A WhatsApp AI agent for hawker stalls, food trucks and home-based cooks: menu, pre-orders, pickup times and today's location, answered while you cook
A hawker's phone buzzes most at the exact moment both hands are in the wok. Pre-orders, "still got or not", "where is the truck today", "can do less spicy": each one is a sale, and each one is impossible to answer at 12:30. An agent that knows the menu and today's note answers them all.
Quick answer
Put the menu with prices, the daily special, pickup or delivery rules, order cut-off times and today's location into a WhatsApp AI agent, and it takes pre-orders with a pickup time, answers what is still available from a note you update, and tells customers where the truck is parked today. It hands over big catering orders and complaints. ReplyKit runs this from $29 a month on a dedicated number, in Malay, Chinese, Tamil or English, with voice notes understood.
Menu, specials and the daily note
Upload the menu as a PDF or paste it as text: item, price, options (spice level, add-ons), one per line. Then keep a daily note for what changes: today's special, what is sold out, today's location and hours, and the pre-order cut-off. For a food truck the note is the whole business: "Tue 6 Oct: Bangsar South, 11:30 to 2:30. Special: beef rendang rice RM 14. Sold out after 1 pm usually, pre-order by 11 am." The agent reads it before every reply, so the answer to "where are you" is right without anyone typing it. The restaurant templates cover the wording for the common replies.
Pre-orders that arrive as a packing list
- The agent collects items, quantities and options, then pickup time or delivery address, one question at a time, and repeats the order back with the total.
- It quotes your payment method from the knowledge base and asks for a screenshot if you want payment before cooking.
- Orders land in the leads list in arrival order with every detail, which is the list you cook from.
- Orders above a size you set, such as 20 packs or catering, are handed to you with the details already gathered.
- After the cut-off the agent says so and offers tomorrow, which stops the 12:45 "can still order?" messages.
Rules that save arguments
- Customisation. Which changes you accept (less spicy, no onion) and which you do not. The agent applies them exactly.
- Cancellation. "Pre-orders cancelled after 11 am are charged in full." In your words.
- Allergens. List them per dish; the agent answers allergen questions from the list only and hands over anything uncertain.
- Halal and dietary status. State it plainly once; it is asked daily.
- Delivery. Areas, fee and minimum, or "collection only".
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.
Where the agent stops
It does not cook, so it cannot say how long the queue is unless your note says so. It does not negotiate catering prices; it collects the event details and you quote. It will not promise a dish is nut-free unless your allergen list says it. And it is capped at 200 replies a day per number with a warm-up for new numbers, which covers a stall comfortably and a viral weekend less so; add a second number on the Growth plan for the big days. A one-person food business usually pays for the Starter plan with its first saved order; the arithmetic is in worth it for a one-person business.
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
Can it take pre-orders for pickup?
Yes. It collects items, options and a pickup time, repeats the order with the total, and records it in your leads list.
How does it know where my truck is today?
From a daily note you edit in the knowledge base. Update it each morning and the agent answers location and hours from it.
Can it stop taking orders after my cut-off?
Yes. Put the cut-off in the note and it tells customers after that time to order for the next day.
Does it answer in Malay or Chinese?
Yes. It replies in the language the customer writes in, including mixed Manglish.
What about catering requests?
It gathers the event date, headcount and dishes, then hands over to you to quote.
Cook. Let the agent take the orders.
Menu, specials, pre-orders, cut-offs and today's location. 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.