WhatsApp AI agent for online shops: stock, sizing, delivery and returns answered before the cart is abandoned
Online shoppers ask before they buy: is this in stock, does it run small, when will it arrive, can I return it. Every unanswered question is an abandoned cart. An AI agent answers from your own catalogue and policies, in seconds, and takes the order details when the customer is ready. It does not touch payment, and it should not.
Quick answer
Put a WhatsApp AI agent on your shop's support number with your catalogue, size guide and delivery and return policies as knowledge. It answers product, stock, sizing, shipping and returns questions, collects order details (items, size, address) for the team to invoice, and hands payment problems, refunds and disputes to a person. ReplyKit does this from $29 a month; it does not process payments or send broadcasts.
The question before the purchase
Most WhatsApp messages to a small shop are pre-purchase: a sizing doubt, a stock check, a delivery estimate. They arrive in the evening, when people shop, and go unanswered until the next morning, when the customer has bought elsewhere or lost interest. The answers are all in your product pages and policies. An agent that has read them answers instantly, and a customer who got a straight answer at 11pm buys at 11pm.
What the agent handles
Automate
- Product details, materials, care, and what is in the box, from your catalogue pages.
- Sizing from your size guide, including "runs small" notes you write down.
- Stock status as written in your knowledge; update the sheet when it changes, or say "check the website for live stock".
- Delivery options, costs, timelines by region, and tracking instructions.
- Returns, exchanges and warranty as written in your policy.
- Taking order details: items, size, colour, quantity, delivery address, saved to the lead's card for the team to invoice.
- Promotions you have published, with their dates.
Keep with a person
- Payment. The agent never takes card details; it points to your checkout link or the team sends an invoice.
- Refunds, disputes, damaged goods and chargebacks.
- Bulk and wholesale enquiries.
- Anything about an order already placed that needs a system lookup.
Two rules keep this honest. The agent quotes only prices and stock you have written down, so a stale price list is your risk to manage; replace it when it changes. And it never asks for card numbers, OTPs or bank logins, which ReplyKit's platform rules and Acceptable Use Policy forbid outright.
Taking an order without taking payment
When a customer is ready, the agent collects the items, size, quantity and delivery address, confirms the total from your list, and tells the customer the team will send a payment link or invoice. The order lands in the leads list as Qualified with every detail on the card, and the team sends the link from your existing checkout or bank. That keeps payment inside systems built for it, and keeps you on the right side of WhatsApp's commerce rules. Shops on the official API with a full catalogue integration may prefer that route; our guide to the official platform explains when.
Setup for a small shop
- Use a dedicated number. ReplyKit connects your number through Meta's official WhatsApp Business Platform: keep the number you already use in the WhatsApp Business app and the agent works alongside it, or add a dedicated number. Personal WhatsApp numbers cannot be connected. Keep your long-standing number out of it; details in Meta's messaging limits explained
- Paste your shop URL; ReplyKit reads product and policy pages first, up to 100 pages. Upload a size guide and price list as PDFs.
- Write the policies in plain text: delivery times by region, returns, exchanges, warranty, and how to pay.
- Instruct the boundaries: no payment details, no promises about stock not in the knowledge, disputes to a person.
- Connect the number through Meta's sign-in and test with "do you have the blue one in M and when will it arrive in Penang?"
Frequently asked questions
Can the agent take orders?
It collects the items, size, quantity and address and saves them for the team to invoice. Payment stays in your checkout or bank link; the agent never handles card details.
Does it know live stock?
Only what is in its knowledge. Update the stock sheet when it changes, or instruct it to point customers to the website for live stock.
Can it send promotions to my customer list?
No. ReplyKit replies to inbound messages only and does not do broadcasts. Campaigns need the official API; see our comparison guides.
Does it handle returns?
It explains your written return policy and collects the order details, then hands the actual refund or exchange to a person.
How much does it cost?
From $29 a month for one number and 1,000 replies, with a leads list and a website chat assistant included. 7-day free trial.
Answer the sizing question at 11pm
Paste your shop, upload the size guide, connect your number through Meta's sign-in. 7-day free trial.
Sources and further reading
- WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy · opt-in, opt-out and prohibited-use rules every business must follow
- Harvard Business Review, The Short Life of Online Sales Leads (Oldroyd, McElheran, Elkington, 2011) · firms that responded within an hour were about seven times more likely to qualify the lead
- ReplyKit Acceptable Use Policy · what we refuse to automate
- ReplyKit, Will WhatsApp ban my number for automation? · how Meta's messaging limits and quality rating work
ReplyKit is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Meta or WhatsApp. This article is general guidance for running a small business, not legal, financial or regulatory advice.