A WhatsApp bot answers common questions, takes bookings and orders, and hands the chat to a person when it gets stuck. It works at night and at weekends, when you cannot. It does not replace your judgement, and it only helps if the answers you give it are correct.
What a WhatsApp bot is
A WhatsApp bot is software that reads incoming WhatsApp messages and replies for your business. It runs on the WhatsApp Business Platform, which is Meta's official interface for business software. The free WhatsApp Business app on your phone cannot run a real bot. It only offers a greeting, an away message and quick replies.
There are two common kinds of bot:
- Menu bots. The customer taps buttons or types a number. Simple, predictable and good for a small set of tasks.
- AI bots. The customer writes normally and the bot answers from the information you gave it. More natural, but it needs clear limits and good source material.
Many setups mix both: buttons for bookings, free text for questions.
Four jobs a bot does well
- Answering repeat questions. Opening hours, prices, address, parking, delivery area, what to bring. These questions are simple, frequent and the same every day.
- Taking bookings. The bot asks for the service, day and time, checks your calendar if it is connected, and confirms.
- Taking orders. The bot collects items, quantity, pickup or delivery and repeats the order back before it confirms.
- Collecting details before a call back. For a quote the bot can ask for the job, the postcode and photos. You call back with everything in front of you.
A short example of how this looks in a chat:
Customer: Hi, are you open on Saturday?
Bot: Yes, we are open on Saturday from 9 to 14. Would you like to book an appointment?
Customer: Yes, a haircut at 11 if possible.
Bot: 11:00 on Saturday is free. Can I have your name to confirm the booking?
What a bot should not do
A bot is a helper for routine work. Keep it away from these areas:
- Advice with consequences. Medical, legal, tax or safety questions belong with a person.
- Complaints. An upset customer wants a human. The bot should say sorry, collect the facts and hand over.
- Promises it cannot keep. No discounts, guarantees or delivery dates that you have not set.
- Guessing. If the answer is not in its material, the bot should say so and offer a person.
- Pretending to be human. Tell people they are talking to an automated assistant. In some places this is also a legal requirement.
The handover to a person
The handover decides if customers like your bot or hate it. Plan it before anything else.
- Offer a way out in every conversation, for example the word person or a button.
- Hand over automatically after two failed answers.
- Tell the customer when a person will reply. Be honest about opening hours.
- Give your staff the whole chat, so the customer does not have to repeat anything.
I am not sure about that, and I do not want to tell you something wrong. I have passed your question to our team. They reply on working days between 9 and 17.
The rules you need to know
WhatsApp sets rules for business messaging, and your local law adds more.
- Opt-in. You need the customer's permission before you message them on WhatsApp.
- The 24-hour window. When a customer writes to you, you can reply in free form for 24 hours. This is where a bot does most of its work.
- Templates. Outside that window you can only send message templates that Meta has approved, such as a reminder. The guide on templates and the 24-hour rule explains this.
- Fees. Meta charges for messages on the Platform. The pricing model has changed over time, so check Meta's current pricing page.
- Privacy. Tell customers what data you collect in the chat and why.
Rules differ by country and change. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is a bot worth it for you? A quick check
Go through your WhatsApp chats and calls from the last two weeks and answer these questions.
- Do the same five to ten questions come up again and again?
- Do messages arrive when nobody can answer, such as evenings or during jobs?
- Do bookings or orders follow a fixed pattern?
- Do you lose enquiries because the reply comes hours later?
- Is someone on your team able to check the bot's chats in the first weeks?
If you say yes to three or more, a bot is worth a closer look. If you get only a few chats a week, the free app with good quick replies is probably enough. The guide on app or API compares both ways.
To prepare, write down three things: your ten most common questions with the correct answers, the steps of a booking or order, and the cases that must always go to a person. This list is useful with any provider.
One option is the WhatsApp Bot from Astranode. It is built on the official WhatsApp Business Platform, answers questions, takes bookings and orders, and hands over to a person. It costs $1,200 for setup plus $199 per month and is in early access.
A WhatsApp bot is good at routine: repeat questions, bookings, orders and collecting details. Give it correct answers, clear limits and a fast handover to a person.