Most of your customers are already on WhatsApp, asking the same handful of questions — price, availability, location, can I pay on delivery. A chatbot answers those instantly, day or night, and only pulls in a human when one's actually needed. Here's what it costs to set one up in Kenya, including the running cost nobody mentions upfront.
The realistic ranges
- FAQ bot (answers common questions, captures leads, business hours): KES 50,000 – 100,000 to build.
- Order bot (catalogue, takes orders, M-Pesa payment in chat, order status): KES 120,000 – 300,000 to build.
- Custom AI assistant (multi-channel, CRM integration, tailored training): quoted to scope.
The running cost everyone forgets
A proper WhatsApp bot runs on the WhatsApp Business API (not the free Business app), and Meta charges per conversation. The exact rate depends on conversation type and changes over time, but you should expect a monthly bill that scales with how many customers you talk to. A good build makes each conversation do real work, so the cost stays proportional to value.
There's also a one-to-two-week approval step to get on the Business API. Factor that into your timeline — it's normal, not a delay caused by your developer.
What a good bot actually does
- Answers the predictable 80% — hours, prices, stock, directions — instantly, at any hour.
- Takes orders and triggers an M-Pesa STK Push so customers pay inside the chat.
- Books appointments and sends reminders to cut no-shows.
- Hands off cleanly to a human, with the full conversation attached, for anything it can't handle.
Avoid the rigid "Press 1 for sales" bots — they frustrate customers and get abandoned. The value is in handling natural questions well and knowing when to escalate.
This is what we do at Bitcrowd. If you're weighing it up for your own business, read more about ai chatbots — or just tell us what you're building.
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