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Shahid Malla

WhatsApp AI chatbot development

WhatsApp AI Chatbot for Business: Custom Builds on Meta's Cloud API

I am Shahid Malla, a freelance AI agent and AI chat developer with 13+ years of experience and 900+ projects. I build a WhatsApp AI chatbot for business on Meta's official Cloud API: it answers your customers from your own information, books or looks things up in your systems, and hands the chat to your staff, within Meta's rules on opt-in, templates and the 24-hour window.

Scope my WhatsApp chatbot Book a free scoping call

Free scoping call of about 30 minutes · written quote within one business day · two weeks of support after delivery

By Shahid Malla, AI agent and AI chat developer, full-stack developer · Updated

What does a WhatsApp AI chatbot for business do?

It answers the messages customers send your WhatsApp Business number, using your own information, and passes the chat to a person when it should. I build it on Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API, connected to your own Meta business account, so the number, templates and chat history stay yours.

JobExample messageWhere the answer comes from
Answer"Is the spa open on Sunday?"Your pages, price lists and policies, looked up at question time
Look up"Where is my order?"A read-only call to your store, CRM or booking system, after the customer is identified
Book"A table for two on Friday at 7"Your booking system's API, after the customer confirms the details
Hand offA complaint, a refund, anything it cannot answerA person on your team, with a summary of the chat

How answers come from your documents is covered in AI chatbot development and RAG explained; this page covers what changes on WhatsApp.

What do Meta's rules allow a WhatsApp chatbot to do?

A business may automate replies to its own customers, within limits. This summary is from Meta's own pages, read on 26 October 2026; the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy was last updated on 23 September 2026.

RuleMeta's wordsWhat I build
A way to reach a person"You may use automation when responding during the 24-hour window, but must also have available prompt, clear, and direct escalation paths."An in-chat hand-off to staff, with email or phone as a second route
The 24-hour windowIt "opens and resets with each user message." The send messages guide adds: "When the window closes, you can only send pre-approved template messages."Free-form AI replies only inside the window; approved templates after it
Writing first"You may only initiate conversations using an approved Message Template"Templates drafted with you and submitted for review
Opt-inYou need "opt-in permission from the recipient confirming that they wish to receive subsequent messages or calls from you." Per the opt-in guide, businesses "must clearly state the business’s name".An opt-in record with its source and date for each contact
Opt-out"You must respect all requests (either on or off WhatsApp) by a person to block, discontinue, or otherwise opt out"A stop request marks the contact and ends templates to it

The 2026 change buyers ask about is general-purpose AI. Meta's platform terms bar providers of "general-purpose artificial intelligence assistants" when those are "the primary (rather than incidental or ancillary) functionality being made available for use, as determined by Meta in its sole discretion." Meta's AI Providers page dates the rule from 15 January 2026: AI Providers "are only permitted to offer general-purpose AI assistants on the WhatsApp Business Platform where Meta is legally required to permit this use case."

A business answering its own customers is a different case. Meta's pricing page says service messages "can be powered by a 3rd-party AI solution or people (like customer service representatives)." Meta decides where the line falls, so I keep each bot on your business's topics and decline the rest.

Should you use Meta Business Agent or a custom WhatsApp chatbot?

Check Meta's own agent first, because it may be enough. On 3 June 2026 Meta announced it was "expanding our Business Agent to businesses of all sizes globally," able to "Answer questions specific to your business" and "Book appointments and qualify incoming leads." Its limits, per Meta's developer documentation:

  • Eligibility. The overview says "all verticals are supported except Finance, Government, Health, Alcohol, Gambling, over-the-counter drugs, and matrimony services," and the business "must be based in a country authorized for Meta Business Agent." That page does not list the countries; Meta's eligibility check answers it for your number.
  • Price. The pricing page sets "One global rate of $2.00 USD per 1 million (M) tokens," which Meta estimates at about 4 to 5 US cents per message.
  • One responder. Once it is enabled, "Meta Business Agent becomes the primary responder for new conversations," and other integrations "move to standby," per Meta's routing guide.

A custom build fits when the bot must follow your own rules, reach systems Meta's agent does not connect to, run on an AI model you choose, share one knowledge base and inbox with your website chat, or keep its logs in your own systems. If Meta's agent covers your case, I will say so on the call.

What does a WhatsApp chatbot cost?

Three separate bills: my build, Meta's message fees and AI model usage. I quote the build as a fixed price after a free scoping call of about 30 minutes, in writing within one business day, or work at $55 to $65 an hour. There are no packages; the price depends on the systems the bot connects to, the languages, the templates and how tidy your content is.

CostHow it is chargedWho you pay
Build and launchFixed quote or $55-$65/hour, with two weeks of support after deliveryMe
WhatsApp messagesPer delivered message, by message category and the recipient's countryMeta, on your own account
AI model usagePer token, under a daily spend capThe model provider, on your own account

Meta's pricing page says it charges "only for messages from businesses to users" and "does not charge for messages from users to businesses." Meta resumed charging for service messages, the category your bot's in-window replies fall in, on 1 October 2026, and "For each business phone number, Meta provides 1,000 free service messages per month." Rates differ by country and can change on the first day of each quarter, so I estimate your monthly bill from your own chat volume before you commit.

What WhatsApp chatbot work have I done?

My WhatsApp proof is my own product. I am founder and CEO of MagizAI, an AI chatbot and live chat, so I gain if you buy it. Its WhatsApp page says it "connects through Meta's own API with your WhatsApp Business number, not an unofficial workaround," that "Any WhatsApp chat can be handed to an agent, who replies from the inbox while the AI steps back," and that it "takes a booking in the chat when you link a booking form." Its changelog for 26 October 2026 lists "WhatsApp: buttons, photos, voice notes, ticks and up to 5 numbers." If it already covers your needs, it costs less than a custom build, and I will say so.

I also work remotely for clients abroad: CornerHost, a website for an Australian managed WordPress host; Krunus, a website for a UK hosting provider; Hôtel Spa Le Suisse, a Laravel website for a boutique spa hotel in Quebec, Canada; and Chargewise, a Next.js store that ships across the United States and Canada. None of these were WhatsApp projects. I work on India Standard Time and arrange overlap hours for your time zone.

What should you ask before you hire a WhatsApp chatbot developer?

  1. Will it run on Meta's official Cloud API, under my own Meta business account?
  2. What does the bot do after the 24-hour window closes?
  3. How does a customer reach a person, and how quickly?
  4. How is opt-in recorded, and what happens when someone asks to stop?
  5. What will a month cost in Meta fees and model usage at my volume?
  6. Who owns the number, templates, code and accounts at handover?

What will I not build on WhatsApp?

  • Bulk messages to people who did not opt in, including bought lists.
  • Bots that run on unofficial WhatsApp Web tools instead of Meta's API.
  • An open "ask me anything" assistant, the kind Meta's AI Providers rule restricts.
  • A bot that asks for card numbers in chat, which Meta's policy rules out: "Don’t share or ask people to share full length individual payment card numbers."
  • A bot that pretends to be a person, or one with no way to reach your staff.
  • Training other AI models on your customers' chats. Where an AI provider is involved, Meta's terms bar using platform data "to create, develop, train, or improve" AI models, except fine-tuning one for the business's exclusive use.

Disclosure: I am not affiliated with Meta or WhatsApp and name them only to describe the platform. I founded MagizAI and have been CTO at ElySpace since 2016. Meta and MagizAI pages linked here were read on 26 October 2026. This is not legal advice.

Who this is for

  • Businesses in the UK, Europe, Australia and Canada whose customers already message them on WhatsApp
  • Hotels, tour operators, salons and other service businesses that take questions and bookings over WhatsApp
  • Online stores that answer product and order-status questions on WhatsApp
  • US companies whose international customers prefer to reach them on WhatsApp
  • Teams answering the WhatsApp Business app by hand who need replies outside office hours

What is included

  • A set of real customer questions from your WhatsApp chats, used as the test before launch
  • Cloud API setup on your own Meta business account: app, phone number, webhook and an access token kept in a secret store
  • Answers retrieved from your pages and files, in the language the customer writes in
  • Lookups and bookings through your booking system, store or CRM API: read-only first, every booking confirmed by the customer
  • Hand-off to your staff inside the chat with a summary, plus email or phone as a second route
  • Message templates for follow-ups after the 24-hour window, drafted with you and submitted to Meta
  • Opt-in records, opt-out handling, logs with personal data masked, and a daily spend cap on model usage
  • Written handover notes and two weeks of support after delivery

How the work runs

  1. 1

    Scoping call

    About 30 minutes on what customers ask you on WhatsApp, which systems the bot should read or book into, which languages it answers in and who takes hand-offs. A written scope and fixed quote follow within one business day.

  2. 2

    Meta setup

    The app, number and webhook are set up on your own Meta business account, so they stay yours. Templates are drafted and submitted early, because Meta reviews each one.

  3. 3

    Build on a test number

    Answers from your content first, then read-only lookups, then bookings behind a confirmation step, then the hand-off to your inbox or helpdesk. Daily progress updates.

  4. 4

    Test on real questions

    Your collected WhatsApp questions run through the bot, including voice notes, photos, other languages and attempts to pull it off topic. You see every weak answer before launch.

  5. 5

    Launch and review

    The bot goes live on your number with logs and spend caps. In the first weeks we read real conversations together and fix the content or rules behind each miss.

  6. 6

    Hand over

    Code in your repository, the template list, the test questions, how to rotate the access token, and two weeks of support.

Recent work

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Guides on this topic

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Frequently asked questions

Do I need the WhatsApp Business API, and can I keep using the WhatsApp Business app?

A custom WhatsApp Business API chatbot runs on the Cloud API, which Meta says "enables you to programmatically message and call on WhatsApp." Meta also documents a setup it calls Coexistence, where a business connects its existing app number and "can still send messages on a one-to-one basis using the WhatsApp Business app." It runs through Meta's Embedded Signup, and Meta's guide says the developer "must already be a Solution Partner or Tech Provider." On the call we decide between that route and a separate number.

Can it book appointments or look up orders, like a WhatsApp AI agent?

Yes, if your booking system, store or CRM has an API. Lookups start read-only, and the bot identifies the customer before it shows anything private. A booking or change is repeated back to the customer and made only after they confirm it. Bots that act in your systems are agent work; see AI agent development for how permissions and approvals are set.

Can it answer voice notes and photos?

Customers send both, so the bot needs a plan for each. A voice note can be transcribed and answered, or passed to staff; a photo of a damaged item or a document usually goes to a person. I test both on your own examples. In MagizAI, my own product, the photos, documents and voice notes customers send reach the team inbox.

Which languages can the chatbot answer in?

The AI model replies in the language the customer writes in, but quality differs by language and by model. I test each language you serve with real questions from your customers, and the hand-off rules apply in every language. Follow-up templates are written in each language you use.

How long does a WhatsApp chatbot take to build?

The written quote gives a date. What moves it most is outside the code: how quickly your content and sample questions arrive, how many systems the bot connects to, and Meta's review of your templates. Meta's policy says it can "review, approve, pause and reject any Message Template at any time," so I submit templates in the first days.

Are you affiliated with Meta or WhatsApp?

No. I am an independent developer who builds on Meta's public WhatsApp Business Platform. I am not affiliated with, certified by or endorsed by Meta or WhatsApp. Every rule and price on this page links to Meta's own pages, so you can check them, and they change, so I recheck them at the start of each project.

What do you hand over at the end?

The source code in your repository, the deployed bot, access to everything on your own Meta business account and AI provider account, the list of templates and their status, the test questions with their results, and notes on updating content, changing hand-off rules and rotating the access token. Two weeks of support after delivery are included.

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