WhatsApp chatbot · Updated 25 September 2026

A WhatsApp chatbot that reads what people type

Most WhatsApp chatbots are menus: they work while customers tap buttons and break when they type. Altrnative's answer every message in plain language and still follow your rules.

Menu bots and AI agents

There are two kinds of WhatsApp chatbot.

Menu (flow) chatbot AI agent
How it is built Drawing a flow: a message, buttons, the next message for each button Describing the job in plain words
What customers can do Tap the buttons offered Type anything, in any language they use
When a customer goes off-script Repeats the menu or gives up Answers, then steers back to the goal
Changing it Editing every branch of the flow One sentence: "ask for the budget first"
Best for Fixed choices: pick a slot, pick a language Real conversations: questions, objections, follow-ups

A menu is still the right tool for a single fixed choice. For anything a person would normally answer, an AI agent does the job a menu can't.

How Altrnative's chatbot works

  1. Describe it: who it talks to, what a good conversation ends with, what it must find out, and when a person should take over.
  2. Test it: Altrnative plays different customers (keen, just browsing, writing in Hinglish, difficult) and you read the replies. Nothing goes to a real person.
  3. Put it on WhatsApp: on a campaign that messages a list, or on chats your own system starts through the API. It answers every reply from then on.

What it will not do: invent a price, a date or a promise you did not give it. When a question needs a person, it says someone will follow up and stops.

What it captures

Name the fields you want from each conversation (budget, preferred date, quantity, yes or no) and the agent fills them in as people reply. You get one row per customer in a results table, exportable to CSV or Excel. A reply that doesn't answer a field leaves it blank; nothing is guessed.

What it costs

Meta's template rate at cost, plus ₹0.30 per conversation the agent handles: one person, one number, 24 hours, however many messages, AI included. No monthly fee and no per-message AI charge. See WhatsApp Business API pricing.

Questions

What is a WhatsApp chatbot?

A WhatsApp chatbot is software that replies to customers on a business's WhatsApp number automatically. It runs on Meta's WhatsApp Business API, not the WhatsApp Business app. Older chatbots follow button menus; AI chatbots, also called AI agents, understand free text.

Can I build a WhatsApp chatbot without coding?

Yes. On Altrnative you describe what the chatbot should do in plain words and test it in a chat before it goes live. There is no flow to draw and no code to write.

Is a WhatsApp chatbot free?

The WhatsApp Business API has no fee of its own, but Meta charges for template messages, and chatbot platforms charge for their software. On Altrnative there is no subscription: you pay Meta's rate plus ₹0.30 for each 24-hour conversation the chatbot handles.

Can the chatbot reply in Hindi?

Yes. It replies in the language and script the customer writes in (English, Hindi or Hinglish) and switches when they do.

Will it work with my existing WhatsApp number?

It needs a number on the WhatsApp Business API. A number that is on the WhatsApp Business app today can be moved to the API; it then stops working in the app.

Try it on your own number

Describe your agent in plain words, test it in a chat, and put it on your WhatsApp. $5 free to start, no subscription.

Start free   Book a demo

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