How to automate WhatsApp replies for a small business
To automate WhatsApp replies, connect an AI assistant to your WhatsApp Business number and give it your hours, prices, services and FAQs; it then answers those questions itself and passes the rest to you. Crew01 does this on the number you already use, in 12 languages, and you can take over any chat at any time.
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What is worth automating
- The questions you answer every day: hours, address, prices, how to get there, cancellation policy.
- Booking and rescheduling, because it needs your calendar, not a script.
- Reminders before appointments.
- Capturing a new enquiry, so nobody who writes at 11 pm is lost.
What to keep for a person
Anything that needs judgement: a complaint, a special price, an unusual request. Crew01 hands these over with the customer's own words, and records questions it could not answer so you can answer once. Nothing it learns is used until you approve the wording.
Answering the same question once
You write the answer once, or approve one Crew01 suggests from your website. After that the same question, asked in any wording or language, gets that answer.
A customer's chat · a question answered
Replies in the customer's language
Crew01 answers in the language the customer writes in. 12 languages are supported: English, Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, Japanese and Chinese.
You stay in control
- Take over any chat: the assistant stops answering that customer.
- Pause the assistant for a holiday: it answers nobody, or sends your away message once per customer.
- The assistant answers nobody until you publish it.
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.
FAQ
Questions people ask
How do I automate WhatsApp replies for my salon?
Connect a WhatsApp assistant such as Crew01 to your WhatsApp Business number, add your services, hours and FAQs, and publish. It answers questions, books appointments and hands over to you when needed. For a barbershop or salon, see the booking bot page.
Can I still reply to a customer myself?
Yes. When you reply to a chat yourself, the assistant leaves that chat to you.
Can it reply in the customer's language?
Yes, in 12 languages. It replies in the language the customer writes in.
Is a business auto-reply the same thing?
No. The WhatsApp Business app's away and greeting messages send fixed text. An AI assistant understands the question and can act on it. The comparison page lists what each is better at.
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.