WhatsApp chatbot for business: how to answer customers out of hours
An artificial intelligence assistant on the company’s WhatsApp number replies in the evening and at weekends, and hands over to a person when needed. How it works and when it makes sense.
A WhatsApp chatbot for business is an artificial intelligence assistant connected to the company’s number. It answers customers’ messages with the information the company has decided to give, including in the evening and at weekends. When needed, it passes the conversation to a person. Kristina Reply, the product distributed by Strategic, does this job with one firm rule. It never writes to customers first. It makes sense when messages arrive every day and some of them go unanswered for hours.
A typical scenario. It is Friday, 9pm. A customer messages a garage on its WhatsApp number. They want to know whether a spare part is in stock and which documents to bring when they collect it. Nobody is at the garage. The reply arrives on Monday mid-morning, by which time the customer has already found the part elsewhere. Nobody notices, because an unanswered message does not show up in any sales report.
What can a WhatsApp assistant handle on its own?
A good assistant does a few things, and does them well. The questions it handles on its own are the ones that keep coming up and have a stable answer:
- opening hours, locations and directions
- the services offered, availability and terms, based on the information the company has given it
- documents to bring, requirements and indicative timings provided by the company
- collecting the name and contact details of anyone who wants to be called back.
Kristina Reply also understands voice messages, photos and PDF documents, and takes them into account in its replies. When a customer leaves contact details, it alerts the company by email, at the address provided, and with a WhatsApp message to the person in charge.
Other requests, on the other hand, go to a person:
- complaints and sensitive situations
- tailored quotes and negotiations
- questions that require a technical, legal or medical assessment
- anything that commits the company, such as booking confirmations or special terms.
In these cases the assistant gathers the essential details. It then leaves the conversation to whoever needs to deal with it, with the exchange already in writing.
How does it connect to the company’s number?
Kristina Reply connects through a QR code, as a linked device. The code appears in the dashboard, and you scan it with WhatsApp on the company phone, just as you do to use WhatsApp on a computer. The number stays on the phone. It does not have to be migrated to another platform, and you carry on using it as before, including to reply by hand.
When someone replies to a chat from the phone, the assistant pauses on that conversation. It resumes after a period set in the dashboard. The other conversations carry on as normal. Companies with several numbers, for example head office, customer service and sales, manage them all from the same dashboard, each with its own instructions.
Why does it matter that it never writes first?
Kristina Reply does not start conversations. It does not send promotions or campaigns, and it does not send reminders or follow-ups. It never writes to customers first. The only messages it sends on its own initiative are alerts to the person in charge at the company.
This is a product decision, for three concrete reasons.
- Respect for the person writing. The customer sought out the company, and gets an answer, not an advert.
- Less risk for the number. A number that only replies to people who write to it behaves like a number used by people. No way of connecting to WhatsApp is entirely without risk, and sending unsolicited messages is one of the behaviours WhatsApp clamps down on.
- Clear rules. The terms of service prohibit its use for unsolicited messages.
It is better to connect a number already in use, with a history of normal conversations, than a newly activated one.
How are the replies prepared?
The replies depend on the instructions, and the instructions are the real work. Kristina Reply’s setup tool reads the company’s website and up to three pages you specify, then proposes a starting text. It covers who the company is, what to answer, what not to say and when to hand over to a person. That text must be reread and corrected before going live.
Three precautions make the replies more reliable:
- write down what not to say as well, such as discounts, commitments on timing, diagnoses or opinions on specific cases
- test the assistant as a customer would, with ordinary questions and awkward ones, before switching it on
- update the instructions when opening hours, services or terms change. An assistant answers with what it knows. If the information is out of date, so is the answer.
For the first setup, activation includes support from a consultant.
Do people need to know an assistant is replying?
Yes. Under the European regulation on artificial intelligence (the AI Act), from 2 August 2026 systems that interact with people must be designed so that the person knows they are dealing with an artificial intelligence, unless this is obvious (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Article 50(1)). That is why Kristina Reply’s instructions have it introduce itself as the company’s AI assistant. The exact wording is agreed at activation.
Then there is data protection. Conversations contain names, phone numbers and sometimes personal information. Under the GDPR, the company must tell the people who write in how it handles their data. It must also choose providers that process the data on its behalf under an appropriate contract (Article 28).
Where are the conversations stored?
The conversations stay in the company’s dashboard, kept separate number by number, on servers in the European Union. Photos and documents received can be viewed and deleted. The replies are written using artificial intelligence models from third-party providers, which are listed in the service’s privacy notice.
Before switching on any WhatsApp chatbot, it is worth asking the provider three things. Where are the servers? Which other providers process the messages? How long are conversations kept?
Which businesses need it, and which don’t?
It makes sense when:
- messages arrive every day and some go unanswered for hours
- many questions come up again and again
- requests also arrive out of hours
- several people share the same number and nobody knows who should reply.
It does not make sense when:
- there are few messages and someone already replies quickly
- every reply requires a case-by-case technical assessment
- the aim is to send offers or promotions, which Kristina Reply does not do.
Kristina Reply, DIREKTA or Company Brain?
They are different tools for different problems. Kristina Reply answers customers on the company’s WhatsApp. DIREKTA is a personal assistant for executives that works across email, calendar and documents. Autochatter answers visitors to a WordPress website. The Company Brain, the company’s own searchable memory, is a tailored project that makes internal procedures, documents and data searchable, with permissions by department. They can be used together.
In brief
- A WhatsApp chatbot for business answers customers with the information set by the company, including out of hours.
- It handles repetitive questions on its own. Complaints, quotes and decisions go to a person.
- Kristina Reply connects with a QR code, leaves the number on the phone and stops when a person replies.
- It never writes to customers first. There are no promotions and no reminders.
- From 2 August 2026, people who write in must know that an artificial intelligence is answering.
- Conversations stay with the company, on servers in the European Union.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep replying from the phone?
Yes. When someone replies by hand from that number, Kristina Reply pauses on that chat. It resumes after the period set in the dashboard, or when it is switched back on. The other conversations carry on as normal.
Can it send reminders or promotions?
No. Kristina Reply never starts conversations with customers. It sends no campaigns, no messages to lists of numbers and no reminders. Sending offers requires a different kind of tool.
Do I need to change number or platform?
No. It connects through a QR code as a linked device. The number stays on the company phone and you carry on using it as before, with no migration.
How much does it cost?
Kristina Reply is a subscription. The terms are presented together with the product and depend on how many numbers you connect and the volume of conversations. For several numbers or locations, a tailored arrangement can be agreed through the product page.
The simplest way to see how it replies is to message Kristina on WhatsApp. On that number, the assistant introduces itself. Features, activation and examples by sector are on the Kristina Reply for business page, where you can also ask for information about several numbers and locations.
Sources
Consulted on 16 September 2026.
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