What does it take to automate WhatsApp enquiries for a Qatari business?
What you need
A WhatsApp Business number. If your customers already message a number, that number can be moved to the API, but it stops working in the phone app once it is.
Access to the WhatsApp Business API through Meta. This is a verification step for your business, and it takes a few days. Cliqom does it with you.
A system that reads each incoming message, decides what to do, and does it. That can be a set of simple automations for basic flows, or an AI agent such as Baye3 AI for anything that involves understanding a question.
A rule for the handoff. Which messages go to a person, how fast, and with what attached.
The rules that shape the design
The 24-hour window. When a customer messages you, you can reply freely for 24 hours. After that, you can only send an approved template message. Reminders and follow-ups are therefore templates, submitted to Meta in advance, in both languages.
Opt-in. You may not message a customer first unless they have agreed to hear from you. Collect that agreement at booking.
No calls. WhatsApp voice and video calling have been restricted in Qatar. Everything here is built for messages.
What a good setup does
Answers within seconds, in the language the customer wrote in. Asks the questions you would ask before booking. Reads real availability and writes the booking into your calendar. Sends the reminder the day before as a template. Hands over to a person with the conversation attached when the customer asks for one, or when the question is outside what the system was given.
What a good setup never does
Invent a price. Offer a slot that does not exist. Pretend to be a person. Send a marketing message to someone who did not agree to receive one.
The Qatar details
Hours that change on Friday and during Ramadan, loaded into the system so it does not offer a slot you will not keep. Prayer-time gaps in clinic and salon calendars. Arabic replies in the register the customer used, which on WhatsApp is rarely formal.
Related questions
Do I need the WhatsApp Business API or is the app enough?
For automation you need the API. The WhatsApp Business app on a phone can set an away message, but it cannot answer questions or book appointments.
Can I message customers first?
Only with an approved template message and the customer's opt-in. Replies to a customer's own message are free-form within a 24-hour window. Build the automation around that rule.
Does WhatsApp calling work in Qatar?
WhatsApp voice and video calls have been restricted in Qatar. Messaging works. Design for messages and put voice on a phone line if you need it.
How fast can it go live?
The API setup takes a few days. Loading your services, prices and hours takes another day or two. Most businesses are live to customers within a week.