WhatsApp AI chatbot
A WhatsApp AI chatbot is a WhatsApp chatbot that uses a language model to understand what customers write or say in their own words, in any language, and replies from the business’s own data instead of from fixed menus.
What it means in practice
A customer sends a voice note: “Hi, I bought the gray sofa cover last week, does it come in a bigger size, and when will mine arrive?”. A menu bot answers “Please choose an option”. A WhatsApp AI chatbot understands that there are two questions, answers the size question from your catalog, and handles the order question after checking who the customer is.
The AI part is the understanding: free text, typos, mixed languages and voice notes. What it can do with that understanding depends on what it is connected to. One that only reads your help pages can explain your policies. One connected to your store, payments and courier can also check the order, take the payment and book the delivery. That second kind is an AI agent on WhatsApp. See the general WhatsApp chatbot entry for the kinds side by side.
Why it matters for an online store
- Customers do not type in menu options. They write the way they talk, often with two questions in one message. An AI chatbot can answer both.
- Language stops being a limit. The same catalog and policies can be explained to each customer in the language they write in, including mixed languages.
- Made-up answers are the main risk. A language model with nothing to check against can invent a stock level, a price or a delivery date. Answers have to come from your real data. See AI hallucination and RAG.
- Limits must sit outside the conversation. If a discount ceiling is only written in the bot’s instructions, a determined customer can talk past it. The software that sends the discount should enforce the ceiling.
How it works in chat
- It understands the message. Text and voice notes are read in the customer’s own words. Voice notes are transcribed first. See intent detection.
- It answers from your sources. Products, stock and shipping from your store, such as Shopify or Wix. Policies from your own pages. Orders read live after the customer’s email or phone is verified.
- It acts within your rules. It sends an approved discount, an Airwallex payment link or a delivery booking only within the limits you set.
- It passes on what it should not decide. Your team gets the conversation with everything attached. See live chat handover.
In AeroChat, one engine reads what the customer wants, and a deterministic control action center decides and carries out every action, within the workflow’s rules and your limits. You describe each workflow in your own words, in any language, and AeroChat builds it. It replies in your customer’s language and transcribes voice notes automatically.
An example exchange
Customer, voice note on WhatsApp: Hi, does the gray sofa cover come in the three-seater size? And when will my order 7730 arrive? (example)
AeroChat: Yes, the gray sofa cover comes in a three-seater size, at US$89, and it’s in stock. For order 7730, can you confirm the email you ordered with?
Customer: lee@example.com
AeroChat: Thanks, Lee. Order 7730 shipped on Monday and is on its way. Here is your tracking link. Would you like the three-seater cover as well?
Customer: Yes, send me the link.
AeroChat: That’s US$89 plus US$7 delivery, US$96 in total. Here’s your secure payment link.
Related terms
Read next
- WhatsApp customer service that answers from your own records
- WhatsApp product recommendations from your catalog
- WhatsApp payment links that confirm the order when paid
Put AI on your WhatsApp, with your data behind it
Start your 7-day free trial. No credit card needed. Connect your WhatsApp number and your store, describe your workflows, and AeroChat answers in your customer’s language from your real stock, orders and policies.
On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.