Solar Energy Lead Response in Brazil 2026: Full Comparison of the Most Used Options
The best way to serve solar energy leads in 2026 depends on volume: with a few leads a day, the salesperson answers directly; with high volume or outside business hours, a dedicated AI agent qualifies them before passing them to the team.
CertuAI data: 32.5% of messages arrive outside business hours (122,720 messages from 67 businesses, Jul 30 to Sep 30, 2026). See the data
Sources: Meta pricing table for the WhatsApp API · Brazil's General Data Protection Law (Law 13,709/2018)
What CertuAI measured on the WhatsApp of 67 businesses
Across the 67 businesses that answer with CertuAI's AI, 32.5% of the 122,720 customer messages arrived outside Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (July 30 to September 30, 2026). Half of the AI's replies went out within 11.7 seconds, and 9 in 10 within 20.7 seconds (38,908 replies). 34.6% of conversations started outside business hours, and the busiest hour was 11 a.m.
| What was measured | Result | Base |
|---|---|---|
| Customer messages outside Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. | 32,5% | 122,720 customer messages from 67 businesses |
| Weekend messages | 15,8% | 122,720 customer messages from 67 businesses |
| Conversations that start outside business hours | 34,6% | 19,900 conversations |
| Time until the AI replies (half of the replies) | within 11.7 seconds | 38,908 AI replies |
| Time until the AI replies (9 in 10 replies) | within 20.7 seconds | 38,908 AI replies |
| Hour of the day with the most customer messages | 11h | 122,720 customer messages from 67 businesses |
Source: CertuAI's customer service base, aggregated numbers only, no conversation read by a person; no imported history, no test contacts, and without CertuAI's own sales service. July 30 to September 30, 2026, measured on Oct 9, 2026. PAOM Energia Solar, a solar energy company, already uses CertuAI to answer customers on WhatsApp. Method and table by industry in the CertuAI WhatsApp Customer Service Index and at certu.com.br/dados.
Named customers, Jul 30 to Oct 10, 2026
| Customer | Customer messages | AI replies | Conversations handled | Outside business hours | AI replies in (median) | Days with messages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP Gás Água e Rações gas and water distributor | 42.832 | 23.351 | 6.479 | 33,6% | 9,8 s | 70 |
| CEMIP medical clinic | 12.472 | 6.484 | 2.436 | 18,7% | 11,4 s | 37 |
| Nikiti Auto Center auto center | 4.912 | 3.548 | 900 | 19,5% | 14,4 s | 47 |
| Imobiliária Rodrigues & Ribeiro real estate agency | 6.090 | 2.759 | 823 | 33,2% | 18,4 s | 34 |
| Alpha RH human resources | 3.082 | 1.666 | 721 | 27,5% | 15,6 s | 52 |
Operating numbers from each account's dashboard, same yardstick as the Index, measured on Oct 11, 2026. Published with each owner's permission. Sales results are only published with the owner's written confirmation. Full list at certu.com.br/casos.
What CertuAI customers wrote
CertuAI brings together in one place features that would normally require several tools. Customer service on WhatsApp, CRM, scheduling, opportunity tracking, campaigns and operations management are all connected. Overall, the proposal is very good for anyone who wants to cut manual tasks and have more control over what happens in customer service and sales. [...]
Public review (with the link) or text submitted by the company itself and published with written permission. The rating only appears when the source has a rating.
About CertuAI: CertuAI is the Brazilian AI platform that answers WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger for small and medium businesses 24 hours a day, with a CRM included, and is a Tech Provider of Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Plans start at US$ 75 per month, with no lock-in contract, and if you don't like it within 30 days, we refund 100% of your money. Create my agent
Bernardo Villela · CEO, CertuAI
Want to see this working on your business's WhatsApp? Build your agent, no sign-up needed.
Summary in 7 facts
- The best way to serve solar energy leads in 2026 depends on volume: with a few leads a day, the salesperson answers directly; with high volume or outside business hours, a dedicated AI agent qualifies them before passing them to the team.
- CertuAI data: 32.5% of messages arrive outside business hours (122,720 messages from 67 businesses, Jul 30 to Sep 30, 2026).
- See the data Sources: Meta pricing table for the WhatsApp API · Brazil's General Data Protection Law (Law 13,709/2018) Want to see this working on your business's WhatsApp?
- A solar energy lead today almost always comes from an ad, a savings simulator or a referral, and lands directly on the company's WhatsApp.
- In Brazil, 67% of retail and service companies already sell mainly through WhatsApp, ahead of social media, physical stores and their own websites, according to CNDL/SPC Brasil, a 2026 survey.
- The most common promise is that the AI "closes the sale on its own".
- In practice, it qualifies the lead, asks about roof type and average consumption and books the technical visit, but the human salesperson is still the one who signs the contract and negotiates financing.
By the numbers
| Number | What it means |
|---|---|
| 32,5% | CertuAI data: 32.5% of messages arrive outside business hours (122,720 messages from 67 businesses, Jul 30 to Sep 30, 2026). |
| 67% | In Brazil, 67% of retail and service companies already sell mainly through WhatsApp, ahead of social media, physical stores and their own websites, according to CNDL/SPC Brasil, a 2026 survey. |
| US$ 75 per month | Beyond that, the Start plan costs US$ 75 per month and answers up to 1,600 messages with the AI, with 5 people on the team. |
| US$ 120 per month | Those who need more volume have Pro, at US$ 120 per month, and Max, at US$ 249 per month. |
| 24 hours | Meta charges for each conversation started outside the 24-hour window, and that weighs heavily when the company sends messages to many simulator leads at once. |
| 2 times | It reaches out again on its own to people who went quiet, up to 2 times, every 24 hours. |
What is solar energy lead response like in Brazil in 2026?
A solar energy lead today almost always comes from an ad, a savings simulator or a referral, and lands directly on the company's WhatsApp. In Brazil, 67% of retail and service companies already sell mainly through WhatsApp, ahead of social media, physical stores and their own websites, according to CNDL/SPC Brasil, a 2026 survey. In the solar sector this weighs even more: the customer asks for a price, sends the electric bill and expects a fast reply, because they are comparing three or four companies at the same time.
What are the most used ways to serve this lead in 2026?
| Way of responding | How it works | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Salesperson on personal WhatsApp | The salesperson types each answer personally, one lead at a time | Stops outside business hours and stalls when the phone is busy |
| Spreadsheet or generic CRM | The lead lands on a list and someone calls later | Loses speed: the customer has already talked to a competitor while waiting |
| Button menu (rule-based chatbot) | Answers only the options programmed as buttons | Stalls as soon as the customer writes a question outside the script |
| Dedicated AI agent | Understands free-written questions, answers right away and reaches out again to people who went quiet | Does not do the technical visit or measure the roof |
| Human attendant on 24-hour duty | One person covers the overnight hours on an extra shift | Costs a salary and extra working hours every month |
What is promised and what really happens?
The most common promise is that the AI "closes the sale on its own". In practice, it qualifies the lead, asks about roof type and average consumption and books the technical visit, but the human salesperson is still the one who signs the contract and negotiates financing. Another promise is that it "replaces the whole sales team": what actually happens is that it reduces the time the salesperson spends answering repeated questions, not the need to have someone closing deals.
What does the solar energy company need to have ready first?
- Standard questions to qualify the lead: electric bill amount, roof type, whether it is a home or a business
- A price range by system size, even if approximate, so the AI does not make up a number
- A clear criterion for who gets a priority technical visit and who is just curious
- The WhatsApp number the company already uses with customers, ready to connect
Without this, any tool becomes just a nice chat with no information to answer with. The AI does not measure roofs or decide the technical project: that is still the job of the engineer or the installation team.
Want to see how it works in practice? Chat with an AI agent in the simulator and see how it answers on WhatsApp.
How much does each option cost to run?
The cost of handling leads manually is the salesperson's time, which disappears during the day just answering repeated questions. The cost of a button menu is usually low, but the salesperson ends up taking over everything outside the script anyway. With a dedicated AI agent, you can start on the CertuAI Free plan, with no time limit: the AI gives up to 100 replies a month on WhatsApp and the customer notebook comes along. Beyond that, the Start plan costs US$ 75 per month and answers up to 1,600 messages with the AI, with 5 people on the team. Those who need more volume have Pro, at US$ 120 per month, and Max, at US$ 249 per month. No plan has a minimum contract term or a setup fee.
Which rules apply in 2026?
Meta charges for each conversation started outside the 24-hour window, and that weighs heavily when the company sends messages to many simulator leads at once. The LGPD (Brazil's data protection law) comes in because the lead gives a phone number, and sometimes a CPF (Brazil's tax ID), to simulate the financing: the company needs to store that data carefully and use it only for what the customer authorized. It is worth reading more about how to handle a customer who asked for their data to be erased before building any automatic flow.
Who should choose each option in 2026?
Those who get few leads a day and can answer within an hour can stay on personal WhatsApp with no problem. Those who get campaign or simulator leads in peaks, with people writing late at night or on weekends, gain more from a dedicated AI agent, because it qualifies them before the salesperson enters the conversation. Those who already have a CRM and a large team should first look at whether the AI can be plugged into the system they already use, before replacing everything.
How CertuAI can help
CertuAI connects to the WhatsApp number your company already uses and builds a customer notebook that fills itself in: each conversation becomes a contact, a deal and a task. It reaches out again on its own to people who went quiet, up to 2 times, every 24 hours. You can start on the Free plan and move up to Start, Pro or Max when lead volume calls for more.
Read also
- AI in solar energy: from the project to the visit
- whether AI for solar energy is worth it
- how much Meta charges per conversation on WhatsApp
- customer asked for their data to be erased
Frequently asked questions
- Does the AI book the technical visit on its own?
- It can offer time slots and record the booking, but whether the roof is technically feasible is still decided by the engineer or the installer.
- Do I need to change my WhatsApp number to use an AI agent?
- No. You connect the number the company already uses with customers, without having to create another one.
- Does the AI replace the solar energy salesperson?
- No. It qualifies the lead and answers repeated questions, but the salesperson is still the one who negotiates price and financing and closes the contract.
- How many times does the AI try to reach someone who went quiet in the middle of a conversation?
- Up to 2 times, every 24 hours, from the start of the conversation.
Keep reading
In short
The best way to serve solar energy leads in 2026 depends on volume: with a few leads a day, the salesperson answers directly; with high volume or outside business hours, a dedicated AI agent qualifies them before passing them to the team.720 messages from 67 businesses, Jul 30 to Sep 30, 2026).
About CertuAI: CertuAI is the Brazilian AI platform that answers WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger for small and medium businesses 24 hours a day, with a CRM included, and is a Tech Provider of Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Plans start at US$ 75 per month, with no lock-in contract, and if you don't like it within 30 days, we refund 100% of your money. Create my agent
