A WhatsApp AI agent for financial planners and unit trust agents: answer what you do, qualify the lead, and book the consultation, while never giving financial advice

A financial planner's leads arrive from referrals, seminars and social posts, and most of them ask the same opening questions: what exactly do you do, how do you charge, what happens in a first meeting. The adviser is in client meetings all day, so the reply comes at night, and the lead has cooled. The fix is an agent that handles the opening and books the meeting, and refuses, by design, to give advice.

By Ritchie, ReplyKit · Published 5 October 2026 · 6 min read

The line the agent must not cross

Financial advice in Malaysia and Singapore is licensed activity. The agent's instructions should say, in plain words, that it gives information about your services only; it does not recommend products, funds or policies, does not estimate returns, does not compare providers, and does not comment on whether something is a good idea for the person asking. When asked, it says a licensed adviser will cover that in the consultation and offers to book one. Write your licence number and regulator into the knowledge base so the agent can state them. The general principle of scoping an agent to your business is in writing the agent's instructions, and the legal context in is it legal to use AI to reply.

Qualifying without interrogating

1. After answering the opening question, the agent asks what the person wants help with: retirement, education fund, insurance review, investing a lump sum, or something else.
2. Then a rough timeline, and whether they already work with an adviser.
3. Then it offers consultation slots. On the Growth plan it nudges once if they go quiet.
4. The lead lands in your CRM with goal, timeline and stage, so the first meeting starts with context. The question set is adapted from lead qualification questions.

What to put in the knowledge base

• Your services in plain language, and who each is for.
• Your fee model: fee-only, commission, or both, stated the way your regulator expects.
• Your licence, regulator and firm name.
• What happens in a first consultation, how long it takes, whether it is free, what to bring.
• Your privacy notice: what you collect on WhatsApp and how it is handled; see the privacy notice guide.
• A do-not-answer list: product names, returns, tax positions, specific recommendations.

One honest note before the setup. ReplyKit connects to your number by QR pairing, the same linked-device mechanism as WhatsApp Web. It is live in minutes and needs no Meta approval, but Meta does not sanction automation this way, so a number can be restricted. We enforce limits of 30 replies an hour and 200 a day per number with a warm-up ramp for new numbers, reply to inbound messages only, and recommend a dedicated number rather than your main line. The full picture is in our ban guide.

Why this is worth it for a one-adviser practice

Research on lead response, including the Harvard Business Review study, finds that leads answered within an hour are far more likely to be qualified than those answered later. An adviser cannot answer within an hour during a client meeting; an agent can, and the consultation is booked before the lead has read the next adviser's post. The agent does not replace the relationship. It makes sure the relationship starts.

Starter at $29 a month covers one number, one agent and 1,000 replies; Growth at $49 adds two more numbers, five agents and follow-up nudges; the 7-day free trial needs no card. Replies you receive and messages you send yourself are free; only the agent's own messages count. What it costs in practice.

Frequently asked questions

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.