It's 9.40 on a Sunday evening. Your phone buzzes with a WhatsApp message: "Hi, do you have anything Tuesday for a cut and colour?" Then another, from someone else: "What time do you open tomorrow?" Then a third, asking whether you take card. You can answer them now, on your evening off, or you can answer them on Monday morning, by which time two of the three have booked somewhere else.
A WhatsApp AI chatbot answers those messages for you. With Klugon, it replies from your business's own WhatsApp number, uses your opening hours, prices and policies, books into your calendar, and flags the conversations a person should pick up. It doesn't need you to watch your phone.
This page is long because WhatsApp is not a channel you switch on with one click. Meta, which runs WhatsApp, has rules about who can message whom and when, and it asks every business that automates WhatsApp to set up a developer app, a registered number and an access token. We'd rather you know all of that before you sign up than find out halfway through. So here is what the assistant does, what setup really involves, how the 24-hour window works, what Meta now charges for, and what your staff still handle.
What a WhatsApp AI chatbot does for a small business
Most small businesses already use WhatsApp, usually on the owner's or the manager's phone. Customers like it because it's where they already talk to everyone else, and because they can send a message at 11 pm without feeling rude. That's the problem too: the messages arrive at all hours, they pile up, and replying to each one by hand takes the same time whether it's the fortieth "are you open on bank holidays?" or a real complaint.
A WhatsApp AI chatbot sits on your WhatsApp number and reads each incoming message. It works out what the customer wants, looks up the answer in what you've taught it, and replies in plain language. When the customer wants to book, it checks your availability and books them. When the question is one it shouldn't answer, or can't, it tells the customer someone from the team will follow up, and it flags the conversation for you.
It isn't a menu bot. Older WhatsApp business automation was built on fixed decision trees: "Reply 1 for opening hours, 2 for prices." Customers ignore those and type what they want anyway. An AI assistant reads the message as written, in whatever order the customer puts things, and answers that. If someone writes "can I bring my 6 year old for a trim on Saturday and how much is it", it handles both questions.
The kinds of message a small business gets on WhatsApp are predictable, and that's why this works:
- opening hours, holiday closures and "are you open now?"
- prices, and what's included in a service
- where you are, parking and how to find the door
- "can I book…?", "can I move my appointment?" and "I need to cancel"
- whether you have a product in stock, and roughly what it costs
- policies: cancellations, refunds, what to bring, age limits
- things the AI should not answer, such as complaints, medical questions or a dispute about a bill
The first six are the bulk of most inboxes. They're also exactly the questions that eat an owner's evening.
What Klugon's WhatsApp assistant can do
Klugon's assistant is the same AI across every channel it runs on: the phone, your website chat widget, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. You set it up once, with your services, hours and knowledge, and it uses the same information everywhere. If you've already read about Klugon's AI receptionist for phone calls, the WhatsApp version will feel familiar. The difference is the channel and the rules Meta puts around it.
Answers from your own knowledge
The assistant answers from what you give it. You can upload files (PDF, Word documents, plain text, Markdown and CSV, up to 20 MB each), paste text such as your FAQ or cancellation policy, import a single web page, or scan your website. The website scan reads your homepage plus up to seven key pages, such as contact and about. It isn't a full crawl of a large site, so if your price list sits deep in the site, upload or paste it directly.
You can also keep a links library: links the assistant is allowed to share, such as your booking page, a Google Maps link or your refund policy. On WhatsApp that's useful. A customer who asks "where are you?" gets a short answer and your map link, rather than a paragraph of directions.
When the assistant doesn't find an answer in your knowledge, it says so and hands the conversation to your team, rather than guessing. It isn't perfect, and no AI can promise it will never get something wrong, so the guide to what to teach your AI receptionist is worth an hour of your time before you go live. The questions it couldn't answer well show up on the Insights page under "Questions without a good answer", so you can fill the gaps.
Booking appointments via WhatsApp
This is where a WhatsApp booking bot earns its keep. Klugon has a built-in booking calendar that uses:
- your opening hours and timezone
- your services and how long each one takes
- which staff member does which service, so it checks clashes per person
- a buffer after each booking, a minimum notice period and how far ahead people can book
- dates you're closed
When a customer asks to book appointments via WhatsApp, the assistant offers real free slots, takes the booking and gives the customer a booking reference in the chat. In messaging channels it can also move or cancel an existing booking when the customer asks. The booking lands in your Klugon bookings list, where you can edit, cancel or delete it.
If you'd rather work from an external calendar, the assistant can also check Google, Outlook or Apple calendars and send Calendly links, after setup and on the Business plan or above. Be aware that this isn't automatic two-way sync: the main booking goes into Klugon's calendar. The AI appointment booking page covers the calendar side in detail, and the WhatsApp booking setup guide walks through it step by step.
One thing to know now: the confirmation the customer gets is the reply in the same WhatsApp chat. Klugon doesn't send a separate confirmation email or a reminder message the day before. More on why in the section on the 24-hour window.
Capturing leads and enquiries
Not every message is a booking. A kitchen fitter gets "how much for a quote?", a wedding photographer gets "are you free on 14 June next year?", a gym gets "do you do a trial week?". The assistant can capture these as leads, with the person's name, what they asked for and how to reach them. Leads go into the Leads page, where you mark them new, contacted, converted or lost, and you can export them as CSV.
If you use HubSpot, Zoho, Salesforce or Pipedrive, the assistant can send leads to them after you connect the integration. That happens when the AI decides to sync the lead, not as an automatic copy of every lead, so check your CRM in the first few weeks.
Suggesting products
If you sell things as well as services, you can enter your products in Klugon's catalogue, and the assistant can search them, tell a customer whether you have something, and suggest related products. It won't invent stock levels. Products are entered by hand (there's no store sync), so keep the catalogue current.
What the WhatsApp assistant won't do
This section matters as much as the last one. Here is what Klugon's assistant does not do on WhatsApp today:
- It doesn't start conversations. It replies to customers who message you. It doesn't send broadcasts, offers or "we haven't seen you in a while" messages on WhatsApp.
- It doesn't send reminders or follow-ups. There are no appointment reminders, no "how was your visit?" messages and no abandoned-basket nudges.
- It doesn't send WhatsApp template messages. That's the reason for the two points above, and the next section explains the rule.
- It doesn't transfer the chat to a person in real time. It flags the conversation for your team and tells you through Slack or Zapier. A person then replies from Klugon's inbox. The AI isn't paused when it flags a conversation, which we cover in the handover section.
- It doesn't send you email or push alerts. Notifications go to Slack or Zapier only. If you use neither, you'll see flagged chats in the inbox and on the Insights to-do list.
- It doesn't run a different assistant per WhatsApp number. Starter connects one WhatsApp number, Business up to 3 and Scale up to 10, but every number on the account is answered by the same assistant setup. If each branch needs its own instructions, prices or booking rules, the assistant can't keep them apart by number.
If you need outbound WhatsApp marketing campaigns, a dedicated broadcast tool built on Meta's template system is a better fit, and you can run it alongside Klugon. If what you need is "someone who answers the messages that come in", read on.
WhatsApp Business app vs the WhatsApp Business Platform
There are two products with almost the same name, and the difference decides everything about setup.
The WhatsApp Business app is the free app on your phone. It has a business profile, quick replies, a basic away message and labels. It's built for a person to use by hand. No outside software, including Klugon, can read and reply to messages in it.
The WhatsApp Business Platform (often called the WhatsApp Business API, or Cloud API) is what software connects to. Meta hosts it. You don't get an app; you get a phone number registered with Meta, an ID for that number, and an access token that lets software like Klugon send and receive messages on it.
An AI chatbot for WhatsApp has to use the Platform. That's true for every vendor, not just Klugon. The WhatsApp Business app vs API post compares the two in more depth, including which features you lose when you move a number across.
Can you use the number you already have?
Possibly, but read this before you try. Meta's phone number requirements for the WhatsApp Business Platform say that a number registered on the Platform can still take ordinary calls and texts, but a number that's already in use on WhatsApp has to be deleted from WhatsApp before it can be registered. Your existing chat history in the app doesn't come with it.
The number also has to be one you own, with a country and area code, and able to receive a call or text for the verification code. Short codes don't work.
Many small businesses solve this by registering a second number for the Platform (often a landline or a new mobile SIM) and keeping their personal WhatsApp separate. Others move the main business number across because that's the number customers already have saved. There's no single right answer. If your business number is printed on vans, menus and Google, moving it is usually worth the disruption.
WhatsApp business automation setup: what Meta asks of you
Klugon connects to WhatsApp through Meta's Cloud API using credentials you create in your own Meta developer account. There's no one-click "Sign in with Facebook" connection yet. You create the Meta app, you register the number, and you paste the details into Klugon.
That's more work than most marketing pages admit. It's also normal for the Platform, and it means the number, the account and the billing relationship with Meta stay yours. If you leave Klugon, your WhatsApp number stays with you.
We won't give you a minute count, because it depends on whether your Meta business account is already set up, whether your number is free to register and how quickly Meta approves your display name. Plan for an afternoon, and allow for a day or two of waiting on Meta.
The setup checklist
Meta's WhatsApp Cloud API get started guide is the source for steps 1 to 5. Menu names in Meta's dashboards change often, so follow their current wording if it differs from ours.
- Have a Meta business portfolio. This is the business account in Meta Business Suite (it used to be called Business Manager). If you run Facebook or Instagram ads, you probably have one already.
- Create a Meta app with the WhatsApp use case. In the Meta App Dashboard at developers.facebook.com, create an app, choose WhatsApp and connect it to your business portfolio. Meta creates a test number for you at this point; you'll replace it with your own.
- Add and verify your business number. Add the number you want customers to message, give it a display name (the business name customers see) and verify it by code. Meta reviews the display name, and until it's approved the number can't be fully used.
- Note the phone number ID. Each registered number has a long numeric ID in the API setup panel. Klugon uses this to know which business a message belongs to.
- Create a permanent access token. The token Meta shows you on the first screen is temporary and expires within hours. Meta's guide explains how to create a system user in Business Settings, give it access to your app and WhatsApp account, and generate a permanent token. Use that one. A temporary token is the most common reason a new WhatsApp connection stops working the next day.
- Point Meta's webhook at Klugon. In your app's WhatsApp configuration, set the webhook callback URL and verify token shown on Klugon's WhatsApp setup card, and subscribe to the
messagesfield. This is how Meta tells Klugon a customer has written. - Paste the phone number ID and access token into Klugon. In Klugon, go to Integrations, open WhatsApp Business and paste them in. Then assign an assistant to the WhatsApp channel.
- Add a payment method in Meta. Meta charges for some messages, and its billing is separate from Klugon's (see below). Add a card to your WhatsApp account in Meta Business Suite.
- Send yourself a test message from a different phone and check the reply, the booking flow and a handover.
On the dashboard, Klugon's social setup checklist follows the same order: assign an assistant, connect WhatsApp, connect Messenger if you want it, then receive your first message.
Business verification and limits
Meta has its own process for verifying businesses and for raising how many people a number can message. Because Klugon only replies to customers who wrote to you first, most small businesses won't run into Meta's outbound messaging limits. If you also run campaigns from another tool on the same number, they apply to that.
Keeping it working
Two things break WhatsApp connections more than anything else: an access token that expires or is revoked, and a payment problem on the Meta account. If replies stop, check those two first, in Meta Business Suite and in the Meta App Dashboard.
The WhatsApp 24-hour customer service window
This is the rule that shapes everything a WhatsApp AI chatbot can and can't do, so it's worth getting right.
According to Meta's WhatsApp pricing documentation, "When a WhatsApp user messages you or calls you, a 24-hour timer called a customer service window starts." Each new message from the customer restarts the timer. While the window is open, a business can send ordinary free-form messages: plain replies, links, the kind of thing you'd type yourself.
Once 24 hours pass without the customer writing again, the window closes. After that, the business can only send template messages: pre-written messages that Meta has reviewed and approved.
Here's what that means in practice:
- A customer messages at 8 pm on Monday. The assistant can reply, ask follow-up questions and book them, any time until 8 pm on Tuesday, and longer if they keep chatting.
- The customer goes quiet after getting a price. On Thursday you'd like to nudge them. You can't send a normal message; you'd need an approved template.
- A booking is on Friday at 10 am, made on Monday. A reminder on Thursday evening would be outside the window, so it would have to be a template.
What template messages are
Meta's template fundamentals page says template messages "are the only type of message that can be sent to WhatsApp users outside of a customer service window." Each template is categorised as marketing, utility or authentication, which also affects what Meta charges for it. Templates are reviewed automatically when you create or edit them, and only templates with an approved status can be sent.
Templates are fine for a reminder that says "Your appointment at {{1}} is tomorrow at {{2}}". They're not a way to hold a conversation.
Why Klugon doesn't send templates
Klugon's WhatsApp adapter doesn't send template messages. It replies inside the 24-hour window and nowhere else. That's a deliberate choice for now, and it's the reason there are no WhatsApp reminders, follow-ups or broadcasts in Klugon today.
For you, this has three practical effects:
- The AI answers every customer who writes in, at any hour. That part isn't limited.
- The confirmation of a booking is the reply in the chat, sent while the window is open.
- If you or your staff want to reply to a flagged conversation, do it within 24 hours of the customer's last message. Klugon doesn't check the window before you hit send; if Meta refuses the message, you'll see Meta's error in the inbox, written so you can read it.
If you need reminders, a lot of small businesses keep using whatever their booking or calendar app already sends, by email, alongside the WhatsApp assistant. That's an honest workaround, not a Klugon feature.
What Meta charges for, from October 2026
Meta charges businesses for some WhatsApp messages. This billing is between you and Meta, through the payment method on your WhatsApp account in Meta Business Suite. It's separate from your Klugon subscription.
According to Meta's pricing page:
- Meta has charged per delivered message since 1 July 2025, at rates that depend on the message category and the customer's country code.
- Meta doesn't charge for messages customers send to you.
- Replies you send inside the customer service window are service messages. Each business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages a month, which don't roll over.
- From 1 October 2026, Meta charges for service messages after the first 1,000 in a month. Meta's page says it will not deliver service messages beyond the free tier for accounts that can't be charged, so a payment method on file matters.
The thing to understand is that Meta counts messages, not conversations. A booking chat might involve the assistant sending five or six replies. So the free 1,000 covers something like 150 to 200 chats a month for a typical small business, and anything above that is billed by Meta at its rate for your customers' country. Check the current rate card on Meta's page for your market before you estimate.
There's a second Meta rule worth knowing. In October 2025, Meta changed its WhatsApp Business terms to bar general-purpose AI assistants (the ChatGPT-style "ask me anything" bots) from the Platform, from 15 January 2026. TechCrunch's report from October 2025 quotes Meta as saying businesses using AI to serve their own customers aren't affected. Klugon's assistant is that second kind: it answers questions about your business, from your knowledge, for your customers.
Sample WhatsApp conversations
These are sample conversations, written to show how the assistant handles typical messages. The businesses are made up, and so are the customers.
Sample 1: a hair salon booking
A sample WhatsApp conversation. The salon, "Fern & Finch Hair", is made up.
What happened: the assistant used the salon's service lengths and its patch test policy, which the owner had pasted into the knowledge base, and it booked two linked appointments. The patch test rule came from the owner, not from the AI. If the owner hadn't written it down, the assistant wouldn't have known to ask.
Sample 2: a question the assistant hands over
A sample WhatsApp conversation. The physiotherapy clinic, "Northgate Physio", is made up.
What happened: the clinic's instructions told the assistant never to give clinical advice and always to hand symptom questions over, with the 111 line. The assistant marked the conversation "escalated", and a message went to the clinic's Slack channel. A physiotherapist replied from the Klugon inbox the next morning, inside the 24-hour window. For clinics, write these instructions explicitly. The AI should not triage.
Sample 3: a product question and a quote request
A sample WhatsApp conversation. The garden centre, "Holloway Plants", is made up.
What happened: the prices and delivery rules came from the product catalogue and the delivery policy in the knowledge base. The assistant didn't promise stock. It captured a lead with the details and flagged it. A staff member checked the yard and replied within the hour.
What the AI hands to your staff
Most of the value of a WhatsApp AI chatbot is in the conversations it finishes. The rest is in how cleanly it hands over the ones it shouldn't finish. Here is exactly what that looks like in Klugon.
When it hands over
You decide, through the assistant's instructions, what it should pass to a person. Common choices:
- complaints, refunds and disputes about a bill
- anything medical, legal or financial that needs a professional
- requests outside your normal services ("can you do 40 people on a Sunday?")
- a customer who asks for a person
- anything the assistant couldn't find in your knowledge
The guide to handing calls and chats to staff has a longer list by business type, and sample wording.
What your team gets
When the assistant hands over, three things happen:
- The conversation is marked "escalated" and gets a "Needs a person" banner in Klugon's inbox. You can filter the inbox to show only escalated conversations.
- A notification goes to Slack or Zapier, if you've connected one of them. The Slack integration posts handovers, new leads and bookings to a channel your team watches. With Zapier, you can send the same events wherever you like.
- It appears on the Insights to-do list under handovers waiting.
The team member opens the conversation and sees the full message history, including what the customer said, what the assistant answered and any lead details it captured. They can add internal notes, and change the status to active or closed when it's dealt with.
Replying from the inbox
On WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, your team can reply to the customer directly from Klugon's inbox. The reply goes out from your business number, so the customer sees it in the same chat. Remember the 24-hour rule: if the customer's last message was more than a day ago, Meta will refuse the reply, and you'll see why.
What doesn't happen
Two limits to plan around:
- The AI isn't paused when it hands over. If the customer keeps writing, the assistant keeps replying. In practice that's usually fine, because it will tell them the team is on it. But if a staff member is mid-conversation with a customer, they should know the assistant may also answer.
- There's no assigning or labelling. Klugon's inbox doesn't assign a conversation to a named person, tag it or set a priority. Small teams usually agree a rule in Slack ("thumbs up means I've got it").
Meta's policy on escalation
Meta's WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy says that businesses using automation must also have "prompt, clear, and direct escalation paths", and lists options such as a human agent in the chat, a phone number, email or a support form. Klugon's handover plus replies from your inbox give you one. It's still good practice to put your phone number or email in the assistant's knowledge, so it can give the customer another route when that's quicker.
Teaching the assistant for WhatsApp
WhatsApp is short-form. People write in fragments, send three messages where one would do, and expect quick, short answers. A few things help the assistant fit in:
- Write short source material. If your FAQ answers "Do you take walk-ins?" in two sentences, the assistant's reply will be short too. If it's a 400-word essay, the reply gets longer than it should be.
- Give exact prices and durations, or say plainly "from £X, depending on Y". Vague knowledge makes vague answers.
- List what to hand over. Be specific: "Hand over any question about a reaction to a treatment." "Hand over any wedding or group enquiry over 10 people."
- Add your links. Your booking page, map, menu PDF and refund policy go in the links library so the assistant can share them rather than paraphrase.
- Set the tone in the instructions. Ask for short, friendly replies, first names and no emoji, if that's how your business writes. Then check the first few days of conversations to see that the replies match.
Pricing and a worked cost example
WhatsApp is part of Klugon's AI social agent plan, which also covers Instagram and Messenger. You pay for the plan, and a $19 a month add-on for the WhatsApp number when you connect it. All prices are in US dollars. Full details are on the pricing page.
| Social plan | Monthly | Billed yearly (per month) | Conversations a month | WhatsApp numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $79 | $63 | 300 | 1 |
| Business | $249 | $199 | 1,500 | Up to 3 |
| Scale | $449 | $359 | 3,500 | Up to 10 |
A conversation is one customer on one channel, however many messages they send. The same person writing on WhatsApp and on Instagram counts as two conversations. WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger all count toward the same allowance. If you go over, new conversations stop at 110% of the allowance; conversations already under way aren't cut off.
The $19 WhatsApp number add-on is added to your Klugon bill automatically when you connect WhatsApp, and it's charged for each number you connect. If you connect several numbers, they're all answered by the same assistant, and replies you send from the inbox go out from the number the customer wrote to. The number itself is your own, registered with Meta, and Meta bills your WhatsApp account directly for any messages it charges for. Those charges don't appear on your Klugon invoice.
There's a 7-day free trial. A card is required at sign-up and is charged when the trial ends, unless you cancel before then. One trial per product per business.
A worked example
Say you run a two-chair barber shop and you get about 200 WhatsApp conversations a month, mostly bookings and "are you open?". Assumptions:
- Starter social plan: $79 a month, 300 conversations, so 200 fits.
- WhatsApp number add-on: $19 a month.
- The assistant sends an average of 5 replies per conversation, so about 1,000 service messages a month.
- Meta gives 1,000 free service messages per number per month.
Klugon cost: $79 + $19 = $98 a month. Meta cost: roughly nothing, because you're at the free tier. If you doubled to 400 conversations, you'd need the Business plan ($249 plus $19), and Meta would charge for the roughly 1,000 service messages above the free tier, at your country's rate.
Now the other side. Say 1 in 10 of those 200 conversations is someone who would have gone elsewhere if you'd replied the next morning, and an average cut is £25. That's 20 bookings a month, or £500. Your own numbers will differ; the point is to compare the monthly cost to the bookings you'd otherwise lose, not to the price of a WhatsApp app that's free.
If you also want the phone answered, that's the separate voice plan, covered on the AI phone receptionist page. Each Klugon product has its own subscription, so you only pay for the channels you use.
How to tell whether it's working
Give it four weeks, then look at these in Klugon:
- Conversations by channel and hour. The Analytics page shows the split by channel, so you can see how many came in on WhatsApp, and a busiest-hours chart. Look at how much of the volume lands outside your opening hours. Those are the messages nobody was answering before.
- Bookings. The bookings count on the Analytics page excludes cancelled bookings. Compare a month with the assistant to the same month last year, if you have the data.
- Handled without handover. Analytics shows how many conversations the assistant handled without handing over, as a percentage. If this is low, the assistant is missing knowledge, not working badly.
- Questions without a good answer. The Insights page lists them. Fix the top five each week.
- Most asked questions. Insights also shows the questions asked most in the last 30 days. If "do you have parking?" is near the top, put it on your website too.
Then read twenty conversations end to end. Numbers tell you volume; reading tells you whether the replies sound like your business.
WhatsApp booking bot by type of business
The same assistant works differently depending on what you sell. A few patterns:
Salons and barbers. Bookings, moving appointments and price questions are most of the volume. Write down your patch test rule, your late arrival policy and which stylist does what. See the salons page for more.
Clinics and therapists. Bookings and admin questions are fine. Anything about symptoms, medication or treatment results must go to a person. Say this in the instructions in plain words, and give the emergency route.
Trades. Most messages are quote requests with photos. The assistant can capture the job details, postcode and preferred days as a lead, and flag them. It shouldn't price a job it hasn't seen.
Restaurants and cafés. Opening hours, allergens and bookings. On allergens, give it your exact allergen information and tell it to hand over anything it can't confirm from that.
Shops. Stock and price questions, opening hours, and "can you put one aside?". Keep the product catalogue current, and tell the assistant to hand over hold requests.
If WhatsApp isn't your main channel, the AI chatbot for your website and Instagram DM automation pages cover those, and they use the same assistant.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need the WhatsApp Business API to use an AI chatbot?
Yes. Any WhatsApp AI chatbot has to connect through Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform (the Cloud API). The free WhatsApp Business app on your phone can't be connected to outside software. Klugon connects to the Platform using a Meta app, a registered phone number and an access token that you create.
Can I keep my existing WhatsApp number?
Often, yes, but a number that's already used on WhatsApp has to be removed from WhatsApp before Meta will register it on the Platform, and your app chat history doesn't move with it. Many businesses use a second number for the Platform instead. Check Meta's phone number requirements first.
Does Klugon provide the WhatsApp number?
No. The number is your own, registered with Meta under your own business account. Klugon charges $19 a month for each WhatsApp number you connect. Starter connects one number, Business up to 3 and Scale up to 10, all answered by the same assistant setup.
Can the AI send appointment reminders on WhatsApp?
No. Messages sent more than 24 hours after a customer last wrote must be approved template messages, and Klugon doesn't send templates. The assistant confirms the booking in the chat at the time, and that's all it sends.
What happens if the AI can't answer a question?
It tells the customer that someone from the team will reply, marks the conversation as needing a person, and notifies your team through Slack or Zapier if you've connected them. Your team replies from Klugon's inbox within Meta's 24-hour window. The AI isn't paused while that happens.
Does Meta charge for WhatsApp messages as well?
Meta bills your WhatsApp account directly for some messages, separately from Klugon. Replies inside the 24-hour window are service messages; each number gets 1,000 free a month, and from 1 October 2026 Meta charges for service messages beyond that. Rates depend on your customers' country.
How long does the WhatsApp setup take?
It depends on Meta more than on Klugon. You need a Meta business portfolio, a Meta app with WhatsApp, a verified number with an approved display name, and a permanent access token. Some businesses finish in an afternoon; display name review or a number that's still on the WhatsApp app can add days.
Can I test it during the free trial?
You can try the assistant in your browser during the 7-day trial, before you connect anything, and check its answers and bookings there. When you connect WhatsApp, the $19 a month number fee is added to your social subscription.
Is a WhatsApp AI chatbot allowed under Meta's rules?
Meta barred general-purpose AI assistants from the WhatsApp Business Platform from 15 January 2026, but said businesses using AI to serve their own customers aren't affected. Meta's messaging policy also asks businesses that use automation to offer a clear way to reach a person, which Klugon's handover and inbox replies provide.
Getting started
If most of your customer messages arrive on WhatsApp after you've gone home, an assistant that answers from your own information and books into your calendar will take a real load off. Do the Meta setup properly once, with a permanent token and a payment method on file, write down what the assistant should hand over, and read its conversations for the first few weeks. You can start the 7-day trial and try the assistant in your browser before you connect WhatsApp.