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Create and connect an AI agent for WhatsApp

Last updated on Oct 14, 2026

An AI agent for WhatsApp answers your customers with the personality and knowledge you give it. Build it in five steps, test it in a private simulator and connect it to a number when it's ready.

Who it's for: the organization's administrator. Other roles can view agents but can't create or connect them. Screen: https://micuenta.whatsmarketing.es/agentes-ia/nuevo

Before you start

  • Administrator role.
  • To test it you need nothing else. To connect it to production you need a connected WhatsApp number that isn't paused by Meta (Account → WhatsApp).
  • Have at hand what the agent needs to know: a list of frequently asked questions and answers or a document with your business information.
  • While you configure and test it, nothing is billed.

Steps

  1. Go to Send → AI Agents and click "+ New agent" («+ Nuevo agente»). You'll see five steps: "Level" («Nivel»), "Starting point" («Punto de partida»), "Personality" («Personalidad»), "Knowledge" («Conocimiento») and "Test" («Probar»).
  2. Choose the level: "Bot IA Inicial" (included in your plan, 1 bot, a single knowledge source), "Agente IA Comercial" or "Agente IA Casi Humano" (premium, billed per active agent). You can move up a level later without losing anything. Click "Next →" («Siguiente →»).
  3. Choose the starting point: "Customer service" («Atención al cliente»), "Lead qualification" («Calificación de leads»), "Appointment booking" («Agenda de turnos») or "Lead recovery" («Recuperación de leads»). Each comes with a sample personality, instructions and rules. Type the "Internal name" («Nombre interno») (only your team sees it) and click "Create and continue →" («Crear y seguir →»). The agent now exists, but isolated: it doesn't talk to anyone.
  4. Adjust the personality: "Introduces itself as" («Se presenta como»), "Tone" («Tono»), "First message" («Primer mensaje»), "Plain-language instructions" («Instrucciones en lenguaje simple»), "When to hand over to a person" («Cuándo pasar a una persona»), "When it doesn't understand" («Cuando no entiende») and "Model" («Modelo») (Standard or Advanced). If you prefer, describe in one sentence what it should do and click "Fill in the personality" («Rellenar la personalidad») so it proposes the fields for you. Click "Save and continue →" («Guardar y seguir →»).
  5. Add knowledge: "Questions and answers" («Preguntas y respuestas») (you write them by hand, with "+ Another question" («+ Otra pregunta»)) or "Document" («Documento») (enter its name or link). With one source you can already test it. Click "Test the agent →" («Probar el agente →»).
  6. In the simulator, write as if you were a customer. Nothing goes out through WhatsApp. The "What the agent did" («Qué hizo el agente») box shows you whether it understood, what it looked up, what it replied or whether it handed over to a person. 10 tests are recommended.
  7. Click "Save the agent" («Guardar el agente»). Its profile opens with the badge "Isolated · tests only" («Aislado · solo pruebas»).
  8. For it to serve real customers, on the Summary tab of the profile go to "Connect to production" («Conectar a producción»): choose the "WhatsApp number" («Número de WhatsApp»), which conversations it handles ("New unassigned" («Nuevas sin asignar») or "Only outside team hours" («Solo fuera del horario del equipo»)), tick "I understand it will reply to real customers" («Entiendo que responderá a clientes reales») and click "Connect to production".

What you see when you're done

  • In the profile, the badge changes to "Active · in production" («Activo · en producción»). In the AI Agents list, unconnected agents are shown with a dashed border and the "Isolated" («Aislado») tag.
  • The profile has tabs: Summary (figures, including "Handed over to your team" («Derivadas a tu equipo»), and action history), Personality, Knowledge, Rules, Integrations, Actions and Simulator.
  • If the agent is premium, the charge per active agent starts at that moment and stops when you disconnect it. The Bot IA Inicial is included in your plan and has no extra charge. Premium agent prices are on the website's pricing page.
  • When the agent can't resolve something, it hands over to a person and notifies the team: the conversation continues in your inbox with the full history and appears under "Handed over to your team". At the Inicial level the rule is fixed ("If I can't find an answer after 1 attempt, I hand over and notify the team" («Si no encuentro respuesta tras 1 intento, derivo y aviso al equipo»)); at the Comercial and Casi Humano levels you define it on the Rules tab with "If … then hand over to …" («Si … entonces derivar a …») (the team, sales, support or the account owner).
  • In the simulator, if a question comes up three times without an answer, the panel suggests adding it to the FAQ from the Knowledge tab.

If something goes wrong

  • "Only an administrator can create agents. Ask whoever manages the account." («Solo un administrador puede crear agentes. Pídeselo a quien administra la cuenta.»): your role isn't administrator.
  • The "Create and continue →" button doesn't activate: the internal name needs at least 2 characters.
  • "Fill in the personality" doesn't activate: the sentence needs at least 10 characters.
  • "Write at least one question with its answer." («Escribe al menos una pregunta con su respuesta.»): the FAQ is empty.
  • "The Bot IA Inicial level allows only one source: FAQ or a document. Move up a level to add more." («En el nivel Bot IA Inicial solo se admite una fuente: FAQ o un documento. Sube de nivel para añadir más.»): the Inicial level has a single source. Edit that source or change level.
  • "Test the agent →" doesn't activate: add at least one knowledge source.
  • "You need a connected WhatsApp number. Go to WhatsApp → Connect number and come back here." («Necesitas un número de WhatsApp conectado. Ve a WhatsApp → Conectar número y vuelve aquí.»): connect your number first (see the tutorial on connecting your number).
  • "Meta has paused that number. Choose another or wait for it to recover." («Meta tiene pausado ese número. Elige otro o espera a que se recupere.»): that number can't serve customers until Meta reactivates it.
  • "Connect at least one knowledge source before going to production." («Conecta al menos una fuente de conocimiento antes de pasar a producción.»): add an FAQ or a document on the Knowledge tab.
  • "Confirm that the agent will reply to real customers and that the charge starts." («Confirma que el agente responderá a clientes reales y que empieza el cargo.»): tick the confirmation box before clicking "Connect to production".
  • "The simulator didn't reply." («El simulador no respondió.»): wait a few seconds and repeat the question.
  • You want to stop it: in the profile header, "Pause" («Pausar») stops it without disconnecting it; "Disconnect" («Desconectar») takes it out of production and stops the charge (the panel asks for confirmation).

When to ask 24/7 Support for help

If the connected agent doesn't reply to real messages for more than five minutes, if it replies with things that aren't in its knowledge, if a charge per active agent appears while the agent is disconnected, or if you want a custom-built Agente IA Casi Humano. 24/7 Support: https://whatsappmarketing.zendesk.com/hc/es