# A WhatsApp AI chatbot that answers, books and hands off to your team > Put an AI agent on your WhatsApp Business number. It answers from your website and files, books appointments and hands chats to your team. Free trial. Canonical: https://heykiko.io/channels/whatsapp-ai-chatbot Last updated: 2026-11-05 HeyKiko puts an AI agent on your WhatsApp Business number through Meta's official Cloud API. Trained on your website and files, it answers customers in seconds, books appointments, saves leads and passes the chat to a person when one is needed. ## How setup works 1. **Teach it your business**: Paste your website address and upload price lists, menus or FAQs. Kiko reads them and shows what it learned. 2. **Connect your number**: Connect your WhatsApp Business number with Meta's own sign-up, inside HeyKiko. You need a Meta business account; no code. 3. **Go live**: Customers message your number as they do today. Every chat lands in your shared inbox, where you can step in at any time. Included in every plan, from $29 a month, after a 14-day free trial. ## What Kiko does on WhatsApp - **Answers with sources**: From your website, files and product catalogue. When it doesn't know, it says so. - **Books appointments**: Offers real open times from Google Calendar and confirms the one the customer picks. - **Hands off to a person**: A customer who asks for someone is passed to your team with the whole chat. - **Saves leads**: Everyone who messages becomes a lead with their name and number; Kiko asks once for anything else you track. - **Sends campaigns**: Approved WhatsApp template messages to your contacts, and replies come back to Kiko. - **Answers calls**: On plans with calls, Kiko also answers voice calls to the same WhatsApp number. ## Good to know - **The 24-hour window**: WhatsApp lets a business reply freely for 24 hours after the customer's last message. After that, only approved template messages can start a conversation. Kiko replies inside the window; campaigns use templates. - **Business AI agents are allowed**: From 15 January 2026 Meta's WhatsApp Business terms bar general-purpose AI assistants such as ChatGPT. AI that serves a business's own customers, like Kiko, is the use the terms allow. Source: [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/18/whatssapp-changes-its-terms-to-bar-general-purpose-chatbots-from-its-platform) - **Meta's own agent**: Meta launched Meta Business Agent for WhatsApp Business globally in June 2026. It answers questions, recommends products, books appointments and hands chats to a person inside Meta's apps, and Meta plans to include it in WhatsApp Business Premium. HeyKiko is for one agent across WhatsApp, Telegram and your website, with a shared inbox, Google Calendar booking, cases, campaigns and answers that show their sources. Source: [TechCrunch, 3 June 2026](https://www.techcrunch.com/2026/06/03/metas-ai-agent-for-whatsapp-business-is-now-available-globally/) - **Meta's own message fees**: Meta bills your WhatsApp Business account directly for template messages, and since 1 October 2026 for replies beyond 1,000 a month per number. Keep a payment method on your WhatsApp account so replies keep being delivered; HeyKiko's plans cover the AI. Source: [Meta: pricing](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing) ## Questions about the WhatsApp AI chatbot ### Can I use an AI chatbot on WhatsApp Business? Yes. Meta's rules allow AI that answers a business's own customers, which is what Kiko does. Since January 2026 they bar general-purpose assistants like ChatGPT, not business agents. ### Do I need the WhatsApp Business API? Kiko uses Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API. You connect your number through Meta's sign-up inside HeyKiko, so you don't need a separate provider or any code. ### Can my team take over a WhatsApp chat? Yes. Every WhatsApp chat appears in the shared inbox. When someone on your team replies, Kiko pauses for that customer until the chat is handed back. ### Can the bot book appointments on WhatsApp? Yes. Kiko offers open times from your Google Calendar, books the one the customer picks and confirms it in the chat. ### How is HeyKiko different from Meta Business Agent? Meta Business Agent is Meta's own AI for WhatsApp Business, launched globally in June 2026. HeyKiko gives you one agent across WhatsApp, Telegram and your website, trained on your own pages and files, with a shared inbox for your team, Google Calendar booking, cases with approvals, WhatsApp and email campaigns, and the sources shown on every answer. ### Can I send WhatsApp broadcasts? Yes. Campaigns send approved template messages to lists or tags of your contacts, on a schedule or once, and every reply goes back to Kiko. ## Related - [Telegram AI bot](https://heykiko.io/channels/telegram-ai-chatbot) - [Website AI chatbot](https://heykiko.io/channels/website-ai-chatbot) - [WhatsApp AI voice agent](https://heykiko.io/channels/whatsapp-ai-voice-agent)