Glossary
What is a chatbot and how does it work
Chatbot has become a common word in customer service, but it covers very different things: from a numbered option menu to an AI that understands a question written the way the customer talks. Here you see how each one works.
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The short answer
A chatbot is a program that talks to people by text message, automatically. It can follow a fixed script of options, the menu chatbot, or understand what the customer writes and reply in its own words, the AI chatbot. On WhatsApp, it is used to welcome customers, answer questions and send each customer to the right person.
How a chatbot works
- 1The customer sends a messageOn WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger or the website chat.
- 2The chatbot interprets itA menu bot compares the reply with the options in the script. An AI bot reads the text and understands the intent.
- 3The chatbot replies or hands offIt answers the question, asks for a detail or passes the conversation to the team when the topic needs a person.
The types of chatbot
| Type | How it works | Where it does best |
|---|---|---|
| Menu chatbot | Shows numbered options and follows a flowchart | Simple triage, like choosing a department |
| AI chatbot | Understands free text and replies in natural language | Varied questions, prices, hours and qualification |
| Hybrid | Menu for triage and AI for the conversation | Companies with several departments and high volume |
What is an AI chatbot
An AI chatbot uses a language model to understand the customer's message even with typos, slang or a question out of order. It answers from the information the company filled in and follows rules about what it may and must never promise. When it can act, and not only answer, such as booking a time slot, it is called an AI agent.
What it is for on WhatsApp
- Answer after hours, so the customer does not wait until the next day
- Welcome the customer and ask the topic first
- Send each customer to the right department, like sales, billing or support
- Answer repeated questions, like price, address and hours
- Collect the customer's details before passing them to the salesperson
How atendIA does it
On every plan, atendIA has an automatic greeting and department menu on WhatsApp: the customer picks the department and lands in the right queue. On the Essential plan, the AI answers 24 hours a day in your company's tone on WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, understands voice messages, follows the rules about what it must never promise and hands over to the team with one click, in the same history. Setup is a form at sign up, with what you sell, prices and hours.
Plans and pricing
The department menu comes on every plan, starting at $49. The AI chatbot starts on Essential, at $99, with the AI cost included.
See all plansFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between a chatbot and a human agent?
The chatbot answers instantly, at any hour, and handles what repeats. The human agent handles the negotiation and the cases that need a decision. The best result comes from both together, with the chatbot passing the conversation to the person in the same history.
How is the AI set up?
You fill in a form about your business: what you sell, prices, opening hours and what it must never promise. The AI starts answering from that, and its instructions stay editable in the dashboard.
Can the AI make up prices or promise things we do not do?
It answers within the rules you set, including what it must never promise and when to hand over to a person. On the Professional plan, price and duration come from your service catalog, not from a guess.
Do I have to pay for OpenAI or another AI separately?
No. On the Essential and Professional plans the AI cost is already in the plan price. You do not create an OpenAI account, paste an API key or get a usage bill, not even in the month it answers the most. The Basic plan has no AI.
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