You have three options. The free WhatsApp Business app can send a greeting message, an away message and saved quick replies. For real conversations, an AI chatbot on the WhatsApp Business Platform can answer questions, quote your approved prices and book appointments around the clock, and hand anything unusual to you.
Option 1: Built in auto replies in the WhatsApp Business app
The free WhatsApp Business app includes three tools under Business tools:
- Greeting message: sent automatically the first time someone writes to you.
- Away message: sent outside the hours you set, so customers know when you will reply.
- Quick replies: saved answers you insert with a shortcut, for questions you get every day.
This is a good start for a very small business, but it cannot understand the question, answer it or book anything. The customer still waits for a person.
Option 2: An AI chatbot on the WhatsApp Business Platform
The WhatsApp Business Platform (often called the WhatsApp API) lets software reply for you. An AI chatbot connected to it can:
- Answer questions about prices, hours, services and availability in your tone of voice.
- Ask the right qualifying questions and collect the customer’s details.
- Book the appointment into your calendar and send reminders.
- Reply in the customer’s own language.
- Hand the chat to you, with a summary, whenever something is outside what you approved.
Setting this up needs a verified Meta business account, an approved phone number and a provider that connects the AI. That is the part most owners hand to an agency.
Option 3: A shared inbox with a team
Tools with a shared WhatsApp inbox let several people answer from one number. It helps when you have staff, but someone still has to be available, so it does not solve evenings, weekends or busy hours.
What to prepare before you automate
- Your top 20 customer questions and the answers you want given.
- The prices or price ranges the bot is allowed to quote.
- Your booking rules: hours, length of a visit, deposit if any.
- When the bot must stop and pass the chat to you.
With this list ready, a good AI chatbot can usually go live within days.
How Balabot does it for you
Balabot sets up AI WhatsApp and SMS chatbots for businesses worldwide. We connect your number, train the bot on your answers and prices, link your calendar and test it with you. Public facing changes wait for your approval on WhatsApp, and anything the bot is not sure about goes straight to you.
Common questions
Is it allowed to use a chatbot on WhatsApp?
Yes. Businesses can automate conversations through the official WhatsApp Business Platform, as long as they follow WhatsApp’s business and commerce policies, such as replying to customers who wrote first and getting permission before sending marketing messages.
Will customers know they are talking to a bot?
A well built bot says it is an assistant when it matters and hands over to a person on request. In some places disclosure is required by law, so we set it up to tell customers clearly.
Can I keep using WhatsApp on my phone?
Usually the automated number runs on the platform, and you see and join conversations from a dashboard or get summaries on your own WhatsApp. We set up the flow that fits how you work.