AI agent vs classic chatbot
A classic chatbot follows a menu tree: "Reply 1 for prices, 2 for delivery". Customers get lost, and any unexpected question stalls the chat.
An AI agent understands free-form messages, typos and slang included, in the customer's language. It looks up the answer in your products, prices and rules, then replies like a salesperson would.
What a good AI agent does
- Answers questions about products, variants, stock and prices
- Quotes delivery fees and times for the customer's city
- Takes the order: product, size, name, address, payment method
- Sends a product card or photo
- Gives order tracking
- Covers nights, weekends and the rush after an ad goes live
What it must never do
An AI agent must never invent a price, discount or delivery date. It should read your data at the moment it answers and say so when it does not know. It must also know when to stop: complaints, angry customers, unusual requests. Then it hands the conversation to your team with the full history.
You need the WhatsApp Business API
The WhatsApp Business app on your phone cannot run an AI agent. You need Meta's official API (WhatsApp Business Platform) on your number. With Yaliko you connect it in a few minutes from settings using Meta's own signup flow. The number then belongs to the API and can no longer be used in the phone app at the same time.
What it costs
Two costs to plan for:
- Meta charges for some business-initiated messages, by country and category (marketing, utility, authentication). Replying to a customer who wrote to you is free inside the 24-hour window
- The software that runs the agent: with Yaliko the WhatsApp assistant is included from the Starter plan at $19 a month, along with the store and the team inbox
Setting it up with Yaliko
- Connect your WhatsApp Business number from settings
- Add your products, prices and delivery fees: the agent reads them live
- Describe your tone, opening hours and rules (returns, exchanges, delivery areas)
- Test from your own phone, then let it answer
You can pause it at any time, for one conversation or the whole store.
Measuring results
Each week, track the share of conversations handled alone, time to first reply, handovers to the team and orders created on WhatsApp. Yaliko shows these numbers on the assistant dashboard.
