WhatsApp Business app, Business AI or API: which fits?
Stay on the free WhatsApp Business app while one person can keep up with the chats. Business AI, where your account has it, answers routine questions inside that app. Move to the API when chats have to reach a CRM or an inbox the whole team shares.
When is the WhatsApp Business app enough?
While one person can read the inbox and own every reply.
The free app gives you a business profile, a catalogue, labels and quick replies for the questions you answer ten times a day. An away message can acknowledge enquiries after hours, as long as the phone is on and has data.
Saved answers and a routine for checking the inbox often fix the problem on their own. Just make the away message promise a time you can keep.
Source: WhatsApp's app overview.
What does WhatsApp Business AI do?
It answers routine questions and suggests products from your profile and catalogue, inside the Business app.
Meta has announced it for eligible businesses in India, rolling out in stages, so your app may not have it yet. Meta also mentions lead capture and appointment booking.
If you have it, check your profile and catalogue first, because that's all it knows. Then ask it what customers ask most, and read what it says.
It won't read a PDF you have lying around, and it doesn't connect to your CRM. You can take over any chat or turn it off, and a complaint should still go to a person.
Source: Meta, Introducing Business AI on WhatsApp for Small Businesses in India.
When does the WhatsApp Business API make sense?
When an enquiry has to become a CRM record, reach the right salesperson or sit in an inbox the whole team can see.
Meta calls the API the WhatsApp Business Platform. Decide the workflow before you pick a provider, or the provider's features end up deciding it for you.
The API on its own isn't something your team can open and type into, so ask which software people will actually use.
Ask the provider to run a real enquiry through it, including a failed message and someone opting out. Moving your existing number across varies from account to account, so check yours before anyone promises a date.
What are WhatsApp's rules on permission and templates?
People must have opted in to hear from your business, and on the API you need an approved template to start a conversation.
A number in a spreadsheet isn't an opt-in. When someone says stop, stop, and make it obvious how to reach a human.
For twenty-four hours after the customer's last message you can reply freely; after that it's approved templates only, automatic acknowledgements included. The policy changes, so read it again before you launch.
Source: WhatsApp's messaging policy.
How do I tell which one I need?
For a week, count the chats one person didn't get to by the end of each day.
If it's none or nearly none, the app is fine, so tidy the quick replies. If the backlog is the same six questions and you have Business AI, try it for a week with someone reading what it sends.
You need the API when a chat has to end up somewhere other than WhatsApp, like a CRM or a salesperson's queue. Whichever it is, send it a wrong answer, an opt-out and a request for a person before you switch it on.
The enquiry you answer ten times a day
Send us one example of an enquiry you answer over and over, with the reply you usually give. We'll tell you which of the three it needs and what it would take to set up.