Build a WhatsApp Bot Without Writing Code

WhatsApp has 2 billion users. Most businesses still reply to messages manually. Here's how to set up an AI-powered bot in n8n that handles common questions automatically.

What you need

• n8n (cloud or self-hosted)
• Meta Business account
• WhatsApp Business API access (through 360dialog or Twilio)
• An OpenAI or Claude API key

The setup

1. Get WhatsApp API access — Sign up with 360dialog or Twilio. They give you a WhatsApp Business number and handle the API complexity. Takes about a day to get approved.

2. Create the n8n workflow:

1. Webhook trigger — receives incoming WhatsApp messages
2. Message classifier — uses AI to categorise the message
3. Conditional branching — routes to different response logic
4. AI responder — generates a contextual response
5. WhatsApp response node — sends the reply back

3. Build your knowledge base — Create a Google Doc with your FAQs, pricing, and policies. Paste relevant sections into your AI prompt.

What it handles well

• "What are your hours?"
• "What's the pricing?"
• "How do I cancel?"

For complex questions, escalate to a human.

Time to build

Realistically: 3–4 hours for the first version. Another week to tune responses and handle edge cases.