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WhatsApp AI Customer Service

WhatsApp AI customer service that takes action inside the chat. Hay reads the message, pulls what it needs from your stack, and gets the job done. Often before the customer types again.

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Customers want WhatsApp to feel like WhatsApp.

When a customer messages you on WhatsApp, they expect the same experience they get messaging anyone else. Fast, conversational, done. Most AI tools don't deliver that. They answer a question, push a knowledge base article, or collect details and promise a follow-up.

Underneath, it's still just a form with a chat bubble on top.

2B+

WhatsApp users worldwide

177

Actions Hay can take across your stack

9

Deep integrations powering them

Hay treats WhatsApp as a place where things get done. Orders get tracked. Refunds happen inside the chat. The customer never has to leave WhatsApp to get a result.

How WhatsApp + Hay Works

AI that executes actions, not just answers questions

Customer Context

Hay walks into every chat already knowing who's on the other end. Their order history, their previous tickets, the email they used at checkout. The first reply gets to the actual question.

Multi-Step Resolution

Most WhatsApp conversations don't wrap up in a single message. Hay holds the context across replies and finishes what it started. The customer never has to repeat anything they've already said.

Quick Reply Buttons

Tappable options for the common requests. Faster on a phone keyboard, and you don't get 'yse' instead of 'yes'. When Hay needs to confirm a refund or offer a choice, buttons keep things feeling native.

Mobile-First Responses

Short messages that fit a phone screen. Configure response style per channel, so WhatsApp stays casual and concise while email gets the longer version.

Channel-Specific Playbooks

Assign different playbooks to WhatsApp than to web chat or email. Different tone, different return policy, even different escalation rules if you want them. The logic stays the same. The delivery adapts.

Agent Routing

Assign a specific agent to WhatsApp, or use the same one across every channel. If your LATAM customers live in WhatsApp and your UK customers prefer email, route by channel.

Real Scenarios

1

Order Tracking on WhatsApp

Customer:

"Hey, where's my order?"

Hay:

Happy to check. What's the email you used to order?

→ Customer replies → Hay queries Shopify → Returns tracking link and ETA

Result: Resolved in under a minute, without a ticket or an agent touch.

2

Refund via Chat

Customer:

"The jacket I ordered doesn't fit, can I return it?"

Hay:

Sorry about that. Let me check your order... It's eligible for a full refund. Want me to process it now?

→ Checks WooCommerce → Verifies policy → Refunds via Stripe → Confirms

Result: Refund issued inside the chat. The customer never opens an email or a portal.

3

Last-Minute Address Change

Customer:

"I just realised I gave the wrong shipping address, can I change it?"

Hay:

Let me check if it's still in the warehouse... it hasn't shipped yet. What's the correct address?

→ Checks Shopify fulfilment status → Updates the order → Confirms

Result: Address fixed before the parcel left the warehouse. Saved a return shipment and a redelivery fee.

4

Failed Payment Recovery

Customer:

"My payment didn't go through, what happened?"

Hay:

Your card ending in 4242 was declined yesterday. Want me to send a secure link to try a different method?

→ Checks Stripe → Identifies decline reason → Sends payment link

Result: Customer retries on their own time. Revenue recovered.

"But what if the AI makes a mistake?"

AI handles a lot of WhatsApp support. It doesn't have to handle all of it. Hay routes the conversations that need a human to a human, with the full chat and customer context already loaded. You decide where the line sits.

  • ✓
    Escalation rules you control: Set the conditions for handoff yourself. A refund above your threshold. Sentiment going sour. A customer asking for a human. The rules sit in your playbooks, where you can read and edit them in plain language.
  • ✓
    Handoff keeps the chat: When Hay escalates, the conversation continues in WhatsApp with a human picking up where the AI left off. The customer doesn't have to start again on email or in a portal.
  • ✓
    Action guardrails: Refund caps, eligibility checks, scopes on write access. Hay only takes the actions you've authorised, and only when the policy says it can.
  • ✓
    Audit trail: Every action Hay takes gets logged. The reasoning behind each decision is reviewable. If something goes sideways, you can see exactly what happened and why.
  • ✓
    EU data hosting: Conversation data sits in the EU on DigitalOcean. GDPR-aligned by default.

The aim is to clear the repetitive tickets off your team's plate. Honestly, that's the whole point. They get more time for the conversations that need a person.

Why Teams Choose WhatsApp + Hay

Meet Customers Where They Already Are

Two billion people use WhatsApp. A meaningful chunk of them are your customers.

Speed They Expect

Messaging means people expect a reply in minutes. Hay answers in seconds, any hour, in whichever languages you've configured.

Fewer Tickets, More Resolutions

Most WhatsApp tools create a ticket. Hay closes the loop in the chat.

EU-Hosted, GDPR-Aligned

Data stays in the EU. GDPR-aligned by default, the same on Solo as it is on Enterprise.

Available on All Plans

Hay doesn't charge extra for WhatsApp. It's on every plan, from Solo at €50/month up to Enterprise. You'll need a Twilio account because Twilio is Meta's BSP for the WhatsApp Business API. Twilio's roughly $0.005 per message on top of Meta's rates, billed by Twilio direct.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I connect WhatsApp Business to Hay?

You'll need a WhatsApp Business account, access to Meta Business Manager, and a Twilio account (Twilio is Meta's BSP for the WhatsApp Business API). Connect the credentials in Hay's dashboard, register your sender, and switch the channel on. The Hay side is a few minutes. Twilio number provisioning and Meta Business verification can take a day or a week, depending on how clean your paperwork is. We'll walk you through it if anything's missing.

Do I need to write scripts or templates for WhatsApp?

No. Hay uses playbooks written in plain language that the AI follows in context. If you want WhatsApp to sound different from your web chat or email, give it a different playbook. You won't be building if-then trees.

What about Meta's 24-hour customer care window?

Most of the time, customers message you first. That opens a 24-hour window where free-form replies are allowed, and that's where Hay does its work. Inside the window, the AI handles the conversation directly. If you want to send proactive notifications outside the window, Meta requires approved templates, and that setup lives in your Meta Business Manager and Twilio account.

Can the AI handle images and documents on WhatsApp?

Not currently. On WhatsApp, Hay handles text. If a customer sends a photo or PDF, Hay will ask them to type the question or details so it can help. Media support is on our roadmap for the WhatsApp channel. If it matters to your use case, tell us and we'll factor it in.

What actions can Hay take on WhatsApp?

The same actions Hay takes on any channel, just over WhatsApp instead of web chat. If Hay can refund, look up an order, or retry a failed payment from your web chat widget, it can do it from a WhatsApp message too. The integrations you've connected don't care which channel the question came from.

Can I keep my existing WhatsApp number?

Only if it isn't tied to a personal WhatsApp account. If it is, you'll need to deregister it (which deletes the personal account from that number), or use a different clean number for the business. Worth checking before you start the registration. We can help you confirm which side your number's on.

Does Hay transcribe voice notes?

Not yet. Voice notes are part of the broader WhatsApp media support we're building. Today, if a customer sends a voice message, Hay replies and asks them to type the question. We get this asked about a lot. If it matters to your team, let us know.

Can Hay handle WhatsApp group chats?

No, and nobody can. The WhatsApp Business API doesn't support group conversations. It's a Meta restriction that applies across every WhatsApp Business tool. Every vendor on the platform works the same way: 1-to-1 only.

Is my data stored in the EU?

Yes. EU-hosted on DigitalOcean. Conversation data, customer records, and message logs all sit in EU regions and are handled under GDPR. It's the default setup, the same on Solo as it is on Enterprise.

Can I use the same AI agent across WhatsApp and other channels, or assign a dedicated one?

Either way works. Run one agent across all your channels so a customer who switches from web chat to WhatsApp keeps their context. Or give WhatsApp its own dedicated agent with a different tone or playbook. You can change the setup per channel whenever you want.

Will my messages get throttled during a busy period?

Meta applies tiered messaging limits to WhatsApp Business accounts, and the limit grows as your quality rating goes up. New accounts start small. Inbound traffic, where the customer messages first, has no daily cap, so the throttle mostly only matters for big outbound campaigns. If you're planning one and worried about hitting the ceiling, ping us and we'll look at it together.

Does WhatsApp cost extra on Hay?

Hay doesn't charge for WhatsApp. It's on every plan, from Solo at €50/month up to Enterprise. Twilio's roughly $0.005 per message on top of Meta's rates, billed by Twilio direct. The good news for support teams: customer-initiated conversations don't trigger Meta's template fees, so inbound stays cheap. Check Twilio's pricing page for current rates.

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Start reducing repetitive tickets with AI that actually executes actions.

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