A WhatsApp AI agent for handmade makers, artisans and marketplace sellers: answer custom-order, personalisation, lead-time and shipping questions, collect commission details, and sell direct to repeat customers
A maker's day is making. Every custom enquiry, each a lovely conversation about colours and names and deadlines, is twenty minutes away from the bench, and most of them ask the same things: can you personalise, how long does it take, do you ship abroad, how much. A clear intake answers those and collects the rest.
Quick answer
Give a WhatsApp AI agent your product list with standard prices and options, personalisation rules (what can be customised, character limits, fonts), materials and care, current lead times, shipping by region and gift options, your custom-order process and deposit rule, and it answers in seconds in the buyer's language, collects commission details (item, size, colour, text, deadline, reference photos), quotes standard items, flags when a custom quote is needed, and records direct orders. Marketplace orders stay on the marketplace. ReplyKit runs this from $29 a month.
The custom-order intake
- Which item, or a description and reference photo if it is new.
- Size, colour, material options from your list.
- Personalisation text, spelled exactly, with the character limit applied.
- Deadline, and whether it is a gift (wrapping, a note, shipping to a different address).
- Shipping country; the agent quotes shipping and lead time together so the deadline is realistic.
- For standard items with options, the agent quotes the price and your deposit rule; for anything off-list it says a custom quote follows and hands over with everything collected. The quoting method is in handling quotation requests.
Lead times and the calendar
Keep a current lead-time line ("Current lead time: 2 weeks plus shipping; Christmas orders by 1 Dec") and the agent protects your calendar by telling a buyer honestly that the 14th is not possible. A full-dates note for the busy season stops you accepting what you cannot make. The seasonal approach is in seasonal businesses and peak days.
Direct sales and the marketplace
- Enquiries that came from Instagram, a market stall or a friend can be sold direct; the agent takes the order and your payment method.
- Enquiries about a marketplace order stay in the marketplace's messaging, as its rules require; tell the agent to say so politely when an order number is mentioned.
- Repeat customers, the ones who come back for gifts, are the direct list you own; the retention pattern is in marketplace sellers.
- Knowledge can be built from your listings and social captions in half an hour, as in knowledge from social posts.
What the maker keeps
What stays with a person:
- Quotes for anything off the standard list.
- Design decisions and reference photo feedback.
- Deadline exceptions.
- Complaints and remakes.
- Wholesale and stockist enquiries.
Everything else the agent handles, and when it is unsure it says so and offers a human rather than guessing; see why the agent says it is not sure.
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.
Starter at $29 a month covers one number, one agent, one website assistant and 1,000 AI replies; Growth at $49 adds two more numbers, five agents and follow-up nudges; the 7-day free trial needs no card. Only the agent's own messages count. Pricing is in USD and the service works wherever WhatsApp does. What it costs in practice.
Frequently asked questions
Can the agent take custom orders?
It collects every detail, including personalisation text and deadline, quotes standard items with options, and hands over anything that needs a custom quote.
Does it know my lead times?
From a line you keep current. It tells buyers honestly when a deadline is not possible.
Can it sell direct?
Yes, for enquiries that did not come from a marketplace. Marketplace orders stay on the marketplace.
Does it answer international buyers?
Yes, in their language, with shipping by region from your notes.
What about reference photos?
It asks for them, describes what it sees, and attaches them to the order for you.
Stay at the bench; the agent takes the brief
Personalisation, lead times, shipping and commission details collected in any language. 7-day free trial, no card.
Sources and further reading
- 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
- WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy · opt-in, opt-out and prohibited-use rules every business must follow
- ReplyKit, Will WhatsApp ban my number for automation? · our own account of the risk and the limits we enforce
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.