# An AI agent for businesses in New Zealand

> An AI agent for New Zealand businesses that answers on your website, WhatsApp and Telegram from your own content, books in New Zealand time and hands off to your team.

Canonical: https://heykiko.io/ai-agent/new-zealand
Last updated: 2026-11-07

Kiko learns your website, price list and documents, then answers your customers on your website chat, WhatsApp and Telegram, including evenings and weekends. It books appointments in New Zealand time, captures leads, and hands the chat to your team when a person is needed.

## What Kiko does for New Zealand businesses

- **Answers from your own content**: Kiko reads your website, PDFs and price lists and answers only from them (retrieval-augmented generation, or RAG), with the page or file each answer came from. It doesn't make up a price or a phone number. [Learn more](https://heykiko.io/features/train-on-your-website)
- **Support that hands off**: When a customer asks for a person, or your knowledge doesn't cover the question, Kiko hands the chat to your team in a shared inbox with the whole conversation. [Learn more](https://heykiko.io/features/human-handoff)
- **Sales and leads**: Kiko answers product questions, recommends from your catalogue and asks interested customers for their details, so your sales team in New Zealand gets a lead with the conversation attached. [Learn more](https://heykiko.io/features/lead-capture)
- **Bookings in your time zone**: Kiko offers your real open times in New Zealand time (NZST, or NZDT in summer), books the one the customer picks and adds it to your Google Calendar. [Learn more](https://heykiko.io/features/appointment-booking)
- **Answers from your database**: Connect your own database and Kiko can look up an order, a stock level or a delivery date, read-only, with what it may read decided in code. [Learn more](https://heykiko.io/features/database-answers)
- **Requests that need approval**: Refunds, complaints and custom quotes become cases your team approves, with the customer kept up to date. [Learn more](https://heykiko.io/features/cases-and-approvals)

## A sample conversation: A vaccination booked from the website

A pet owner asks on the clinic's website on a Sunday. Kiko answers from the fee list and books in New Zealand time.

- **Customer**: Kia ora, how much for puppy vaccinations? Free Tuesday arvo?
- **Kiko**: Kia ora! A puppy vaccination with a health check is $89 and takes about 20 minutes. Tuesday afternoon I have: (2:40 PM / 4:15 PM)
- **Customer**: 4:15 thanks
- **Kiko**: All booked for Tuesday at 4:15pm.

Harbourside Vets, Christchurch is a sample business; the names and prices are made up.

## Languages your customers in New Zealand write in

Most New Zealand customers write in English, and many are more at home in Chinese, Hindi, Samoan or another language. Kiko answers in the language each customer uses.

- **Kiwi English**: Friendly, plain English in the tone you set, with your own prices and wording.
- **Te reo Māori greetings**: Kiko understands kia ora and other common te reo phrases, and you can add te reo to your greeting and knowledge.
- **Chinese, Hindi, Samoan and more**: Customers who write in another language get replies in it, from your English content.

## Where customers in New Zealand reach you

New Zealand customers mostly reach businesses through their websites and by phone or text. WhatsApp is common among migrant communities and for contacts overseas.

- **Website chat instead of phone tag**: Visitors get answers and bookings on your site, without leaving a message.
- **WhatsApp for whānau overseas and migrant communities**: Customers who already use WhatsApp can message your business number.
- **One shared inbox**: Website and WhatsApp chats in one list for your whole team.

## What WhatsApp costs in New Zealand

Meta's rates per delivered message (Rest of Asia Pacific), from its USD rate card effective 1 October 2026. Meta bills them to your own WhatsApp account; HeyKiko adds nothing to them.

| Message | What it's for | Rate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Marketing | Offers and announcements, to customers who opted in | $0.0842 |
| Utility | Booking reminders, order and delivery updates | $0.0113 |
| Service | Replies inside the 24-hour window, after 1,000 free a month per number | $0.0113 |

For a vet clinic in Christchurch with 200 chats a month and about 4 replies each, all 800 replies are inside the free 1,000, so they cost nothing. Adding 400 reminders and updates ($4.52) brings Meta's bill to about $4.52 a month.

Work out your own month in the [cost calculator](/tools/whatsapp-api-cost-calculator). Source: [Meta](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing)

## Questions from businesses in New Zealand

### Can an AI agent answer website enquiries for a New Zealand business?

Yes. Kiko answers on your website chat, WhatsApp and Telegram from your own website and documents, including after hours, and hands the chat to your team when a person is needed.

### Does it work alongside my booking system?

Kiko books into its own calendar and your Google Calendar, and busy times in Google Calendar are never offered. It doesn’t connect to other practice systems.

### Does it handle daylight saving in New Zealand?

Yes. Set your calendar to New Zealand time and Kiko offers the right times either side of the change.

### How much does WhatsApp cost in New Zealand?

Meta prices New Zealand in its Rest of Asia Pacific market: since 1 October 2026, $0.0842 per marketing message and $0.0113 per utility message, with 1,000 free service replies a month per number.

### What does HeyKiko cost for a New Zealand business?

Plans start at $29 a month, billed in USD, after a 14-day free trial with no card.

## Related

- [HeyKiko in Australia](https://heykiko.io/ai-agent/australia)
- [Website AI chatbot](https://heykiko.io/channels/website-ai-chatbot)
- [Appointment booking](https://heykiko.io/features/appointment-booking)