WhatsApp chatbot for business: the complete guide.

What is a WhatsApp chatbot?

A chatbot is a conversation program. On WhatsApp, it is connected to the business number and answers incoming messages day and night, including weekends.

The customer keeps using regular WhatsApp. They download nothing and do not need to know there is a program on the other side. For the business, the difference is the system: instead of every message waiting for someone to pick up the phone, the program reads it, answers what it knows and sets aside what needs a person.

It helps to tell the chatbot apart from two similar things:

• Automatic replies in the WhatsApp Business app. The free app sends a greeting, an away notice and has text shortcuts. It does not hold a conversation: it sends the same text to everyone. The walkthrough is in the article on automatic messages in WhatsApp Business.
• Broadcast lists and bulk sending. Blasting a promotion to a list is a separate topic, with its own Meta rules about customer permission. A chatbot exists to answer, and only sends the first message when it follows those rules.

A WhatsApp chatbot needs the official API, the WhatsApp Business Platform. An API is the official link between two systems that lets one send data to the other. Through it, the program receives the customer message and sends the reply from the business number.

How does a WhatsApp chatbot work?

A message goes through five steps:

1. The customer writes to the business number.
2. Meta delivers that message to the customer service system connected to the number through the API.
3. The system decides the reply. In a menu bot, it looks up the chosen option. In an AI bot, it reads the sentence, understands the request and checks the business information.
4. The reply goes back through the API and reaches the customer on WhatsApp.
5. If the topic needs a person, the system hands the chat to an agent, who carries on in the same chat.

Two Meta rules shape the way a chatbot works.

24-hour customer service window

Each time the customer writes, a 24-hour window opens, and it restarts with every new message from them. Inside it, the business replies freely, with text, photo or buttons. Outside it, the business can only send a template message, which is a standard text approved by Meta in advance, such as an appointment reminder or an order confirmation.

Several agents on the same number

Because chats go through a system, several people can answer the same number at the same time, each on their own computer. The chatbot handles the first part and hands over the chat with a summary of what the customer asked.

What is the difference between a menu chatbot and an AI chatbot?

The menu bot is the older type. It sends a list of options and waits for the customer to pick one. The AI bot reads what the person wrote and answers based on what the business taught it.

Many businesses use both together. Buttons show up for simple choices, such as "place an order" or "talk to an agent", and the AI handles open questions.

The most important point with AI is the limit. It should answer only from what the business provided, such as menu, prices and rules, and hand off to a person when the question goes beyond that. Delivery promises, discounts outside the price list and any health topic stay with people.

What does a WhatsApp chatbot do for a small business?

The work changes with the type of business. A few examples of what is usually worth automating:

• Restaurant, bakery and snack bar. Sending the daily menu, taking the order with address and payment method, sharing opening hours and letting the customer know when the order is ready. See the food service page.
• Clinic and aesthetics. Showing open slots, booking, rescheduling and confirming appointments, and passing treatment questions to the team. See the clinics and aesthetics page.
• Store. Saying whether the product, size and color are in stock, the price, delivery options and the return policy. See the retail page.
• Salon, auto shop and gym. Scheduling, simple quotes, service or membership reminders. See the services page.
• Guesthouse. Answering about dates, rooms, breakfast and directions, and passing the booking request to the front desk. See the tourism and hospitality page.

In every case, the gain comes from repeated questions. Before building any bot, take last month chats and write down the ten questions that come up most. They show what the chatbot must be able to answer on day one.

WhatsApp is only one channel. If many customers still call, Lotaloja also sets up an AI voice agent for the phone.

Can an AI WhatsApp chatbot book appointments and sell?

Yes, as long as it is connected to the right systems. AI alone only talks. To book an appointment, it needs to see the schedule. To sell, it needs the menu or catalog with price and stock, and a way to take payment.

Booking

With access to the schedule, the chatbot shows open slots, reserves the chosen one, sends a confirmation and, close to the date, a reminder. Because the reminder usually goes out after the 24-hour window, it is sent as a template message, approved by Meta in advance and charged according to the template category.

Orders and sales

In a restaurant, the bot builds the order item by item, adds up the total, asks for the address and sends the summary to the kitchen. In a store, it says whether the product is available and sends the payment link. The final check, such as change, special delivery fees or missing items, can stay with a person.

Where the AI stops

The WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy allows automation but requires a prompt, clear and direct path for the customer to reach a person. The policy lists examples such as a transfer to an agent in the chat, phone, email, web support, a store visit and a support form. The same policy forbids asking customers for full card numbers, bank account numbers or ID numbers over WhatsApp. Payment should go through a secure link or Pix, Brazil instant payment system.

For clinics, the policy also says businesses should not use WhatsApp to send or request health information when local rules require systems with stronger protection. Care with customer data is covered in the guide AI and LGPD, Brazil data protection law.

How much does a WhatsApp chatbot cost?

The price depends on how many messages the business exchanges and what the bot needs to do. The bill has three parts, and it is worth asking for each one separately in the quote.

1. Messages charged by Meta

• Meta charges per delivered message, based on the category (marketing, utility, authentication, service and Meta Business Agent) and the country calling code of the recipient number.
• Messages the customer sends to the business are not charged.
• Replies the chatbot sends inside the 24-hour window are service messages. Meta says they can be powered by a third-party AI or by people. Since October 1, 2026, Meta charges for these messages again, with 1,000 free per month for each business phone number. The allowance does not roll over.
• Messages from Meta own AI agent, Meta Business Agent, are charged separately and do not count toward the free allowance.
• Per-message rates in reais are in the table on the Meta pricing page and change over time. BRL accounts are invoiced by Facebook Brasil.

2. Setup

Connecting the number to the API, gathering the business information, writing the AI rules, linking the schedule or ordering system, creating template messages and testing. At Lotaloja, this is a project with a fixed price and no monthly fee.

3. Ongoing support

Reading the chats, fixing answers, updating prices and menu, following what was handed to agents. At Lotaloja, this can be hired on its own, with setup from R$ 1,890 plus R$ 490 a month (see the projects), or inside the monthly plans, which start with Presence at R$ 2,990 a month. Meta messages are billed separately.

Meta billing rules, with examples of how to estimate the monthly bill, are in the article on WhatsApp Business API pricing.

Is there a free WhatsApp chatbot?

What is free is the WhatsApp Business app. It has three automatic replies, all under the Tools tab:

• greeting message, which Meta sends to people writing for the first time or after 14 days without a conversation;
• away message, which can go out always, on a custom schedule or outside business hours;
• quick replies, up to 50 text shortcuts you call up by typing a slash (/).

This helps a small business a lot, but it does not hold a conversation or check a schedule. The walkthrough is in the article on automated customer service on WhatsApp.

On the official API, part of the messaging is free: what the customer sends is not charged, and each number gets 1,000 free service messages per month. When the chat starts from a click-to-WhatsApp ad, Meta opens a free entry point window, which can stay open for up to 7 days, with no charge for marketing, utility, authentication and service messages. Even so, someone has to build and look after the bot. Without a payment method on the account, Meta does not deliver service messages beyond the free allowance.

Lotaloja works only with the official Meta API and does not use unofficial versions of WhatsApp. Meta policy says it may limit or remove access for anyone using WhatsApp against its terms, for example by sending messages at scale without authorization.

Which Meta rules must a WhatsApp chatbot follow?

The WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy applies to both the app and the API. The points that matter most for chatbot users:

• Permission to send the first message. A business may only contact a person on WhatsApp if they gave their number and agreed to receive messages from the business. Anyone who asks to stop must be respected, even if the request is made outside WhatsApp.
• Template message to start a chat. On the API, chats started by the business use an approved template. Meta may review, pause or reject a template at any time.
• Free-form replies only in the 24-hour window. The window opens and restarts with each customer message.
• A path to a person. Automation is allowed as long as there is a quick way out to a human agent, phone, email, website, store or form.
• Profile with contact details. The business WhatsApp profile must list customer support contact details, such as email, website or phone, kept up to date.
• Sensitive data. Do not ask for full card numbers, bank account numbers or ID numbers.

Meta warns that customers can block or report the business and that its systems may limit how many messages the number can send based on that feedback. A chatbot that sends too many messages, or leaves the customer in a menu with no option to reach a person, raises that risk.

How do you start a chatbot without mistakes?

A simple plan for the first version:

1. List the questions. Pick the ten questions that come up most in last month chats.
2. Write the correct answers. Price, hours, address, delivery, return and cancellation rules. The AI will take its answers from this material.
3. Decide what stays with people. Complaints, discounts, special requests and any health question go to a person.
4. Choose who takes over the chat. Say who answers at each time of day and what the bot says when nobody is available.
5. Test with the team. Before turning it on for customers, ask employees to try to confuse the bot.
6. Review every week at first. Read a sample of chats and fix what the AI answered poorly.

The Library has a guide on AI in customer service and another on how to start using AI in your business. When you want the bot live, the Lotaloja WhatsApp customer service offering handles the API, the AI and the handoff to your team. If you are not sure it is the right time, take the 3-minute free assessment.