WhatsApp chatbot that knows when to bring in a human.
It also responds to your customers on WhatsApp at ten o'clock in the evening, makes appointments, updates the CRM and passes the chat to a person when needed. On Meta's official platform, with the rules of October 2026.
Customer · 21:47
Good evening, is the Elba sofa also grey?
AI Assistant · 21:47
Hi, I'm the store's automatic assistant. Yes: anthracite grey and pearl grey. Anthracite is displayed in the store.
Customer · 21:48
If I take the chair, will you give me a discount?
AI Assistant · 21:48
I marked you Saturday at 10:30. On the discounts the team decides: I pass the chat to Giulia, she answers you here in the morning.
Chat passed to Giulia e appointment and notes in CRM
Giulia, of the store , Tuesday 9:04
Good morning! For sofa and armchair together I'll prepare you a proposal for Saturday.
customer AI assistant team member
WhatsApp chatbots: what they are and how to get started
A WhatsApp chatbot is an automatic assistant that answers customers on the company's WhatsApp number: it understands the question, looks for the answer in your data, does small actions like a reservation and passes the chat to a person when needed. To connect it to your systems you need the WhatsApp Business Platform from Meta (Cloud API): the app alone is not enough.
- The rules
- Free-form replies within 24 hours of the customer's last message, then approved templates only. Consent is required to initiate contact.
- Meta costs in Italy
- From 1 October 2026: 1,000 free service messages per month, then 0.0248 €; utility templates 0.0248 €, marketing 0.0658 €.
- People
- Meta requires a clear route to a person. We build human handoff into the product.
- The data
- You remain the data controller, the assistant identifies itself as AI, and messages can be stored in the EU.
App or platform
Chatbot WhatsApp Business: app or API?
They are two different products. The app is for people replying manually from their phones; the platform, or Cloud API, is for software that replies, records conversations and hands them over.
| WhatsApp Business app | Platform (Cloud API) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Small businesses that reply manually from a phone | Companies that want an assistant connected to their systems |
| Automations | Greeting messages, away messages, quick replies and labels | What you build into your software: an AI assistant, bookings, integrations |
| AI | Meta Business Agent, Meta’s agent, where available | Your own assistant with the model you choose, or Meta Business Agent |
| Cost of messages | Free | Per message, according to Meta’s pricing below |
| The number | The app's | The same app number can be connected to the Cloud API without leaving the app: chats stay synchronized |
Sources: WhatsApp Business app features, using the same number in the app and Cloud API, Meta Business Agent.
Meta’s rules
WhatsApp bots: the rules to know before getting started
Checked against Meta's official pages on 3 October 2026. These are project requirements: ignoring them can break the workflow at the first real send.
- Consent
- You may initiate contact only with people who gave you their number and agreed to receive messages from your business. Consent can be collected online, by phone, in person or on paper, but must clearly name the business (Meta, opt-in).
- 24 hours
- Each customer message opens or resets a 24-hour window. Within it, you can send free-form replies, including through an automated assistant. Outside it, you can send only templates (WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy).
- Template
- Messages with fixed text and variables, in three categories: marketing, utility and authentication. Meta reviews them before use, and its decision can take up to 24 hours (template review).
- Pricing
- Meta charges for messages delivered by the business, never those it receives. The rate depends on the category and recipient's country and may change only on the first day of each quarter (platform prices).
- Chatbot AI
- From January 15, 2026, Meta's terms prohibit AI providers from offering generic AI assistants on the platform as their primary service, except where the law obliges Meta to allow it (terms, section 4.7; AI Providers). An assistant answering your customers about products, orders and appointments is an ancillary use and remains permitted. If you use an AI provider, platform data cannot train other models except one reserved exclusively for your business.
- One person
- Automated replies must offer a clear, direct route to a person through chat handoff, phone, email, a website or a contact form (same policy).
The 24-hour window
What happens over the course of a conversation
The sofa conversation, hour by hour. Scroll through it: free-form replies are allowed while the window is open. Friday's reminder falls outside it, so it uses a paid template.
Sat 12:00
Window closed
is written only with template
0.0248 €
paid to Meta so far
Mon 21:47service message
The client writes: the 24-hour window opens. The assistant responds immediately.
Mon 21:48service message
The customer rewrites: the 24 hours start from this message.
Tue 9:04service message
Giulia answers in the chat room, inside the window.
Tue 21:48no message
The window closes: from here the company can only write with approved templates.
Fri 18:00template · 0.0248 €
Start the appointment reminder, with a utility template.
Sat 10:30end
The customer is in the store.
The assistant's and Giulia's replies are service messages, included in the month's 1,000 free messages. If a customer arrives through an ad opening WhatsApp, Meta does not charge for messages for up to 7 days, except those from Meta Business Agent (free entry point). For template approval, see the guide to WhatsApp Business templates.
How much does it cost
How much does a WhatsApp chatbot cost
There are three cost components: Meta messages, the AI model and development. Only the first is the same for everyone; those rates are shown here.
| Message | When it is used | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Service | Chat replies within 24 hours, from the assistant or your team | 1.000 free per number each month, then 0.0248 € |
| Utility | Templates: confirmations, reminders, order updates | 0.0248 € |
| Marketing | Templates: offers, promotions, re-engagement | 0.0658 € |
| Authentication | Templates: verification codes | 0.0248 € |
| Meta Business Agent | Answers written by Meta's AI agent | $2 per million tokens, approximately 4-5 US cents per message according to Meta |
Calculate costs for your message volume
service, assistant or team messages
utility template
marketing templates
Share Meta per month, estimated
19.84 €
- Service beyond the 1.000 Free
- 12.40 €
- Utility Templates
- 7.44 €
- Marketing Templates
- 0.00 €
Meta rates for Italian numbers from 1 October 2026, for a company number. excluding AI model, hosting and development.
The AI model
External models are billed per token according to the provider's rates. We estimate costs using your volumes in advance. The method is explained in our guide to how to calculate AI API costs.
Development and maintenance
Development, integrations, hosting and maintenance depend on the systems you connect. The factors affecting price are explained on the page prices; indicative costs in the guide to how much does an AI chatbot cost.
AI WhatsApp chatbot: what it can and cannot do
Yes
- Answers questions about products, opening hours and availability by reading your documents, catalogue and business management software (a technique called RAG).
- It collects data for a quote or a reservation, without the team asking the questions again.
- Books appointments in the calendar, opens the CRM record and checks an order's status.
- Replies in the sender’s language.
- Sends confirmations and reminders using approved templates.
No
- Initiating contact with someone who has not consented.
- Sending free-form messages outside the 24-hour window.
- Requesting full card, bank account or identity document numbers is prohibited by Meta's policy.
- Pretending to be human: from 2 August 2026, the AI Act requires disclosure that the assistant is AI.
- Deciding on discounts, refunds or sensitive complaints: these conversations are handed over to your team.
Inside your systems
From message to CRM, and to the right person
Every chat becomes a contact with a conversation history. The assistant answers what it knows, makes the required calendar and business system updates, and hands decisions outside its remit to your team.
Handing over to a personHandover is triggered by the topic — discounts, complaints or payments — when the answer is missing from your data, or when the customer asks. The team receives the chat with a summary at the top. The assistant stays silent until the team closes it.
CRM and business management softwareWe connect what you already use, even with n8n, or we build a Custom CRM. If the assistant has to act alone on other tools, we are talking about AI agents.
Privacy
WhatsApp chatbots and GDPR
Controller and processorsYou are the data controller. When Meta processes data on your behalf, it acts as a data processor under its terms for processors, referenced in the platform terms. The AI model provider signs its own agreement.
Where messages are storedWith the local storage of the Cloud API, after processing (up to 60 minutes), the messages remain stored only in the chosen region: for the EU, Germany.
Privacy notice and transparencyThe privacy notice explains that there is an automated assistant and identifies your providers. In the chat, the assistant makes clear that it is automated (AI Act, Art. 50).
Further readingThe full explanation is in the guide AI and GDPR.
Questions about the WhatsApp chatbot
Short answers, backed by official Meta sources.
How much does a WhatsApp chatbot cost?
Three cost components. Meta messages: in Italy, 1,000 service messages per month are free for each number, then 0.0248 €; utility templates 0.0248 €, marketing 0.0658 € (Meta’s pricing). The AI model is billed by usage. Development, hosting and maintenance costs are listed on the page prices.
Do I need the WhatsApp Business API?
Yes, a chatbot connected to your systems needs Meta's Cloud API. The WhatsApp Business app provides greeting messages, away messages and quick replies to help you get started, but it has no assistant that reads your business management software or writes to your CRM.
Is a WhatsApp chatbot legal? What about the GDPR?
Yes, with consent before initiating contact, a privacy notice explaining the assistant and providers, and data processing contracts. From 2 August 2026, the assistant must also disclose that it is AI (Article 50 of the AI Act).
Can I keep the number I already use?
If it's on the WhatsApp Business app, yes: connect it to the Cloud API and keep using the app, with synced chats. Something changes, for example broadcast lists become read-only (Meta, coexistence).
Can the bot write to customers first?
Only to people who have consented, using Meta-approved templates billed per message.
What is the difference between a menu bot and a chatbot with AI?
A menu bot offers fixed choices, such as “type 1 for opening hours”, and struggles with freely written messages. An AI chatbot interprets natural language and searches your data, so it needs controlled sources and clear rules for human handoff.
Can you use ChatGPT or Claude inside WhatsApp?
Yes, as the model behind your business assistant. Current candidates include Claude Haiku 5.5, Sonnet 5.5 and GPT-6.1 Sol, tested for answer quality, response time and cost per conversation. For more complex cases, we evaluate Opus 5.5, Fable 5.1 and GPT-6 Astra. Meta's terms prohibit a general-purpose AI assistant as the main WhatsApp service, rather than answering customers about your products.
What is Meta Business Agent?
Meta's AI agent for WhatsApp learns from your website, catalogue and past chats. It is available in some markets (Meta Business Agent) and costs 2 dollars per million tokens on the platform, approximately 4-5 US cents per message according to Meta. Your own assistant is useful when your systems and rules matter.
Free initial call · 30 minutes
What do customers ask you most often on WhatsApp?
Send us your three most common customer questions. Within one working day, we suggest what the assistant can handle independently and when it should hand over.
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