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    A WhatsApp AI chatbot answers customer messages for a business without a person typing each reply. For a service business it does four jobs: it answers, qualifies, books and hands over. This post covers each job, then the WhatsApp policy and Malaysian data-protection rules that limit what the bot can do.

    The four jobs

    What a service-business chatbot does.
    JobWhat it covers
    AnswerCommon questions on services, service area, job scope and warranty
    QualifyCollects the details the business needs before a booking
    BookChecks the calendar and offers slots
    Hand overPasses the conversation to staff when a rule says so

    A bot that only answers questions works as a help page. A bot that only collects a name and number works as a form. The qualification questions differ by service. A cleaning business asks how large the property is, where it is, and how often and when the clean should happen. A renovation firm asks for property type, timeline and site-visit availability. A clinic asks for the type of service and the preferred practitioner.

    Handing over to staff

    The business defines the triggers. Common ones are an upset customer, a job that needs an inspection before staff can assess it, a question that calls for legal or medical advice, an answer the bot has low confidence in, and a customer who asks for a person.

    The handover carries the conversation summary, the details collected, the urgency and a suggested next step, so staff do not reread the thread. The WhatsApp policy requires this route to exist wherever automation is used.

    Booking and the CRM record

    After qualification the bot checks availability, offers a few slots and creates the calendar event. It writes the customer record and schedules reminders. A reminder sent more than 24 hours after the customer's last message goes out as an approved template, to a customer who opted in.

    WhatsApp rules

    • A business may contact a person only with that person's opt-in permission to receive later messages.
    • Free-form replies are allowed inside the 24-hour customer service window. Outside it, only approved templates can be sent.
    • A business must not ask people to share full payment card numbers, financial account numbers, personal ID card numbers or similar identifiers.
    • A business must not use WhatsApp to send or request health information where regulations bar passing it to systems without heightened handling requirements.

    The last two rules shape the qualification questions. A clinic bot books a service and a practitioner and leaves symptoms to the appointment.

    Personal data

    Section 6(3)(c) of the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 requires personal data to be adequate but not excessive for its purpose. Section 7(1) requires a written notice that states the purposes of collection, and section 7(3) requires the notice in the national and English languages. Section 40 sets the conditions for sensitive personal data, which include health information. The reprint cited is current to 1 July 2023.

    Malaysia's National Guidelines on AI Governance and Ethics (MOSTI, 2024) list full disclosure that an AI system is being used in decision making as an element of transparency, and the ability to challenge decisions made by the system. A bot that scores or routes an enquiry takes part in a decision about it.

    What OtomoAI builds

    OtomoAI builds chatbots for WhatsApp and the other channels a client connects. The bot answers common questions, qualifies enquiries against the business's criteria, offers calendar slots and writes the CRM record. Defined triggers pass the conversation to staff with a summary.

    Get in touch and we quote for your case.

    Sources

    Ritchie Boon Win Yew ·