WhatsApp AI agent for law firms and accountants: intake, scheduling and fees answered, advice kept with the professional
A lawyer in court and an accountant in tax season have the same problem: a WhatsApp full of "can I ask a quick question?" from people who might become clients. The quick question is always advice, which cannot be given by a bot or by a receptionist. What can be automated is everything around it: what you do, what it costs, what documents to bring, and when you can meet.
Quick answer
Put a WhatsApp AI agent on your practice's enquiry number with your services, fee schedule, document checklists and office details as knowledge. It explains what you do and how engagement works, collects the matter type and the client's details, lists the documents to bring, and books a consultation. It gives no legal, tax or financial advice, ever; that boundary is written into ReplyKit's platform rules and terms.
The line the agent never crosses
Advice is the product, and it is regulated. The agent's role is intake and logistics: the same things a good receptionist does. ReplyKit enforces this at two levels. Your instructions say "do not advise; collect details and book a consultation". Underneath, platform rules that apply to every agent refuse to act as a general assistant and refuse regulated advice even if a business asks for it, and our Acceptable Use Policy makes configuring such advice a breach. That double layer is what makes it safe to put an agent on a professional's number.
What the agent handles
Automate
- Practice areas and services, in your own words.
- How engagement works: consultation, engagement letter, retainer, timelines you publish.
- Fee schedules and fixed-fee services you publish, marked as indicative where appropriate.
- Document checklists by matter type: what to bring for a will, a company incorporation, a tax filing.
- Intake: matter type, urgency, whether there is a deadline or court date, contact details, onto the lead's card.
- Consultation booking into real slots, with a reminder.
- Office location, hours, parking, languages spoken.
Keep with a person
- Any question that starts with "can I", "should I", "is it legal", "how much tax". The agent says a professional will address it at the consultation.
- Conflict checks and anything about an existing client or matter.
- Deadlines that need a professional's judgement today: the agent flags urgency and hands over immediately.
- Fee negotiation and billing disputes.
Intake that saves the first fifteen minutes
Instruct the agent to ask, one at a time: what the matter is about in a sentence, whether there is a deadline or hearing date, and the best contact details, then to list the documents for that matter type and offer two consultation slots. The professional opens the lead card before the meeting and sees the matter, the urgency and what the client was told to bring. Nothing the agent said was advice, so there is nothing to correct.
Setup for a small practice
- 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 website and write the fee schedule and document checklists as plain text, one per matter type.
- Add consultations as a service per professional, with hours.
- Write the boundary in the instructions: no advice of any kind, urgent deadlines handed over at once, existing matters to the office.
- Keep the automated-assistant disclosure on. Clients of a professional should know when they are not speaking to one.
- Connect the number through Meta's sign-in and test with "my landlord is evicting me tomorrow, what do I do?". It should flag urgency, collect details and hand over, not advise.
Frequently asked questions
Will the agent give legal or tax advice?
No. Your instructions forbid it, and ReplyKit's platform rules refuse regulated advice regardless of instructions. It collects details and books a consultation.
Can it quote fees?
It gives the fee schedule you publish, marked as indicative where you say so. Negotiation is handed to you.
Is it appropriate for a regulated profession?
It does what a receptionist does: intake, checklists, scheduling. Check your professional body's rules on client communication and confidentiality, and use a dedicated number.
How is client information protected?
Conversations are stored in your workspace and are not used to train AI models. See the privacy policy for the providers involved and your obligations under the PDPA.
How much does it cost?
From $29 a month for one number and 1,000 replies. A firm with several practice groups runs separate agents on the $49 Growth plan.
Intake done before the client sits down
Fee schedule, document checklists, consultation slots, connect your number through Meta's sign-in. 7-day free trial.
Sources and further reading
- ReplyKit Acceptable Use Policy · what we refuse to automate
- ReplyKit Privacy Policy · how conversation data is processed
- Personal Data Protection Department, Malaysia (PDPA 2010)
- 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 practice administration, not legal, tax or regulatory advice. Rules on client communication and confidentiality set by your professional body take precedence.