AI chatbot on the official WhatsApp Business API

WhatsApp chatbot for your business

Answer customer questions on WhatsApp around the clock, from your own knowledge base, and hand the chat to your team when it needs a person. Built for Indian businesses; plans from ₹1,999/month with a 7-day free trial and no card needed.

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What is a WhatsApp chatbot?

A WhatsApp chatbot is software that replies to the messages customers send to your business number. Older chatbots follow a fixed menu: press 1 for timings, 2 for prices. That works for a handful of questions and breaks as soon as a customer types something the menu didn't expect.

Aethenox AI uses AI agents instead. The agent reads the customer's message, looks up the answer in the knowledge base you maintain, and replies in plain language. If the answer isn't there, or the customer asks for a person, it hands the conversation over. For the difference in more detail, see AI agents vs chatbots.

Do I need the WhatsApp Business API for a chatbot?

Yes. The free WhatsApp Business app has quick replies and away messages, but it can't connect to software that answers for you. A chatbot needs the WhatsApp Business Platform (the “API”). Aethenox AI is a Meta Tech Provider, and you connect your number through Meta's own signup window in a few minutes — see WhatsApp Business API for India for how onboarding and Meta's charges work.

What goes into the chatbot?

Answers from your knowledge base

Add articles and FAQs about your products, prices, policies and timings. The AI agent searches them for every message and replies from what you wrote, instead of from a fixed script.

Read the docs

Greetings

Send a welcome message when someone starts a chat, with different greetings for first-time contacts and returning customers.

Read the docs

Business hours

Set your working days and hours. Outside them, the chatbot can send an auto-reply or keep answering on its own, so customers know when a person will be back.

Read the docs

Human handoff

When a question needs a person, the chatbot tells the customer and passes the conversation to your team in the shared inbox, with the full chat history.

Read the docs

Routing rules

Send each incoming chat to the right teammate or AI agent based on conditions you set, such as keywords or tags.

Read the docs

Actions, not just answers

Agents can call tools while they talk: check or book Google Calendar slots, read and update Google Sheets, work with Zoho records, or call your own system through webhooks and REST APIs.

Read the docs

How do I set up a WhatsApp chatbot?

  1. Connect your number. Start a free trial and connect WhatsApp through Meta's signup window. If you already use the WhatsApp Business app on that number, you can keep using it alongside.
  2. Write your knowledge base. Add the questions customers ask most — prices, timings, delivery, returns, booking — as short articles.
  3. Create an AI agent. Give it a name, a tone and the language it should reply in, and choose the tools it may use.
  4. Set greetings, hours and handoff. Decide what new contacts see first, what happens outside business hours, and when a person takes over.
  5. Test it, then turn it on. Message your own number, read the replies, and improve the articles where the answers are thin.

What can a WhatsApp chatbot handle?

  • Answering questions about products, prices, timings and locations.
  • Qualifying leads by asking a few questions before a salesperson calls back.
  • Booking or checking appointment slots in Google Calendar.
  • Looking up or recording details in a Google Sheet or your own system.
  • Sending customers to a person when the question is complex or sensitive.

More worked examples are on the use cases page.

How much does a WhatsApp chatbot cost?

Your Aethenox AI plan includes a monthly allowance of AI replies, starting at ₹1,999 a month. Messages are charged per message by category from a prepaid wallet, and replies to customers who message you first are free of message charges. Meta also requires a payment method on your WhatsApp Business Account. Current plan limits and rates are on the pricing page.

WhatsApp chatbot FAQs

Can I build a WhatsApp chatbot without coding?
Yes. You write your knowledge base as articles, create an AI agent, and set greetings, business hours and handoff rules from the dashboard. Webhooks and the API are there if you want to connect your own systems, but they are optional.
Does the chatbot reply in Hindi?
The AI agent can reply in the language you set for it, including English and Hindi. Its answers come from your knowledge base, so write the articles in the language you want it to use.
What happens when the chatbot cannot answer?
It tells the customer that a person will take over and passes the conversation to your team in the shared inbox, with the full chat history, so nobody has to ask the customer to repeat themselves.
Can I keep using the WhatsApp Business app on the same number?
Yes. Aethenox AI supports connecting a number that already uses the WhatsApp Business app, so you can keep the app on your phone while the chatbot answers through the API.
Do customers have to opt in before the chatbot replies?
No opt-in is needed to reply to someone who messaged you first. To start a conversation yourself, for example with a campaign, you need the customer's opt-in and an approved template, as Meta's rules require.

Sources