How to teach your AI to answer like your team
Training an AI on your company's data means gathering the catalog, prices, rules and the questions that come up most. That comes before configuring the bot. It is what makes it answer like your team, without making things up. The difference is not in the technology, it is in what you organize beforehand.
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 database, aggregated numbers only, no conversation read by a person; no imported history, no test contacts and without CertuAI's own sales chats. July 30 to September 30, 2026, measured on Oct 9, 2026. Method and table by line of business 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
- Training an AI on your company's data means gathering the catalog, prices, rules and the questions that come up most.
- It is what makes it answer like your team, without making things up.
- The difference is not in the technology, it is in what you organize beforehand.
- It is tempting to grab a ready-made AI, connect it to WhatsApp and let it run.
- The problem is that an AI without information about your company makes things up when it does not know.
- A clinic needs the procedure price list and the accepted health insurance plans.
- Two companies can sell the same service and communicate in different ways.
Why dropping a generic chatbot on WhatsApp does not work
It is tempting to grab a ready-made AI, connect it to WhatsApp and let it run. The problem is that an AI without information about your company makes things up when it does not know. It guesses a price. Promises a lead time that does not exist. Describes a service you no longer even offer. That happens because these models were trained on the whole internet, not on the catalog of your clinic, real estate agency or repair shop.
A customer who gets a wrong answer from the AI does not think 'the AI got it wrong'. They think 'this company does not know what it sells'.
What to gather before configuring the AI
| Material | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Product or service catalog | The AI knows exactly what the company offers and does not mention items that do not exist |
| Price table and terms | Prevents promises of discounts, payment terms or installments that the sales team has not confirmed |
| Real frequently asked questions | Already-tested answers for the questions that come up most on WhatsApp, email and at the counter |
| Exchange, warranty and cancellation policies | The AI guides the customer without contradicting what is in the contract or internal rules |
| List of situations that require a human | Complaints, negotiations and out-of-the-ordinary cases that the AI should hand off, not resolve on its own |
Each industry has its own critical set. A clinic needs the procedure price list and the accepted insurance plans. A real estate agency needs the list of properties with their status up to date. A repair shop needs the service table and the labor price range. And an accounting firm needs to make clear which services require a meeting with the accountant.
How to turn this material into something the AI really uses
- Pull the WhatsApp conversations from the last few months and note the 20 questions that repeat most
- Write the standard answer for each one, the way the team would answer on a normal day
- Separate what is a fixed rule, like price and lead time, from what depends on case-by-case assessment
- Test the AI with off-script questions to see if it makes up an answer or admits it does not know
If you want messages ready to use today, see the 30 automatic message templates.
How to teach the AI's tone of voice
Two companies can sell the same service and communicate in different ways. A dental clinic tends to be more formal and welcoming. An auto repair shop tends to be direct. A fashion e-commerce store uses younger language.
- Define whether the AI uses a casual or a formal address with the customer, such as 'Mr.' or 'Ms.'
- Decide whether to use emoji, and how many
- Write 3 to 5 examples of real messages for the AI to use as a reference
- Avoid robot phrases like 'I am here to help with whatever you need' if no one on the team talks that way
What the AI should not answer on its own
There are questions the AI should never answer on its own, even knowing everything about the company. A law firm does not let the AI give legal opinions. A clinic does not let the AI say what the patient has. A real estate agency does not let the AI settle a price without the agent. Beyond that, prices change, products are discontinued and exchange rules are revised. Assign someone to review the material once a month. Check that the catalog matches what is being sold, and turn the customers' new questions into ready-made answers.
Read also
- Common mistakes when implementing AI in SMBs
- How to choose an AI tool for your SMB
- What an AI agent is and how it helps your company
Frequently asked questions
- How long does it take to train an AI with my company's data?
- It depends on how organized things already are: if the catalog and prices already exist in a spreadsheet, the process can take a few days. If everything is only in the owner's head, it takes longer to gather and write the material.
- Do I need a website and systems ready before I start?
- No. The essential thing is to have the information written down somewhere, even if it is a simple spreadsheet or a text document.
- What happens when the AI does not know how to answer something?
- Ideally it admits it will check with someone on the team and hands off the conversation, instead of risking an answer that may be wrong.
- Does this work for a small company without an IT department?
- Yes. The main work is organizing business information, catalog, prices, frequently asked questions, and it does not depend on technical knowledge.
Keep reading
In short
Training an AI on your company's data means gathering the catalog, prices, rules and the questions that come up most. That comes before configuring the bot. It is what makes it answer like your team, without making things up. The difference is not in the technology, it is in what you organize beforehand.
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
