In June, Meta made its Business Agent available worldwide on WhatsApp, after nearly two years of testing in markets like India and Mexico, according to TechCrunch. It can answer customer questions, recommend products, book appointments, qualify leads and hand a chat to a person when needed. For businesses in the Gulf, where so much selling already happens on WhatsApp, this is worth paying attention to.
The tempting move is to switch it on and let it run. I would slow down a little, because the agent will only be as good as what you give it and the limits you set.
Where it clearly helps
The biggest gap in most businesses is the evening and weekend reply. Someone messages at 10pm, nobody answers until the morning, and by then they have booked elsewhere. An agent that can reply straight away with real availability, prices and next steps closes that gap without hiring anyone.
It also takes the repetitive questions off your team. Opening hours, locations, parking, what a first visit involves and how payment works are the same questions every day, and they do not need a person.
Where it needs a human
Anything involving judgement, money disputes, medical or legal specifics, or an unhappy customer should go to a person quickly. Write those rules down before you switch anything on. A customer who is upset and gets a cheerful automated answer will remember it.
- Decide the topics the agent can answer, and the ones it must always hand over.
- Set a time limit for the handover, so a person picks up within an hour during working hours.
- Check a sample of conversations every week for the first month.
Feed it properly
An agent that knows only your website copy will give vague answers. Give it the real material your best salesperson uses, such as price ranges, common objections and the questions that come before a booking. The more specific the source, the less it will make things up or fall back on generic replies.
Keep the lead data
Whatever answers the chat, make sure every conversation still ends up in your CRM with its source and outcome. Otherwise you will know the agent is busy but not whether it is booking anyone. Measure bookings that came through the agent, and how many handed-over chats your team actually closed.
