WhatsApp AI agent

A WhatsApp AI agent is an assistant that, as well as answering messages, can do things: check your calendar and book an appointment, look up the status of an order or register a customer in your system. That's the difference with a chatbot: the chatbot talks; the agent talks and acts on other tools, almost like an intern with access to your software.

Inside, an agent is an AI connected to your programs: the calendar, the online shop or the CRM (the program where you keep your customers' data). More power means more risk: it can make a mistake when booking, cancel what it shouldn't or give information to the wrong person. That's why the important thing is deciding what it can do on its own and what needs a person's confirmation. Something else that's confusing: "agent" has become a buzzword, and many products that use it are good old-fashioned chatbots. Always ask what actions it actually performs.

I don't have a dedicated article on WhatsApp agents yet, so here's the advice I apply to myself with any agent: start with a single low-risk action, like proposing an appointment that a person then confirms, watch for a while where it gets things wrong and only then give it more responsibility. And always leave a way out to talk to a human.