WhatsApp Bot: what it is, how to run one, what it costs
Most people searching for a "WhatsApp bot" picture software installed on a phone that answers messages. That does not exist — or rather, everything promising it ends in a banned number. WhatsApp does not let any program reply on your behalf inside the app, and allows it on exactly one path: the WhatsApp Business API.
This page explains the difference, what a bot can and cannot do, the steps, and the cost in numbers measured from real conversations rather than copied from a rate card.
1. Three different things share the name
| Path | Auto-replies? | Where it stops |
|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp Business app | Away and greeting message only | One fixed text, one device, understands nothing |
| Browser and phone tools | Yes, apparently | Against WhatsApp's terms; ends in a banned number |
| WhatsApp Business API | Yes — the only legitimate path | Needs a verified business; Meta bills conversations you start |
2. What a bot actually does
A bot does not replace an employee; it takes the repeated questions off them. Those are what fill most of the day:
- Prices, stock, opening hours
- Order tracking, and confirming an order before it ships
- Returns, shipping and payment policies
- Handing the conversation to a person when the question leaves what it knows
The handover is where a bot is judged. A bot that invents an answer when it does not know is worse than no bot; the right behaviour is to say so and fetch a person.
3. The steps, in order
- Verify your business with Meta. A commercial registration or equivalent, and a name that matches the document.
- Prepare a number. One not in use on the WhatsApp app, able to receive a call or SMS to verify.
- Connect the number through Meta's embedded signup inside the platform — minutes, not days.
- Give the bot what it knows. Your prices, policies, and the questions customers repeat. This step decides quality more than any setting.
- Set the human handover and its hours, then test with real questions from your past conversations.
4. The cost
The bill has two halves: Meta's conversation fees, and the platform that runs the bot. Meta bills per conversation, not per message, and a conversation lasts 24 hours carrying unlimited messages at the same price.
The full bill, with a calculator for your own month, is in the WhatsApp API pricing guide for Egypt, and for Saudi Arabia and the Gulf in the Saudi version.
5. What a bot will not do
This deserves its own section because it is what surprises people after they subscribe:
- It will not message numbers that did not opt in — Meta refuses before the send.
- It will not open a conversation with free text: anything you start needs a pre-approved template.
- It knows only what you gave it. A bot never fed your prices will decline every price question.
Frequently asked
Does a WhatsApp bot work on the ordinary app?
No. The ordinary WhatsApp app and the WhatsApp Business app are both built for one phone and one person, and neither accepts software replying on your behalf. A bot needs a number registered on the WhatsApp Business API, which is a separate path run by Meta.
Is there a free WhatsApp bot?
Not entirely free, because Meta itself bills the conversations you start. But most of the bill for most stores is zero: conversations the customer starts have been free and uncapped since November 2024. Measured across our own real traffic, 71% of conversations cost nothing.
How long does it take to get a bot running?
Connecting the number through Meta's embedded signup takes minutes when your business is verified and the number is not already on the WhatsApp app. The real time goes into what comes after: assembling what the bot knows about your products and policies.
Does the bot understand Egyptian and Gulf dialect?
Yes, and that is the practical difference between a bot built for Arabic and a translated one. Three cases usually break bots: dialect, Latin-letter writing, and misspelling. The Arabic chatbot guide covers each.