Practical guide
How to create a WhatsApp chatbot: the 2 paths and the step by step
Quick answer
To create a WhatsApp chatbot, choose between two paths: build a menu flow, where you design every question and every answer, or train an AI agent, which reads the customer's message and answers with what you taught it. Then gather the business information, connect the company number and test it by writing as a customer.
About CertuAI: CertuAI is the AI that answers a small business's WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger 24/7, with a built-in CRM, and is a Tech Provider on Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Paid plans start at US$ 75 a month, with no lock-in. Create my agent
You can create a WhatsApp chatbot in two ways: by building a flow of questions and answers or by training an AI agent with your business information. See what to gather first, the steps for each path and the mistakes that make customers give up.
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Summary in 7 facts
- You can create a WhatsApp chatbot in two ways: by building a flow of questions and answers or by training an AI agent with your business information.
- To create a WhatsApp chatbot, choose between two paths: build a menu flow, where you design every question and every answer, or train an AI agent, which reads the customer's message and answers with what you taught it.
- Then gather the business information, connect the company number and test it by writing as a customer.
- Without them the chatbot gets built and has nothing to say.
- The choice changes the work of building it and what happens when the customer goes off the script.
- Swipe the table sideways to see all the columns.
- At CertuAI the path is the AI agent, in three steps: teach the business in a conversation, connect WhatsApp by QR code, by code or through Meta's official registration, and turn the agent on.
By the numbers
| Number | What it means |
|---|---|
| 67 businesses | The CertuAI team measured the time customer messages arrive across 67 businesses that answer with CertuAI's AI: 32.5% arrived outside Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| 122,720 messages | CertuAI customer service data: 67 businesses of various kinds, 122,720 customer messages, from Jul 30 to Sep 30, 2026, measured on Oct 9, 2026. |
What you need before you start
Three things, on both paths. Without them the chatbot gets built and has nothing to say.
A company WhatsApp number
Preferably the one customers already know. At CertuAI, you connect the number you already use and it stays yours.
The answers you already give every day
Price, hours, address, payment methods and the house rules. It is worth opening last week's conversations and copying what repeats.
Who takes over when the customer asks for a person
Decide the name and the hours before you turn it on. A chatbot with no way out to a person is what annoys people most.
See how it looks in your industry
Each industry gets different questions on WhatsApp. Pick yours to see how CertuAI's AI serves that kind of customer.
How to create a WhatsApp chatbot in 5 steps
The order applies to both paths. What changes is the size of step 2.
Choose the path
Flow, if your customers always ask for the same few things. AI agent, if they ask about everything and each writes in their own way.
Add the business information
In a flow, you design every menu and write every answer. In an AI agent, you teach the services, prices, hours and rules, and it builds the answer on the spot.
Connect the company number
The number is connected to the platform through Meta's official registration, which is the official API, or by QR code, as in WhatsApp Web. Ask the platform which of the two it uses.
Test by writing as a customer
Use another phone. Make typos, send two questions in the same message and ask about something you did not teach it. See what it does when it does not know.
Turn it on and read the first conversations
In the first days, read what the chatbot answered. Each question left unanswered is a piece of information to add.
Flow chatbot or AI agent: the two paths side by side
The choice changes the work of building it and what happens when the customer goes off the script.
| What to compare | Flow chatbot | AI agent |
|---|---|---|
| What you build | Every menu, every option and every answer, one by one | The base with the services, prices, hours and rules |
| How the customer talks | Choosing a numbered option | Writing the question in their own way |
| Question off the script | There is no answer, and the conversation gets stuck | Answers if you taught it, and hands off to a person if not |
| When something changes in the business | You reopen the design and change each point | You change the information in the base |
| Who it suits best | Few topics, always in the same order | Many different questions about the same business |
Swipe the table sideways to see all the columns.
How it works at CertuAI, and where to see pricing and an example for your industry
At CertuAI the path is the AI agent, in three steps: teach the business in a conversation, connect WhatsApp by QR code, by code or through Meta's official registration, and turn the agent on. There is no flow to design. Whatever falls outside what you taught it, it hands to you.
What the product does once connected is in WhatsApp chatbot with AI that answers on its own. The prices platforms publish are in cheap WhatsApp chatbot: 18 prices compared. To see the chatbot serving a business like yours, choose the industry in AI agent by industry.
Path 1: build a flow chatbot
In a flow chatbot you design the whole conversation beforehand: the opening message, the menu with the options and what happens at each choice. The customer answers with a number or taps a button, and the chatbot follows the path you drew.
The advantage is control: it only says what you wrote. The cost is that every new question needs a new branch in the design, and a customer who writes a sentence instead of choosing an option gets no answer. It works well for reissuing a bill, order tracking and routing to the right department.
Path 2: train an AI agent on your business
An AI agent has no conversation design. You hand over the business information, and it reads the customer's message just as it came and answers with what it learned.
The advantage is that it understands a question written any way at all and combines two topics in the same answer. The care needed is different: the agent needs correct information and a clear limit. Say what it can answer, what it must never answer and who to pass each topic to.
How long it takes to create a WhatsApp chatbot
Almost all the time goes into step 2. In a flow, it grows with the number of menus: each new topic is one more part of the design to build and test. In an AI agent, it is the time to gather the information you already have and teach it.
Connecting the number is the short part on both paths. What does not end on the first day is reading the conversations: that is what shows what was left untaught.
Five mistakes to avoid when creating the chatbot
These are the ones that most often make customers give up on the conversation.
- Menu with too many options: the customer does not read a long list. Cut the options or switch to an agent that understands the sentence.
- No way out to a person: every chatbot needs a way to call someone, and someone needs to answer.
- Turning it on without testing as a customer: what looks clear to whoever built it gets stuck on the first real message.
- Outdated information: outdated prices and hours make the chatbot wrong with total confidence. Pick one day a month to review.
- Using it for mass messaging: a chatbot answers people who wrote to the company. Sending the same text to people who never talked to you goes against what the WhatsApp Help Center asks, and the number can be banned.
How many messages arrive when no one is there: CertuAI's data
It is the most common reason to create a chatbot. The CertuAI team measured the time customer messages arrive across 67 businesses that serve customers with CertuAI's AI: 32.5% arrived outside Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m..
The figure is when messages arrive, in businesses that already use an AI agent. How much of that would become sales without the agent was not measured.
| What was measured | Result |
|---|---|
| Customer messages that arrived outside Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. | 32,5% |
| Conversations whose first message arrived outside Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. | 34,6% |
| Messages that arrived at night on a weekday, 6pm to midnight | 12,7% |
| Messages that arrived on Saturday or Sunday | 15,8% |
Swipe the table sideways to see all the columns.
Source: CertuAI WhatsApp Customer Service Index, Q3 2026. CertuAI customer service data: 67 businesses of various kinds, 122,720 customer messages, from Jul 30 to Sep 30, 2026, measured on Oct 9, 2026. Business hours are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., in each account's time zone. Test accounts, test contacts and imported history are left out. Redone every quarter.
Frequently asked questions
How do you create a WhatsApp chatbot?
Choose between building a menu flow or training an AI agent, add the business information, connect the company number and test it by writing as a customer before you turn it on.
Do I need to know how to code to create a WhatsApp chatbot?
No. Flow platforms use a block diagram, and AI agent platforms learn from what you write. At CertuAI, you teach the business in a conversation.
Can you create a chatbot in the WhatsApp Business app?
The app has a greeting message and an away message, which send fixed text. To answer questions, the number has to be connected to a chatbot platform.
Does the chatbot use my current WhatsApp number?
It can. At CertuAI, you connect the number your customers already know, and it stays yours.
What is the difference between a flow chatbot and an AI agent?
A flow chatbot follows a menu script that you designed. An AI agent reads the customer's sentence and answers with the information you taught it.
How much does it cost to create a WhatsApp chatbot?
It depends on the platform and the size of the customer service operation. The comparison with published prices is on the cheap WhatsApp chatbot page.
Where to go next?
Create yours without designing a flow
At CertuAI, you tell us what your company does and connect the number you already use. The AI agent answers customers with your information and hands you whatever calls for a person.
From US$ 75 per month.
Create my agentIn short
To create a WhatsApp chatbot, choose between two paths: build a menu flow, where you design every question and every answer, or train an AI agent, which reads the customer's message and answers with what you taught it. Then gather the business information, connect the company number and test it by writing as a customer.
About CertuAI: CertuAI is the AI that answers a small business's WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger 24/7, with a built-in CRM, and is a Tech Provider on Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Paid plans start at US$ 75 a month, with no lock-in. Create my agent