How to automate WhatsApp customer service: the official way and the risky shortcut

What you can automate

Start with the repetitive questions that fill your inbox:

• //Instant answers to common questions: opening hours, location, prices, delivery areas
• //Order status and delivery updates
• //Lead capture: name, what the customer needs and their phone number, then a handoff to a person
• //Product and catalogue questions, if the answers come from your real catalogue
• //Appointment confirmations and reminders
• //A first reply outside working hours

The two ways to connect

The official route is the WhatsApp Business Platform, hosted by Meta. Setup takes more steps (a business account, a number registered with the platform, approved templates) but it is the route WhatsApp supports for automation.

The shortcut is a tool that logs in to a normal WhatsApp account by QR code, the same way WhatsApp Web does, and controls it. It is quick to set up and needs no approvals, which is exactly why it is popular, and exactly where the risk comes from.

The 24-hour window

On the official platform, when a customer messages you a 24-hour timer called the customer service window starts. While it is open you can reply freely. When it closes, you can only send pre-approved template messages (see the Meta documentation linked below). So an automated flow has to be designed around that clock.

Templates and permission

A template is a message format that Meta approves in advance, used to start a conversation or to write to a customer after the window has closed. You cannot send arbitrary text outside the window.

WhatsApp's business policies also expect customers to have agreed to receive your messages. Collect that agreement clearly (for example at checkout), and check the current policy before launching campaigns.

Why unofficial automation is risky

WhatsApp's Terms of Service list among prohibited uses "bulk messaging, auto-messaging, auto-dialing, and the like" and attempts to gain unauthorized access to its services. Tools that automate a normal account fall into that territory.

The practical risk is that the number can be restricted or banned. If your sales run through that number, losing it is an operational problem, not a technical detail.

Make the bot know its limits

Good automation is mostly about what the bot does not try to do:

• //Hand over to a person for complaints, payments, refunds and anything unclear
• //Say it is an automated assistant, so customers know what to expect
• //Answer only from your real catalogue and FAQ; if an AI writes the answers, it must not invent prices or stock
• //Keep replies short and in the customer's language and dialect
• //Keep a log so you can review what customers were told

How to start small

List the ten questions you answer most often, automate those on one number, and measure how many conversations still need a person. Add flows only when the first ones work. A small bot that is right beats a large one that guesses.

Where Mojeb fits

Mojeb is Dekwin's own WhatsApp AI automation product, built for the official WhatsApp Cloud API and able to connect to catalogues such as WooCommerce and Shopify. See mojeb.co for what it currently offers.