Automation and AI
How to train a WhatsApp AI auto-reply on your own business
Teach a WhatsApp AI assistant your business: write the description, rules and knowledge base, set hand-over words and test before you go live.
- 3 min read
- Updated
- By Ashmit Arya
On this page (8)
AI replies go wrong for one reason more than any other: the assistant did not know the answer and guessed. You prevent that by giving it the answers.
What the assistant needs
- 1
A business descriptionfive minutes
What you sell, where, and to whom. You can draft it from your website, then edit.
- 2
Rules in plain wordsfive minutes
"Never quote a final price." "Always offer a site visit." Rules are instructions, so write them as instructions.
- 3
A fallback messagetwo minutes
What it says when it cannot help: "Let me connect you with our team."
- 4
Knowledge base entriesthirty minutes
Short entries for hours, prices, locations, payment options and policies.
- 5
Words that hand overfive minutes
Terms like agent, human, complaint or refund that bring in a person.
Write knowledge base entries that work
Keep each entry to one topic and write the answer the way you would say it. Categories help you organise: General, Products, FAQ and Policies.
Good entry: "Opening hours: Monday to Saturday, 10 AM to 7 PM. Closed on Sundays and public holidays."
Weak entry: a pasted brochure with six topics. The assistant has to guess which part applies.
Set the hand-over words
Choose words that mean "I want a person": agent, human, complaint, refund. When a message contains one, the chat goes to your team.
Teach the AI with a knowledge base and set when it hands over.
Test before you trust
Spend an afternoon asking the questions your customers ask, including awkward ones: price negotiation, a complaint, something you do not sell. Every answer you would not give yourself is an entry to add or a rule to tighten.
Then watch it
For the first week, read the conversations daily. Note where a person had to step in, and turn the most common of those into new entries. After a month, the assistant covers the repeat questions and your team handles the rest.
A starter list of knowledge base entries
Write one knowledge base entry for each of these four topics:
- Opening hours and holidays.
- Location, with a landmark and how to reach you.
- What you sell, in one sentence per product or service.
- Price ranges, and what affects the final price.
- Payment options, including EMI or instalments if you offer them.
- Delivery or visit process, step by step.
- Returns or cancellations, in plain words.
- How to reach a human, with a phone number for urgent matters.
Ten short entries cover most of what customers ask. Add more only when you see a question the assistant could not answer. For wording ideas, see welcome message examples and support best practices.
Sources
- Meta, template fundamentals: free-form messages work inside the customer service window.
- Responseify Help Center: Set up AI Auto-Reply and knowledge base and hand-over.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make the AI stop guessing?
Give it specific knowledge base entries and a rule that says what to do when it does not know, such as hand over to a person.
Can I control the tone?
Yes. You choose a tone such as friendly, professional or casual and give the assistant a name.
What topics should always go to a person?
Refunds, complaints, legal questions and anything involving money you have not pre-approved. Add them as hand-over words.
How much does AI cost?
AI runs on message packs that you buy and that never expire. See the pricing page for the packs.
About the author
Ashmit Arya · Founder, Responseify
Builds Responseify, a WhatsApp CRM for Indian businesses, and tests what these guides describe in the product himself. Every number here is sourced and dated, and posts are updated when the rules change.
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