An AI WhatsApp chatbot understands what the customer asks, answers with your information, and books an appointment in your calendar, even at eleven at night. The automatic replies that the WhatsApp Business app includes for free can't do this, because they always send the same text. With us, the chatbot costs from €990 setup + €249/month + VAT, and what Meta charges per message is separate.
Before setting it up, almost everyone asks the same thing. What if it says something crazy? Below you'll find what it does, what it should never do, how to set it up and what to ask the provider before signing.
Three things called chatbot
When someone says they have “a WhatsApp bot,” it could mean three different things. On the outside they look alike. The difference shows when the customer writes something nobody had anticipated.
| What it is | What it does | Where it falls short |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic replies in the app | Says hello, tells people you're closed and stores canned replies. | Always sends the same text |
| Menu or button bot | Offers options and follows a script | If the customer writes something else, it gets lost |
| AI chatbot | Understands the question and answers with your information | Depends on that information being up to date |
Automatic replies come free in the WhatsApp Business app. You have a welcome message for anyone who messages you for the first time, an away message for when you're outside business hours and quick replies, which are shortcuts so you don't type the same thing every day. They help a lot. But answering is still up to you.
The menu bot runs on the WhatsApp platform, the one apps use. Meta allows up to three buttons in a message, or a list of up to 10 options, and the bot jumps from one to another depending on what the customer taps. It works well when there are few questions and they are always the same.
Then someone comes along and writes “do you have space on Thursday afternoon for two?” A menu doesn't know what to do with that.
The AI chatbot reads the message as it arrives, with its typos and its rush, and answers with what you've given it, like your opening hours, your prices or the way you book appointments. If the question goes beyond that information, the right thing is for it to say so and pass the conversation to you.
Meta also has its own AI agent for WhatsApp, Meta Business Agent, which answers with the information you give it. If it's used from the platform, Meta charges for it separately based on usage. It's worth keeping in mind when comparing.
What it does day to day
Imagine a hair salon on a Saturday at 23:40. A client writes "how much is a dye and do you have anything on Tuesday". The chatbot tells her the price from your list, offers the two slots still free on Tuesday and, when she chooses one, books it in your calendar. On Monday morning you see it done.
That, repeated many times a day, is the job of a well set up chatbot.
- Answer questions about hours, prices, and services with your information.
- Schedule appointments from the open slots in your calendar and add them automatically.
- Answer in the language of the person writing, something you notice on the Costa del Sol.
- Save every conversation in your dashboard or your CRM.
- If it doesn't know something, notify someone on your team and pass the conversation on to them.
And you can keep answering whenever you want. It saves you from answering the questions you get twenty times a week.
What it shouldn't do
A chatbot that answers quickly and poorly is worse than not having one. These are the four things yours should never do.
The first, making up a price or a condition. In 2024, a court in Canada ruled in favor of an Air Canada customer. The website chatbot had told him he could request the reduced bereavement fare after the trip, and that was not true. The airline argued it was not liable for what the chatbot said. The court replied that the company is liable for all the information on its website, whether it comes from a page or a chatbot, and Air Canada had to pay 812.02 Canadian dollars.
The lesson applies just the same to a hair salon. The chatbot should only answer with what you've given it, and if it doesn't know something, say so and let you know.
It shouldn't make decisions for you either. A discount, an exception, a refund, or a custom quote are your decisions. The chatbot can collect the details and have them ready for you, and you give the yes or no.
Sensitive matters have to reach a person. A complaint, an emergency, or a health question doesn't stay with the chatbot. Meta requires it in its business messaging policy. If you automate responses, you have to offer a quick and clear way to talk to someone, such as handing the chat over to a person, a phone number, or an email.
And it shouldn't write to anyone who hasn't asked for it. On WhatsApp, you can only write to someone who has given you their number and told you they want to receive your messages. The same rule applies to the chatbot.
How it's set up
We set it up in four steps, and it doesn't answer anyone until you approve it.
- You tell us the questions you're always asked and how you schedule appointments.
- We train it with your hours, prices, services, and the way you talk.
- You test it before it answers any customer.
- We open it up to your customers and fine-tune it with real conversations.
The most underestimated step is the third one. Test it the way your most demanding customer would, with odd questions, typos, and half-finished sentences. If you don't like an answer, change it.
After that, your part is keeping the information up to date. If you raise a price and don't tell it, the chatbot will keep giving the old one, just like a new employee nobody told. Setup time depends on each business and is reflected in the quote.
What to ask the provider
Before hiring a chatbot, with us or with someone else, ask for written answers to these five questions.
- Where does it get its answers? Ask them to show you the information it uses to answer and who changes it when your prices change.
- What does it do when it doesn't know something? Ask to see it in a test, with a question that isn't in that information.
- Can I test it before it talks to my customers?
- How do I get into a conversation? And can I see them all somewhere?
- Is what Meta charges included or separate?
The last question matters because it changes the math a lot. Our chatbot costs from €990 setup + €249/month + VAT, with AI included in the fee, and what Meta charges per message is separate. In WhatsApp Business pricing you can see what Meta charges for each type of message and an example monthly bill.
In WhatsApp chatbot you can see what it does and how we set it up, and in pricing you can see the rest of the services. We reply Monday to Friday, from 9:00 to 19:00, in under 2 hours.
They message you on WhatsApp while you're at a job site, and you can't check your phone until nighttime.
The chatbot answers the usual questions with your information and your hours. It asks for a photo of the problem and the address, and suggests an open slot. If it's an emergency, like a water leak, it notifies you right away.
from€990 setup + €249/month
Sources
- The app includes an automatic welcome message (checked on 3-Nov-2026)
- The app includes an after-hours away message (3-Nov-2026)
- The app includes quick replies (3-Nov-2026)
- The WhatsApp Business app is free (3-Nov-2026)
- WhatsApp platform: up to three reply buttons per message (3-Nov-2026)
- WhatsApp platform: lists of up to 10 options (3-Nov-2026)
- Meta Business Agent, Meta's AI agent for WhatsApp (3-Nov-2026)
- Meta charges for Meta Business Agent separately, based on usage (3-Nov-2026)
- Air Canada, 2024: the chatbot said the bereavement fare could be requested afterward (3-Nov-2026)
- Air Canada, 2024 BCCRT 149: the company is liable for all the information on its website (3-Nov-2026)
- Air Canada had to pay 812.02 Canadian dollars (3-Nov-2026)
- Meta requires a quick and clear way to talk to a person if responses are automated (3-Nov-2026)
- Meta: you can only message people who gave you their number and permission (3-Nov-2026)
