WhatsApp chatbot for business in India: what it can do, what it cannot, the three kinds sold under one name, and what it costs
Replies to anyone who messages first, templates to people who opted in, nothing to anyone else. A keyword flow, an AI assistant and an AI sales agent compared, Meta's per-message prices, and six steps to set one up without regretting it.
A WhatsApp chatbot for business runs on the WhatsApp Business Platform (the API), replies to customers who message first, and can send approved templates to people who opted in. What it can do depends on what kind it is: a keyword flow answers what it was scripted for, an AI assistant answers from documents, an AI agent qualifies, quotes from a catalogue and books. Meta charges per message — ₹0.8631 marketing, ₹0.115 utility in India — and the software from free to tens of thousands a month.
On this page
What a WhatsApp chatbot can do
- Reply to anyone who messages first, within 24 hours of their last message, with anything: text, pictures, a catalogue card, buttons, a payment request. Free until 1 October 2026; charged per reply since.
- Send approved templates to people who opted in, after the window closes — a reminder, a receipt, a quote, an offer — at Meta's per-message price.
- Ask questions and store the answers, so the second message does not repeat the first.
- Hand over to a person, and know when to.
- Take a payment in the chat, on a Platform number with a payment configuration, in India.
What it cannot do
- Message someone who never opted in. Not a purchased list, not a scraped one, not the numbers from last year's exhibition. Meta's policy, India's DPDP Act, and the blocks that follow all say the same thing.
- Run on the WhatsApp Business app. The free phone app has no way to hand messages to software. A chatbot needs the Platform, which takes about ten minutes to get.
- Send anything it likes after 24 hours. Only an approved template, and only to consented people for marketing.
- Know your prices unless you give it a catalogue. A bot that answers from a brochure quotes the brochure's date.
Three kinds, sold under one name
| Keyword flow | AI assistant | AI sales agent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decides what to say by | A flow you drew | A model reading documents | A model with a goal, fields to capture, tools and rules |
| An unexpected question | "I didn't understand" | An answer, if a document covers it | An answer, a question back, or a handover |
| Prices | Typed into the flow | From the documents | From the catalogue only |
| Leaves behind | A transcript | A transcript | A qualified lead with fields filled, a deal, a next step |
| Right for | A four-branch menu with a person behind it | Answering questions about fixed content | A conversation that ends in a quote, a booking or a payment |
The agent-vs-chatbot guide goes deeper; the short version is that a flow fails outside its script, an assistant only answers, and an agent is only safe when its rules live in code rather than in the prompt.
What it costs
| Item | In India |
|---|---|
| The Platform itself | Free from Meta |
| A marketing template, per delivered message | ₹0.8631 plus GST |
| A utility or authentication template | ₹0.115 plus GST |
| A reply inside the customer's window | ₹0.115 each since 1 October 2026 (free before) |
| The chatbot software | Free to tens of thousands a month; some providers add a mark-up per message |
Linkubit is free to start and ₹499 a month for a team, with the AI salesperson included and nothing added to Meta's rate; the comparisons show what eight other tools charge, from their own pricing pages.
Setting one up without regretting it
- Get the Platform on a number that is not on the app.
- Decide the four to six questions the bot must ask before a quote is worth writing, and where the answers go — a record, not a chat.
- Load a catalogue. Prices come from it and nowhere else.
- Write the handover rules first: what goes to a person before the bot replies.
- Write the templates for after the window: confirmation, reminder, quote, documents. Sixty-plus are here.
- Record consent per person with a source and a time, and make STOP work in every language.
Can I build a WhatsApp chatbot for free?
The Platform is free from Meta and Linkubit's Free plan includes the AI salesperson on your own number. Meta charges per message you start, and since 1 October 2026 a small fee per reply inside the customer's window too.
Is a WhatsApp chatbot legal in India?
Yes, on the official Platform, replying to people who messaged you and sending templates to people who opted in. Bulk messages to people who did not opt in break Meta's policy and the DPDP Act, and get the number restricted.
Can a chatbot work on my existing WhatsApp number?
Once the number leaves the app and joins the Platform, yes. Chats on the phone do not transfer; the number, and its green tick if it has one, do.
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Try it on your own number. Linkubit answers, qualifies and quotes on WhatsApp from your catalogue, and adds nothing to Meta’s per-message price. Start free — fourteen days of Pro, no card — or read the pricing.