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An AI agent for your business: what it does, and how to test it
An AI agent for a business reads the business's information and answers customers in free language, on WhatsApp or the website, and acts: books appointments, records leads and hands conversations to a member of the team. Nobody builds it a path per question, so the key test is what it does when the answer is not written down.
Updated: · Facts about WhatsApp and Meta were checked in WhatsApp's Help Center on 27 October 2026 (sources at the end).
Three things called an "AI bot"
| What is compared | Flow bot | General AI chat | AI agent for a business |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where answers come from | Paths built in advance | The model's general knowledge | The business's information |
| An unplanned question | Not recognised, or back to the menu | Answers — even when guessing | Answers from the information, and passes on what is not there |
| Actions | Whatever the path defines | No access to your calendar or business | Books appointments, records leads, hands over |
| Where it answers | WhatsApp, Instagram and more | On the vendor's site | WhatsApp and the business's website |
What an AI agent for a business should do
- Answer only from your information. Hours, services, prices and policies — from what you wrote, files you uploaded and website pages you approved. Not from the internet, and not from imagination.
- Say when it does not know. With Ariko, the bot says a member of the team can answer and offers to pass it on; when the customer agrees, the question reaches you.
- Act, not just talk. Check Google Calendar for free times and book, cancel and move appointments; save every enquiry as a lead with the details collected.
- Let the team step in. A shared inbox where you see every conversation and take one over in a click.
- Understand how customers write. Slang, typos, voice messages, images, and several messages in a row.
How to test an AI agent before it answers customers
- Ten real messages. Take the questions customers actually sent last month — including one whose answer is written nowhere — and send them to the agent in a test chat.
- A question it must not answer. A medical or legal question, or one about a discount that does not exist. A good agent passes it on; a bad one invents.
- Book and change. Ask for an appointment, then move it. Check the calendar that it was written, and that the old slot was freed.
- An official connection. Unofficial WhatsApp apps break the Terms of Service, and per WhatsApp an account using them may be banned temporarily or permanently. Ariko runs on the official WhatsApp platform, through a Meta-verified partner.
What about Meta's agent?
Meta has its own AI agent inside the WhatsApp Business app, Meta Business Agent. Per WhatsApp's Help Center it is "currently only available in limited countries to select businesses", with a waitlist, and its language is set by the business's phone number. If it is available to you, you will find "AI agent" in the app's Tools tab. All the options in Israel compared.
Getting started with Ariko
- 1. Build from your business's information.
- Write what the business does, upload files, and let Ariko read your website — and approve what goes in.
- 2. Test in the test chat.
- Free, $0, up to 200 messages a month — No WhatsApp connection. Fix an answer in a click.
- 3. Connect calendar, WhatsApp and website.
- Google Calendar for booking; WhatsApp and website chat from Start $99 a month before VAT, charged in shekels, with Meta's charges included.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an AI agent and a chatbot?
A classic chatbot answers along paths built in advance — buttons and fixed replies. An AI agent reads the business's information and answers in free language, even questions nobody planned for, and can take actions such as booking an appointment.
Can an AI agent make up answers?
A language model can guess, so how the agent is built matters. Ariko is given the business's information as its only source, and for anything not there it says a member of the team can answer and offers to pass it on. You check this in the test chat before connecting.
How much does an AI agent for a business cost?
You build the bot and talk to it in the test chat on the Free plan, $0 — No WhatsApp connection. WhatsApp and website chat open on paid plans: Start $99 a month (1,000 messages, up to 2 users), Plus $149, Pro $199 and Max $399. Prices exclude VAT and are charged in shekels, and Meta's message charges are included. Full details on pricing.
Does an AI agent understand Hebrew?
Ariko answers in Hebrew and English, understands slang, voice messages and images, and can be set to reply in the language the customer wrote in.
What happens when a customer wants a person?
When a customer asks for a person, the bot stops answering in that chat and you get a notification. When the bot does not know something, it says a member of the team can answer and offers to pass it on; when the customer agrees, the question reaches you. And you can take over any chat from the inbox at any moment and hand it back when you are done.
Can I keep my existing WhatsApp number?
Yes, if the number is on the WhatsApp Business app. On a paid plan you connect it from the dashboard — log in with the Facebook account that manages the business and scan a QR code — and the app on your phone keeps working as before.
Sources (checked on 27 October 2026)
- WhatsApp — About unofficial apps (Terms of Service and account bans)
- WhatsApp — How to set up Meta Business Agent (availability and languages)
More: WhatsApp bots in Israel compared · A virtual receptionist · A chatbot for your website · How to build a WhatsApp bot