What can a WhatsApp assistant do?

For many businesses, WhatsApp is where customers actually talk to them. The same questions keep coming: "When are you open?", "How much is it?", "Do you have a table tomorrow?". An AI assistant can handle part of these conversations for you.

What it can do

• Answer frequent questions: opening hours, address, price list, delivery terms. The assistant answers from the information you give it.
• Take bookings and appointments: it asks which day and time the customer wants, suggests what's available and records the booking.
• Collect order or application details: it asks for name, address, product and quantity one by one and sends you a tidy summary.
• Cover nights and weekends: it replies straight away to messages that arrive after hours and, if needed, says "our team will get back to you in the morning".
• Hand over to a person: when something comes up it doesn't know, or a sensitive topic, it passes the conversation to you.

What it can't, or shouldn't, do

It shouldn't make things up. A well-built assistant only talks from the information you provide and says so when it isn't sure. That boundary is the most important part of the setup.

It isn't a chat-about-anything bot. WhatsApp's business rules don't allow bots whose main job is being a general AI that answers any question. Assistants that help with your customer service, bookings or orders are allowed. In other words, your assistant's subject should be your business.

It can't message customers whenever it likes. WhatsApp limits messages a business sends on its own initiative. When a customer writes to you, you can reply freely for a set period; after that you can only send pre-approved message templates. Reminders and notifications are built with these templates.

How is it set up?

The WhatsApp Business app on your phone offers basic tools such as greeting messages, away messages and quick replies. An assistant that runs conversations with AI is usually set up on WhatsApp's platform for businesses, through a service provider. How your number is connected, what messages cost and which templates you need are settled during setup.

Prepare before you start

• Write down the ten questions customers ask most, with their answers.
• Decide which topics the assistant should hand over to you.
• If it will take bookings or orders, decide where they're recorded: a calendar, a spreadsheet or an admin panel.

Come with this list and we'll quickly work out together what can run automatically. AI assistants and booking systems are among our services.