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    WhatsApp AI agent

    A WhatsApp AI agent finishes the job, not just the sentence.

    An agent reads what the customer meant, looks the answer up in the systems you already run, does the thing being asked for, and keeps a record of having done it. That last part is what makes it an agent.

    Talk to VoltySee the mechanics

    What a WhatsApp AI agent is

    A WhatsApp AI agent is software that handles a WhatsApp conversation end to end. It reads what the customer meant rather than which keyword they used, looks the answer up in the systems your business actually runs on, does the thing being asked for, and logs what it did. It runs on a business number connected to the official WhatsApp Business API, because the consumer app has no way to give software that access.

    The distinction from a chatbot is not how well it writes. A chatbot produces a reply; an agent produces an outcome. Which is why an agent needs write access to a calendar, an order table or a CRM, and a record of every action it took there.

    “Do you have a slot this Saturday?”

    A chatbot replies

    Sends the opening hours and asks the customer to call.

    An agent resolves

    Reads the live calendar, offers the two free slots, holds the one the customer picks.

    “How much for 200 of these?”

    A chatbot replies

    Sends a price list and hopes the right line is on it.

    An agent resolves

    Prices the quantity off the current rate card, writes the quote, logs it against the customer.

    “Where is my order?”

    A chatbot replies

    Asks for an order number, then asks somebody in the office.

    An agent resolves

    Looks the order up, states where it is, and sets a follow-up if it has not moved by tomorrow.

    How it works

    An agent that can act needs a reason to be trusted with it

    Write access is what makes an agent useful and what makes it worth being careful about. These are the four constraints Volty runs under.

    • It acts, and the actions are enumerated.

      Sending, resolving, snoozing, labelling and writing to your tables are the things it does. That list is short on purpose: an agent whose action set is open-ended is one you cannot review.

    • It reaches your other systems, never your passwords.

      It can call the tools your business already runs on, but only the ones an admin ticked off when approving that rule. Credentials are swapped in at the last moment, so they never sit inside the automation or turn up in its history. Switch an integration off and every rule using it stops immediately.

    • Every run is journalled.

      When a rule ran, why it ran, and what it did. If a run fails, the rule pauses and tells you rather than spiralling quietly in the background.

    • Nothing new ships without approval.

      A new rule arrives with a preview of exactly what it would have done and waits on an approval card. Draft mode does the same thing for replies: every one is held for a person until you switch that inbox to live.

    Three ways to run an AI agent on WhatsApp

    Each of the three answers customers on your own WhatsApp number. They differ in who builds the agent, what it can reach and how it is billed.

    Meta Business Agent

    What it is
    Meta's own AI agent for numbers on the WhatsApp Business Platform. It does not run in the WhatsApp Business app.
    What it answers from
    Your business information, FAQs, files and websites. Connectors let it look up a customer record, check stock or an order's status, read a schedule and book an appointment.
    Messaging customers first
    It only replies inside the 24 hour window a customer opens by messaging you.
    Setting it up
    Each connector is an API you define for Meta: its address, its authentication and its operations.
    Who can use it
    A number not already running another AI agent, from a business in a country Meta has authorised. Every vertical except Finance, Government, Health, Alcohol, Gambling, over-the-counter drugs and matrimony services.
    What it costs
    US$2.00 per million tokens, as one charge covering the AI and the delivery of the message. About 4 to 5 US cents for a typical message.

    A WhatsApp Business Solution Provider

    What it is
    The company that puts your number on the WhatsApp Business Platform and handles onboarding, templates and billing. Voltade is one of them.
    What it answers from
    It depends on the provider. Volty connects to the tools your business already runs.
    Messaging customers first
    Volty follows up with an approved template once the window has closed, and sends broadcasts.
    Setting it up
    Anyone on your team asks Volty in chat to connect a tool, and an admin approves it once.
    Who can use it
    Any business Meta allows on the WhatsApp Business Platform.
    What it costs
    Each provider sets its own price, on top of Meta's per-message rates. Volty plans start at S$199 a month after a free 7-day trial.

    Build it yourself on the Cloud API

    What it is
    Your own software on Meta's Cloud API. It receives each message, calls an AI model you choose and sends the reply.
    What it answers from
    Whatever your software looks up in your own systems.
    Messaging customers first
    You build any follow-up yourself, with an approved template once the window has closed.
    Setting it up
    You write and host every part of it, including the hand-off to a person.
    Who can use it
    Any business Meta allows on the WhatsApp Business Platform.
    What it costs
    From 1 October 2026, Meta's utility rate for each service reply, plus the AI model, which Meta estimates at about 2 to 9 US cents a message. Then the time it takes to build and run.

    What providers offer, and what Volty adds

    Providers offer some mix of three things:

    • Shared inbox. Every message lands in one inbox your team shares, and a person types each reply. Nothing answers on its own.
    • Chatbot builder. You set up menus and keyword rules, and they answer fixed questions such as opening hours or prices.
    • AI agent. The software reads each question and answers in plain language from your business's own information, including questions nobody wrote an answer for.

    Volty is Voltade's AI agent for WhatsApp. It answers on your own number, and it also:

    • Connects to your tools by asking. Anyone on your team asks Volty in chat to connect a tool, and an admin approves it once. HubSpot, Google Calendar, Notion, Shopify, Slack and Plato Medical are built in.
    • Keeps its promises. When Volty tells a customer it will get back to them, it records a follow-up and returns at the time it set. Once a customer's 24 hour window has closed, it follows up with an approved template.
    • Sends broadcasts. One approved template goes once to one audience you choose, and a broadcast requested in chat waits for a person's approval.
    • Replies live or as drafts. Volty sends replies itself or drafts them for your team to approve, and an inbox can switch between the two on a schedule. When a teammate replies, Volty steps back.
    • Builds tools for your team. Ask Volty for a dashboard, a report or a standing rule, and Volty writes it as a mini app or an automation. Everything Volty writes waits for an admin to approve it before it goes live.

    Meta bills the customer. From 1 October 2026, what Meta charges for the service replies Volty sent past 1,000 per business phone number a month is deducted from your monthly Volty bill. The deduction runs for your first year on Volty.

    Read How Volty works to see what Volty does in a WhatsApp conversation.

    Asked and answered

    Common questions about WhatsApp AI agents

    Keep reading

    Tell us which system holds the answer.

    The calendar, the stock table, the CRM, whichever one your team keeps checking by hand. That is where an agent starts. Free scoping, no commitment. SMEs are eligible for up to 50% Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) support for the adoption of Voltade AI solutions, a Pre-Approved Solution under the IMDA SMEs Go Digital programme.

    Talk to VoltyBrowse the agent catalogue

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