Most of your customers now write on WhatsApp instead of calling: "Are you open tomorrow?", "How much is this?", "Do you have an appointment on Thursday?" As messages pile up, reply times get longer and some slip through. An AI assistant can answer most of these messages on your behalf, but if it is not set up properly it can turn into an assistant that quotes the wrong price or books an appointment that does not exist. Here is what to watch out for, based on what we learned while building our own product, eassisto.
Answers must come from your own information
The assistant should not guess prices, stock or opening hours; it should check them against your catalogue and knowledge base. When asked about something that is not in the knowledge base, an assistant that says "I'll pass this on to our team" instead of making something up is the shortest way to keep customers' trust.
Limits of authority must be clear from the start
Discounts, returns or special prices usually need a manager's approval. The assistant should not settle these requests on its own; it should hand them over to the right person together with the context of the conversation, so the customer does not have to explain everything twice.
Conversations should turn into work
If a message does not become an appointment, a request a quote, or a promise a task, the assistant has only been chatting. In a good setup, appointments land in the calendar, quotes get prepared, follow-ups go out on time by themselves, and everything builds up on the same customer card.
You should always have the final say
You should be able to take over a conversation at any time, require approval for replies, or stop the assistant completely. A training area where you can review and correct the assistant's answers is how you get more accurate replies over time.
How will you connect your number?
Connecting your existing WhatsApp number with a QR code is a quick start. For businesses with high message volumes, the official WhatsApp Business Cloud API is a better fit. The right choice depends on your message volume and template needs.
Do not forget customer data
Customer messages contain personal data. Know where messages are stored, who can access them and how long they are kept, and give your customers the information they need.
eassisto works on these principles: it answers from your own information, hands over to your team when it is unsure, and turns every conversation into a next step. You can try it free for 14 days: eassisto.com