The app or the API?
The free WhatsApp Business app is made for people replying by hand, on a phone. The API, which Meta calls the WhatsApp Business Platform, lets software answer on your business number: an assistant can reply in seconds, take bookings and alert your team, day and night.
| WhatsApp Business app | WhatsApp Business API |
|---|
| Who replies | Your team, by hand | Your assistant, with your team when needed |
|---|
| A message at 2 am | Waits until someone wakes up | Answered in seconds |
|---|
| Bookings | Written down by hand | Saved, and you get an alert |
|---|
| Cost | Free | Meta’s message fees, plus the service |
|---|
Can I keep my number and the app?
Yes. Meta’s coexistence option lets one number work in the app and through the API at the same time. Your team keeps replying from the app, and the assistant steps back in any chat they answer. A few app features change: disappearing messages, view-once and live location are turned off, and broadcast lists become read-only.
What does Meta charge?
Meta charges per message, by your customer’s country and the kind of message. Since 1 October 2026 that includes replies to customers who wrote to you, after the first 1,000 a month on each number: about RM0.06 a reply in Malaysia and SAR 0.04 in Saudi Arabia (Meta’s utility rate), while marketing messages cost more. Replies within 72 hours of a click-to-WhatsApp ad stay free. Meta bills your own card through your Meta account, so you see every charge. Our assistant keeps the count down by answering a burst of messages with one reply.
What do I need to start?
A Meta business account in your business’s name (the free one many businesses already use for Facebook or Instagram), the WhatsApp number you want to use, and your business details for Meta’s verification. We set up the technical side with you, so you don’t need a developer.
Why not build a chatbot myself?
You can, but the work is more than the bot: getting the number approved by Meta, teaching it your menu, prices and booking rules, checking it never invents a price, and fixing it when something breaks at a busy hour. That’s the part we do for you.
How it works with Khayyats
We connect your number, teach the assistant your menu, prices and rules, and you see every chat on your phone. The first 30 days are free; after that it’s a monthly plan you can stop at any time.
See it answer on your own number
We set it up with your menu and rules, and you watch every chat for 30 days, free.