Build a WhatsApp customer support bot

Pan-African

How to build and deploy a WhatsApp customer support chatbot using Africa’s Talking or Twilio — covering webhook setup, automated response flows, and handoff to human agents.

1

Choose your WhatsApp API provider: Africa’s Talking (best pricing for African numbers), Twilio, or 360Dialog.

2

Register a dedicated phone number and apply for WhatsApp Business API access.

3

Define your bot flows: FAQ auto-responses, ticket creation, order status lookup, and human handoff triggers.

4

Build the bot using Typebot (no-code) or write a webhook handler in Node.js or Python.

5

Create a webhook endpoint that receives incoming WhatsApp messages and routes them through your flow logic.

6

Test with your own number before going live. Test failure paths and edge cases.

7

Set up human handoff: when a user types ‘agent’ or the bot fails 3 times, escalate to a human in Crisp or a shared inbox.

8

Monitor bot failure rates and average resolution time weekly for the first month.