What can the assistant handle on its own?
The questions that arrive every day and have the same answer every time. These are the ones that eat your team's hours, and a customer is happy to get an instant reply.
- Opening hours, location and how to get there.
- Prices and services you have already decided to share.
- Taking a booking or an order, or asking for the details you need.
- Reminders, confirmations and "where is my order" questions.
- Replying in the language the customer wrote in, English or Arabic.
When must it hand over to a person?
I set the assistant up with a clear list of moments where it stops and a person takes over. The cost of a wrong answer is higher than the cost of asking you.
- Complaints, refunds and anything about a mistake you made.
- Medical or legal questions. The assistant does not give advice on these.
- Big or unusual orders, special prices and negotiations.
- Customers who sound upset, rude or in a hurry.
- Anything it is not sure about. Not knowing is a reason to ask, never to guess.
- Anyone who simply asks for a person.
What does the hand-over look like for the customer?
The customer should never feel stuck with a machine. The assistant says plainly what is happening, and keeps the promise it makes.
I understand, and I'm sorry about this. I'm passing your message to Thouseef now. He will reply here himself as soon as he can.
أفهم ذلك وأعتذر عن هذا. سأحوّل رسالتك الآن إلى توصيف، وسيرد عليك هنا بنفسه في أقرب وقت.
What does your team see?
When the assistant hands over, you get a notice that says who the customer is, why it was passed on and what was said so far. You read the whole chat in one place, so you never have to ask the customer to repeat themselves.
Handing over is quiet on the assistant's side. It stops replying in that chat so it does not talk over you.
How do you take over, and how do you give the chat back?
You reply in the same WhatsApp chat, as yourself. There is no new app for the customer to open and no new number.
When the matter is settled, you give the chat back to the assistant, and it carries on with the next routine question. If you forget, a chat you have taken over does not stay stuck forever: it can return to the assistant after a quiet period you choose.
Will it still sound like you?
Yes, that is part of the setup. We agree on how you talk to customers: formal or friendly, short or detailed, how you greet and how you close. I also write it to answer in natural Arabic, not translated English, so a customer writing in Arabic gets Arabic that reads well.
It will not pretend to be you. If a customer asks, it says it is an assistant for your business, and that a person is available.
Is it right for every business?
It works best where the same questions repeat: clinics and salons, real estate enquiries, restaurants, shops. The more repeated questions you have, the more time it saves. It is not a replacement for your team, it is the first reply, with you right behind it.
If you want to see how it would handle your own questions, send me the five you get most often. I will show you how the replies and the hand-over would look.