Create Collection, Get Collection, List Collections, Search Collection). Looking up runs straight away and changes nothing. The other actions create or change collections in Needle.
How does Flann connect to Needle?
Open Connectors in Flann, choose Needle and paste your Needle API key into a secure form. You will find the key in your Needle account settings. Once it is connected, Flann can use 16 actions in Needle.
Can I use Needle from WhatsApp?
Yes. You talk to Flann on WhatsApp or in the Flann app, by text or voice note, and Flann works in Needle for you. You do not need to open Needle.
Which Flann plan do I need for Needle?
Any of them. Every Flann plan includes Needle and every other app.