A WhatsApp chatbot for business that replies fast and follows WhatsApp's rules
Customers send voice notes, photos and quick questions on WhatsApp and expect an answer the same day. Risolva is a WhatsApp chatbot for business on the official WhatsApp Business API: it tracks the 24-hour reply window, sends only approved templates once it closes, and stops messaging anyone who replies STOP.
- Template broadcasts to a saved segment, now or scheduled
- A 24-hour reply window countdown on every WhatsApp chat
- STOP and UNSUBSCRIBE recorded automatically
- Your own number on the official Business API
In your Risolva inbox: Megan R.AI handlingWhat changes when your number runs on Risolva
The WhatsApp specifics a practice manager or store owner usually asks about before moving the business number over to a WhatsApp AI agent.
- Connection
- The official WhatsApp Business API, connected with our team during onboarding.
- Your number
- Your business's own number and display name. While it runs on Risolva, it can't also be used in the WhatsApp Business app.
- Reply window
- Free-form replies for 24 hours after the contact's last message. Each thread shows a countdown.
- Templates
- Written in Meta's WhatsApp Manager and approved by Meta, then sent from Risolva to follow up after the window closes or in a broadcast. Meta may charge per template message.
- Opt-outs
- STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, OPT OUT, OPT-OUT or STOP ALL. Risolva sends a confirmation, then blocks every message to that contact, from the AI, your team or a broadcast, until they reply START.
- Media the AI reads
- Voice notes (transcribed), photos and screenshots, PDFs including scanned ones, and Word files. Video is not analyzed.
- Languages
- Replies in the language the contact writes or speaks in, such as Spanish, French or German.
- Broadcasts
- Approved templates to a saved segment, or free-form session messages to contacts whose window is still open. Send now or schedule, with an optional test send.
An insurance check and a booked cleaning in one thread
A patient asks whether Northline takes Delta Dental and says they need a cleaning. The AI confirms the network, offers two openings and, once the patient picks Thursday at 3:00 PM, asks for a yes before it books. Looking up open slots and booking one both run through custom actions, such as book_appointment, connected to the clinic's own scheduling system. Someone with API access sets those up, often with our team during onboarding.
- Turn on Requires approval and the AI asks the patient to confirm the slot, then books only after a yes
- Without a booking action, the AI still answers the coverage and hours questions, and your front desk books the visit from the inbox
get_open_slotsGEThttps://api.yourclinic.com/slots?date={{date}}book_appointmentPOSThttps://api.yourclinic.com/appointmentsRequires approvalFollowing up after WhatsApp's 24-hour window closes
Say a patient asks about whitening on Monday afternoon and goes quiet. By Wednesday the window has closed, and WhatsApp only allows approved templates from that point. Risolva enforces that rule for the AI and your team alike, so a free-form message can't go out once the window has closed. The front desk sees the window in the thread header and sends a template instead.
- The header reads "Reply window" with a countdown, then "Reply window closed"
- Send template opens your approved templates, with their variables, right from the conversation
- The window opens again for another 24 hours as soon as the patient writes back
A follow-up offer that skips anyone who sent STOP
Hot leads gathers the contacts with the highest lead scores, and at Northline many of them asked about a cleaning but never booked. The office manager picks the approved follow_up_offer template, which greets each patient by {{first_name}} and holds 15% off for the week, aims it at Hot leads, and schedules it with Respect business hours turned on. Anyone who has replied STOP is left out of the send.
- The audience estimate is shown before opt-out filtering, so the delivered count can be lower
- Session message mode sends free-form text, but only to contacts whose 24-hour window is still open
- Collecting opt-in under WhatsApp's policy stays with the business; Risolva handles the opt-outs
What WhatsApp messages cost
Meta charges for each WhatsApp message it delivers, by message type and by your customer's country, and bills your WhatsApp Business account directly. Your Risolva plan is separate, and the AI is included in it, with no per-reply or usage fee. Try your own numbers below.
- Every reply inside the 24-hour window is a service message to Meta, whether the AI or your team wrote it, and the first 1,000 a month are free on each number
- Utility templates, like order updates, are charged even inside the window since October 1, 2026
- Marketing templates cost the most, while replies to people who came from Click-to-WhatsApp ads open a free window of up to 7 days
United States, at North America rates
| Type | Charged | Rate | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service | 2,000 | $0.0034 | $6.80 |
| Utility | 500 | $0.0034 | $1.70 |
| Marketing | 1,000 | $0.025 | $25.00 |
| Authentication | 0 | $0.0034 | $0.00 |
- 1,000 free service messages applied, 2,000 charged.
Meta's USD list rates, effective October 1, 2026. Meta bills your WhatsApp Business account directly. Messages in free entry point windows aren't included. Your Risolva plan is separate, and the AI's replies are included in it, so this is the whole cost of sending them.
Moving your number to the WhatsApp Business API
We make the connection with you during guided onboarding. Here is what to have ready and what happens on the day.
What you need
- A Facebook login with admin access to your business's Meta account
- A business phone number that can get a code by text or call and isn't active on WhatsApp
- The display name contacts will see, such as Northline Dental
- Your FAQ page, insurance or policy list, and price sheet
Connect the number through Meta's signup
In Meta's signup window you choose the business account, add the number, enter the code Meta sends, and submit the display name, which Meta reviews.
Load what people ask about
Add your website pages, FAQ, insurance networks or policies, and price list. Turn on source citations if you want each reply to name where it came from.
Get your templates approved
Write follow-up and promotional templates in Meta's WhatsApp Manager. Once Meta approves them, they show up in Risolva for the inbox and for broadcasts.
Set who gets what, then go live
Add handoff rules, for example sending an Emergency appointments topic to the Front desk group, connect any booking actions, and link your bot to the number so the AI starts answering.
WhatsApp Business app vs. API: what changes with an AI chatbot
Plenty of small businesses start on the free app. These are the differences once the number moves to the API.
| Compared on | WhatsApp Business app | Risolva on the WhatsApp Business API |
|---|---|---|
| Who answers | Whoever has the phone, with quick replies and an away message after hours. | The AI replies to each message within seconds, after hours included, and your team can read every reply. |
| Team access | One phone and a few linked devices, with chats sorted by labels you add by hand. | A shared inbox on desktop or phone, where everyone sees whether a chat is AI handling, Waiting for agent, Human assigned or Closed. |
| Voice notes | Someone has to listen to each one, often hours later. | Transcribed as they arrive and answered in text, in the language the person spoke. |
| Messages to many people | Broadcast lists built and sent by hand from the phone. | Approved templates sent to a saved segment such as Hot leads, now or on a schedule. |
| Opt-outs | You keep track yourself of who asked you to stop. | STOP and four other commands are recorded, confirmed and honored on every later send. |
WhatsApp chatbot questions from business owners
A WhatsApp chatbot for business is software that replies to customers on your WhatsApp number automatically. Risolva's version is an AI agent on the official WhatsApp Business API. It reads each message, including voice notes and photos, keeps to WhatsApp's 24-hour reply window and template rules, and honors STOP replies. Your team works every chat from one shared inbox.
Plan your number's move to the API with us
Book a demo and we'll check that your number is ready for the WhatsApp Business API, sketch the follow-up templates you'll want Meta to approve, and pick a date to connect it with you during onboarding.