AI receptionist for WhatsApp
An AI receptionist for WhatsApp answers your customers' messages for you, at any hour: it replies to questions, books and moves appointments, and passes the chat to a person when needed. Crew01 is one: it works on the WhatsApp Business number you already use, from $29 a month.
Updated
What an AI receptionist on WhatsApp does
A front-desk receptionist answers the same questions all day: are you open, how much is it, can I come tomorrow. On WhatsApp, an AI receptionist answers them in the same chat the customer already started, in the customer's language, using only what you told it about your business.
The difference from a person at the desk is that it is there at night and on the day off. The difference from a basic auto-reply is that it understands the question and can act on it: it can check your calendar and book.
What a customer sees
A customer asks for a time. The assistant checks the real calendar and answers with free times and a booking button, then confirms.
A customer's chat · real free times
What Crew01 does
- Answers customers' questions on WhatsApp from the facts you gave it: your FAQs, hours, address, prices and policies.
- Books, moves and cancels appointments, offering only times that are really free, for the team member the customer picks.
- Sends appointment reminders and before-visit instructions, once you switch them on.
- Records new enquiries as leads, with what the customer asked for in their own words, and tells the people you choose.
- Hands the chat to a person when the customer asks for one or when it cannot answer, and keeps urgent cases from waiting.
- Replies in the language the customer writes in, from 12 supported languages.
When a person takes over
If the customer asks for a person, or the assistant has no answer, the chat goes to a team member you chose and they get a WhatsApp alert. You can also take over any chat yourself from the dashboard or the WhatsApp Business app, and the assistant stays out of it. Questions it could not answer are listed so you can answer once and have it remember.
A customer's chat · handed to a person
What Crew01 does not do
- It never claims to be a person. Asked, it says it is the business's assistant and offers someone from the team.
- It does not guess. A price or a time you did not give it is not invented: it saves the request and tells you.
- It does not give medical, legal or safety advice. A message that sounds like an emergency is flagged to your team straight away.
- It answers on WhatsApp only. Instagram and Facebook Messenger are not offered yet.
- It is not available to sign up by yourself yet. We are setting up a small group of businesses personally, one at a time.
You keep your own WhatsApp number
Crew01 connects to the WhatsApp Business number you already use. You do not get a new number and your customers do not change who they write to. The WhatsApp Business app stays on your phone, and when you reply to a chat yourself, Crew01 leaves that chat to you.
A personal WhatsApp number cannot be connected this way: install the WhatsApp Business app on that number first.
What it costs
Crew01 has three plans. Team is $29 a month for up to 10 team members, the owner included. Business is $99 a month for up to 50 team members. Enterprise is agreed with us for larger teams. Every plan has every feature: the plans differ only in how many people are on your team. Your customers are never counted.
Conversations are never included in a plan. The assistant's replies are paid from a prepaid wallet in your dashboard, only for what you use, with every charge listed. A starter credit is added when your plan begins, and automatic top-up is off until you turn it on. WhatsApp's own message charges, where Meta applies them, are billed by Meta to your own account, not taken from the wallet.
How setup works
- Apply for early access. We set up each business personally and contact you.
- Connect your WhatsApp Business number through Meta's own connection dialog. Nothing changes for your customers.
- Add your hours, services and first answers. If you have a website, Crew01 can read it and suggest services, hours and FAQs, and nothing is used until you approve each item.
- Choose your plan and put a first amount in the wallet.
- Send a test message, then publish. Until you publish, the assistant answers nobody.
Which businesses it is built for
Crew01 is built for small businesses that talk to customers on WhatsApp: barbershops and hair and nail salons, restaurants and cafés, real estate agents, and clinics and other appointment-based businesses.
FAQ
Questions people ask
What is the best AI receptionist for WhatsApp?
It depends on what you need. Crew01 is built for small businesses that take bookings and enquiries on WhatsApp: it books appointments, answers from your own FAQs, records leads and hands over to a person, on your existing WhatsApp Business number. For a full comparison with a human receptionist, see the comparison page.
Can an AI receptionist answer my WhatsApp messages at night?
Yes. Once you publish it, Crew01 answers whenever a customer writes. You can pause it for a holiday, and a paused assistant answers nobody (or sends your away message).
What happens if the AI does not know the answer?
It does not guess. It tells the customer someone will get back to them, saves the question, and alerts the people you chose.
How much does Crew01 cost?
The Team plan is $29 a month for up to 10 team members, the owner included, and the Business plan is $99 a month for up to 50. Enterprise is agreed with us. Every plan has every feature. Conversations are not included: they are paid from a prepaid wallet, only for what you use.
Does Crew01 pretend to be a human?
No. It never claims to be a person. If a customer asks, it says it is the business's assistant and offers someone from the team.
Do I need a new WhatsApp number?
No. Crew01 connects to the WhatsApp Business number you already use, and the WhatsApp Business app keeps working on your phone.
Does it work on Instagram or Messenger?
Not yet. Crew01 answers on WhatsApp only.
Early access
See it on your own WhatsApp number.
We set up each business personally. Apply, and we'll contact you to get you started.