WhatsApp AI Assistant

Category: Integrations

Your business can now offer a conversational AI assistant that allows customers to interact with your services through WhatsApp. Customers can book appointments, check availability, view their bookings, and manage their accounts—all through natural conversation.

Where to Find This

Services → Integrations tab

Overview

The WhatsApp AI assistant provides customers with instant, 24/7 access to your booking system through a familiar messaging app they already use daily.

What Customers Can Do

• Check service availability for specific dates
• Book appointments for services they have access to
• View upcoming bookings and booking history
• Cancel bookings within the cancellation policy window
• Check account details including active subscriptions
• View subscription information and service quotas
• Get help with natural language questions

Key Benefits

For Your Customers:

• Instant responses 24/7, no waiting
• Book appointments from anywhere
• No app download required
• Conversation in plain English
• Secure authentication with OTP

For Your Business:

• Reduce manual booking administration
• Capture bookings outside business hours
• Improve customer satisfaction
• Lower no-shows with easy access
• Professional, consistent service

How It Works

Customer Journey

1. First Contact

   • Customer sends a message to your WhatsApp number
   • AI detects multiple profiles (if applicable) and asks them to choose
   • System sends a 6-digit verification code

2. Authentication

   • Customer enters the code
   • Session is authenticated (valid for 24 hours)
   • AI greets them by name

3. Natural Conversation

   • Customer asks questions in plain English
   • AI understands intent and responds appropriately
   • Tools are called automatically (booking, availability, account info)

4. Task Completion

   • Actions are processed in real-time
   • Confirmations are provided
   • Customer can continue the conversation

Example Conversations

Checking Availability:

Customer: What times are available for a clean next Wednesday?
AI: Let me check available times for Wednesday, February 12th...
    Here are the available slots for Standard Clean (3 hours):
    • 9:00 AM
    • 11:30 AM
    • 2:00 PM
    Which time works best for you?

Viewing Bookings:

Customer: Show me my upcoming bookings
AI: Here are your upcoming bookings:
    
    1. Standard Clean
       📅 Thu, Feb 20, 2026 at 10:00 AM
       📍 Customer location
       ⏱️ 3 hours
    
    2. Premium Clean
       📅 Tue, Feb 25, 2026 at 2:00 PM
       📍 Customer location
       ⏱️ 4 hours

Checking Account:

Customer: What's my current subscription?
AI: Your Subscription Details:
    
    Plan: Standard Clean - Fortnightly
    Status: Active
    Next Payment: £70.00 on March 1, 2026
    
    Current Period: Feb 1 - Feb 28, 2026
    • Standard Clean: 1 of 1 sessions remaining

Required Setup

The WhatsApp AI assistant requires your Twilio credentials to be configured.

Prerequisites

• Twilio account (free trial or paid)
• Twilio WhatsApp-enabled phone number
• WhatsApp Business App access

Configuration

1. Go to Services → Integrations tab
2. Enter your Twilio credentials:
   • Account SID
   • Auth Token
   • Phone Number (WhatsApp-enabled)
   • WhatsApp Phone Number (optional, uses main number if not set)
3. Click Save Changes
4. Test by sending a message to your WhatsApp number

Authentication & Security

The AI assistant uses secure OTP (One-Time Password) verification to protect customer data.

How Authentication Works

1. First Message

   • Customer sends any message
   • System looks up their phone number

2. Profile Detection

   • If multiple profiles share the phone number, customer chooses which one
   • System sends a 6-digit code via WhatsApp

3. Verification

   • Customer replies with the code
   • Valid for 10 minutes
   • 3 attempts allowed

4. Session Created

   • Authenticated for 24 hours
   • No re-verification needed during the session
   • Session automatically expires after inactivity

Multi-Profile Support

If multiple user accounts share the same phone number (e.g., family members, business partners), customers choose which profile to use:

AI: Multiple accounts found for this phone number:

    1. Jane Smith (jane@example.com)
    2. Test User (test@example.com)
    3. John Doe (admin@example.com)

    Which profile would you like to use? Reply with the number or name.

Customer: 1

AI: [Sends verification code for Jane Smith account]

Security Features

• OTP verification prevents unauthorized access
• Time-limited sessions (24 hours)
• Scoped access to only the authenticated user's data
• Audit trail of all interactions logged
• Phone number validation ensures correct user

For more details, see WhatsApp Authentication & Security.

What Customers Can Ask

The AI assistant understands natural language and can handle variations of the same request.

Service Availability

Examples:

• "What services do you offer?"
• "Show me available times for a clean next week"
• "When can I book a standard clean?"
• "Do you have any slots on Friday?"
• "What's available this Wednesday afternoon?"

Booking Management

Examples:

• "Book me a clean for tomorrow at 2pm"
• "Show my upcoming bookings"
• "Cancel my appointment on Friday"
• "What appointments do I have?"
• "I need to cancel next week's booking"

Account Information

Examples:

• "What's my account status?"
• "Show me my subscription details"
• "How many bookings do I have left?"
• "When is my next payment?"
• "What plan am I on?"

Help & General Questions

Examples:

• "How does this work?"
• "What can you help me with?"
• "I need help"
• "What commands are available?"

Limitations

The AI assistant is designed for common customer tasks. Some operations require the full web interface:

Not Available via WhatsApp

• Upgrading/downgrading subscriptions – Requires Stripe payment flow
• Updating payment methods – Security reasons
• Creating new bookings – Currently view-only for bookings
• Changing personal details – Must use account settings
• Viewing invoices – Download from web dashboard

Current Capabilities

The initial release focuses on:

• ✅ Viewing services
• ✅ Checking availability
• ✅ Viewing bookings
• ✅ Cancelling bookings
• ✅ Account information
• ✅ Subscription details

Customer Experience

The AI provides a conversational, helpful experience:

Tone & Language

• Friendly and professional
• Clear and concise responses
• Uses customer's first name when appropriate
• Explains limitations politely

Error Handling

When things go wrong, the AI:

• Explains what went wrong
• Suggests solutions
• Offers alternative options
• Provides contact information if needed

Example:

Customer: Book me a clean for next Tuesday at 3pm

AI: I'm unable to create bookings directly at the moment, but I can help you check availability!

    Available times on Tuesday, February 18th:
    • 9:00 AM
    • 11:30 AM  
    • 2:00 PM

    To book, please visit your account dashboard or let me know if you'd like to check another date.

Response Times

• Instant for simple queries
• 1-3 seconds for database lookups
• 3-5 seconds for complex availability checks

Managing WhatsApp Interactions

Viewing Conversation History

Track WhatsApp interactions with customers:

1. Go to Services → Integrations tab → WhatsApp
2. View conversation logs
3. Filter by date range or customer
4. See message content and AI responses

Monitoring Usage

The dashboard provides:

• Total conversations
• Messages sent/received
• Active sessions
• Authentication success rate
• Most common queries

Customer Support

If a customer has an issue with the WhatsApp assistant:

1. Check conversation logs to see what happened
2. Verify authentication succeeded
3. Review error messages if any
4. Contact customer directly to resolve manually

User Management

Disabling WhatsApp Access

To disable WhatsApp for specific users:

1. Go to Services → Account tab → Users
2. Find the user
3. Toggle WhatsApp Enabled to OFF
4. Customer receives "access disabled" message if they try to use WhatsApp

Monitoring User Activity

Track which customers are using WhatsApp:

1. Go to Services → Analytics tab → WhatsApp Usage
2. See active users
3. View conversation frequency
4. Identify power users

Best Practices

Promote WhatsApp Access

Let customers know they can use WhatsApp:

• Add WhatsApp number to website
• Include in booking confirmations
• Mention in email signatures
• Promote on social media

Set Expectations

Make it clear what customers can do:

• List capabilities on your website
• Explain limitations upfront
• Provide alternative contact methods

Monitor Performance

Regularly review:

• Conversation success rate
• Common customer questions
• Authentication failures
• Error frequency

Provide Feedback

If customers ask for features not available yet:

• Acknowledge the request politely
• Explain current limitations
• Suggest alternative methods
• Let us know via platform feedback

Troubleshooting

Customer Can't Authenticate

Possible Causes:

• Code expired (10 minutes)
• Too many attempts (3 max)
• Incorrect code entered
• Phone number mismatch

Solution:

• Customer should request a new code
• Verify phone number is correct
• Check conversation logs for details

AI Doesn't Understand

Possible Causes:

• Unusual phrasing
• Ambiguous request
• Task is not supported

Solution:

• Customer should rephrase question
• Use clearer language
• Try simpler commands
• Contact support if persistent

No Response from AI

Possible Causes:

• Twilio credentials invalid
• Service outage
• Message not delivered

Solution:

• Check Twilio dashboard for errors
• Verify credentials in settings
• Contact platform support

Privacy & Data

What Data is Stored

• Phone numbers
• Message content (for audit/support)
• Authentication attempts
• Session information
• User actions (bookings viewed, etc.)

Data Retention

• Active sessions: 24 hours
• Message logs: 30 days
• Expired sessions: 30 days
• OTP codes: Deleted after verification or 10 minutes

Compliance

• GDPR compliant
• Data encrypted in transit and at rest
• Customer can request data deletion
• Audit logs for compliance