Designing a WhatsApp Chatbot for a Small Business: The Hand-off Rules Matter More Than the Model

Description and use

<p>Most WhatsApp chatbot demos look great for about ninety seconds. Someone asks for opening hours and the bot answers. Someone asks for a price and the bot answers. Then a real customer types "my order came broken and I want a refund now", the bot replies cheerfully with a product suggestion, and the business has a problem.</p> <p>After building and reviewing a fair number of these for small businesses, my view is that the model is rarely what decides whether a chatbot helps or hurts. What decides it is the plumbing around the model: what the bot is allowed to answer, where its answers come f

Problem

<p>Most WhatsApp chatbot demos look great for about ninety seconds. Someone asks for opening hours and the bot answers. Someone asks for a price and the bot answers. Then a real customer types "my order came broken and I want a refund now", the bot replies cheerfully with a product suggestion, and the business has a problem.</p> <p>After building and reviewing a fair number of these for small businesses, my view is that the model is rarely what decides whether a chatbot helps or hurts. What decides it is the plumbing around the model: what the bot is allowed to answer, where its answers come f

Outcome

<p>Most WhatsApp chatbot demos look great for about ninety seconds. Someone asks for opening hours and the bot answers. Someone asks for a price and the bot answers. Then a real customer types "my order came broken and I want a refund now", the bot replies cheerfully with a product suggestion, and the business has a problem.</p> <p>After building and reviewing a fair number of these for small businesses, my view is that the model is rarely what decides whether a chatbot helps or hurts. What decides it is the plumbing around the model: what the bot is allowed to answer, where its answers come f

Evidence

Designing a WhatsApp Chatbot for a Small Business: The Hand-off Rules Matter More Than the Model

Source