Enable AI Agent on WhatsApp (Beta)Updated an hour ago

Once you set up AI Agent for your store, you can choose to enable it for conversations with shoppers on WhatsApp.

Deploying AI Agent on WhatsApp means that it can automatically help shoppers browse, buy and get support when they message your business.

On this page:

• Before you begin
• Enable AI Agent on WhatsApp
• Preview how AI Agent responds before you go live
• How AI Agent responds to WhatsApp messages
• Confirming shopper identity on WhatsApp
• FAQs

Before you begin

Before you use AI Agent to answer shoppers on WhatsApp:

• You must connect WhatsApp to Gorgias, if you haven't already. This app adds WhatsApp as a channel on your helpdesk, and lets you receive and respond to messages you receive on WhatsApp from your inbox.
• Make sure that you set up AI Agent with knowledge, skills, and tone of voice instructions, so it has what it needs to successfully respond to shoppers when they reach out on WhatsApp.

Enable AI Agent on WhatsApp

Once you've connected WhatsApp to your helpdesk, you can enable AI Agent to start answering shopper's questions on this channel.

If you want to preview how AI Agent will respond to shoppers on WhatsApp before going live, you can start a test conversation. Select WhatsApp as the channel for your test.

To enable AI Agent on WhatsApp:

1. Open the dropdown menu in the top-left corner, then select  AI Agent.
   • If you have more than one Shopify store connected to Gorgias, click the dropdown menu to select a store.
2. Under the Deploy section, click Socials.
3. Open the dropdown menu and select one or more WhatsApp integrations.
4. Click the ON/OFF toggle to Enable AI Agent on Socials, then select Save Changes.

Respond to image-only messages

Sometimes shoppers send a message that contains only an image and no accompanying text. By default, AI Agent replies to these messages using whatever information it can read from the image, but its response may be less accurate than usual.

If you'd rather these conversations go to your team instead, turn off Respond to image-only messages.

1. On the Deploy > Socials page for AI Agent, find the Respond to image-only messages toggle.
2. Click the toggle to turn it off.

Let shoppers know they're messaging with AI

You can add a short disclosure to the end of AI Agent's first message in a conversation on WhatsApp, letting shoppers know they're messaging with AI rather than a person.

We recommend enabling this. Being upfront about AI builds trust with shoppers, and depending on where you operate, it may also be a legal requirement. Learn more about your legal obligations to disclose AI use.

1. On the Deploy > Socials page for AI Agent, select the checkbox for Use Initial message footer.
2. Enter the text you'd like AI Agent to send as a disclosure along with its first message.
3. Click Save Changes.

Preview how AI Agent responds before you go live

Before you let AI Agent respond to messages on WhatsApp, you can test how AI Agent replies on this channel, without affecting real customers or creating billable interactions.

Go to  AI Agent >  Playground from the main menu, then select WhatsApp as the channel for your test.

Pay close attention to the reasoning AI Agent provides with its response in your test conversation. Reasoning lets you see which skills, knowledge or actions were used to inform the response. If the response was inaccurate or unsuccessful, you can create or update these sources to improve the outcome.

How AI Agent responds to WhatsApp messages

When a shopper sends you a message on WhatsApp, it becomes a new ticket in your helpdesk's inbox — tagged and organized using your existing AI Agent views. From there, AI Agent replies automatically, using your skills, knowledge and tone of voice instructions to resolve shoppers' inquiries, unless it needs to hand the conversation over to your team.

Here's what to expect from these conversations:

• AI Agent automatically adapts your tone of voice instructions to match the conversational and concise format of messages on WhatsApp. However, if you want, you can customize tone of voice instructions to further control how AI Agent sounds on WhatsApp.
• AI Agent can read attachments shoppers send, like photos, but can't send attachments of its own. AI Agent replies to messages that contain only a photo with no text, unless you've turned this off (see Respond to image-only messages above).
• AI Agent can respond to shoppers within WhatsApp's 24-hour customer service window. This window only allows businesses to reply to customers within 24 hours of the shopper's last message. It's meant to promote quality conversations, protect users from spam, and encourage timely responses from businesses.

Confirming shopper identity on WhatsApp

When a shopper asks AI Agent for personal information, like their order details, AI Agent first needs to confirm who it's talking to. To verify their identity, AI Agent asks the shopper to share the email address or order number associated with their order, directly in the conversation.

If that information matches an existing order, AI Agent continues the conversation and answers the shopper's question. If the shopper can't confirm their identity this way, or doesn't respond, AI Agent hands the conversation over to your team to assist the shopper further.

For requests that make changes to a shopper's account or orders — like canceling an order, updating a shipping address, or modifying a subscription — a one-time password is typically required. Gorgias doesn't support one-time passwords on WhatsApp yet, so AI Agent hands those conversations over to your team instead.

FAQs