WhatsApp business automation isn't one switch. It's a handful of small jobs: answering the question everyone asks, noticing who is ready to buy, reminding the ones who go quiet, and chasing the payment after the order. Set them up in the wrong order and you get a bot that answers instantly and a sales team that still forgets to follow up.
This guide gives you the order. Each step links to a detailed guide for doing it in Querygen.
The sales conversation, mapped
Almost every sale that happens on WhatsApp in India follows the same eight stages. Automation helps at every one of them, but a person still owns the order.
What to automate, and what to leave to people
| Task | Automate it? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Greeting and business hours | Yes | It's the same every time |
| The 20 questions everyone asks | Yes | Price, sizes, delivery, and location have fixed answers |
| Qualifying questions | Yes | Budget, city, and date are quick to ask and easy to record |
| Saving the lead | Yes | People forget; software doesn't |
| Nudging customers who go quiet | Yes | Timing matters more than wording |
| Payment reminders | Yes | Polite, on schedule, and stops when paid |
| Negotiation and discounts | No | Hand over, with the details already collected |
| Complaints | No, but alert a person | Speed matters, and so does a human voice |
| Custom quotes | No | Create a task with an owner and a due date |
Week one: the foundations
1. Connect the numbers your team already uses
In Querygen, a personal WhatsApp number connects by scanning a QR code, and an official WhatsApp Business API number connects through Meta's signup. You can use both in one workspace, add Instagram, and invite the team with roles that decide who sees which chats. If you're new to the API, start with WhatsApp Business API setup in India.
2. Put your answers in one place
Automation can only be as accurate as what you give it. Add your price list, FAQs, delivery rules, and catalog to a knowledge base: PDFs, a Google Sheet, your website, or your Instagram posts. Do this before switching anything on. Most bad automated answers come from a price list nobody uploaded.
3. Automate the first reply
Start simple: a welcome message that sets expectations, and keyword replies for requests like "price list" and "location." Then add Autopilot for open questions, with "Check replies before sending" turned on for the first week so a person approves each draft. See how to automate WhatsApp Business replies and button bots vs AI agents.
4. Capture every enquiry as a lead
Switch on a lead tracker for pricing questions, quote requests, and orders, and create three to five profile attributes (budget, city, product interest) that Querygen fills in from the chats. Now every enquiry has a card, an owner, and a link back to the conversation. See WhatsApp CRM for small businesses.
5. Set up follow-ups
Add a conversation follow-up that nudges customers who stop replying and stops when they answer, a task tracker for calls and visits, and a response time alert for enquiries nobody has picked up. See how to automate lead follow-up.
Week two: growth
6. Campaigns to the right people
Once profiles and events are filling in, you can send campaigns to the people they're about: customers who asked about a product this month and haven't ordered, or dealers who buy a product line that just came back in stock. Read broadcast vs targeted campaigns and how to send personalized campaigns.
7. Payment reminders
If you sell on credit, add receivables with a due date and a payment link. Querygen sends one combined reminder per customer on the channel you choose, and stops once everything is marked paid.
8. Operations data, if you need it
Orders posted in dealer groups, delivery photos, and challan pictures can be turned into rows in Google Sheets with a Flow. Add this last, once the sales side is running.
What to check after two weeks
- Dashboard: average response time, new leads, and Autopilot escalations compared with the previous period.
- Autopilot Insights and the Escalation tab: which questions it answered, and which ones it handed over. Add the missing answers to the knowledge base.
- Sales board: leads with no owner, and deals that are overdue or missing a next step.
- Campaigns: replies per campaign, not just deliveries.
Mistakes to avoid
- Switching on AI replies before the price list is in the knowledge base.
- No clear way for a customer to reach a person.
- Blasting every contact instead of targeting the people an offer is for.
- Planning a follow-up for day three on a channel where the reply window closes after 24 hours.
- Running three tools that each hold part of the customer record.
What it costs
Querygen is ₹9,900 + GST a month with 9,900 credits and unlimited teammates. Automated work uses 1 credit per item. A busy month might look like this:
| Automated work in a month | Credits |
|---|---|
| 3,000 automated answers | 3,000 |
| 500 leads created from chats | 500 |
| 1,000 follow-up messages | 1,000 |
| 2,000 campaign messages | 2,000 |
| Total | 6,500, inside the 9,900 included |
All the guides in this series
Frequently asked questions
How do I set up WhatsApp Business automation?
Work in this order: connect the numbers your team uses, put your prices and FAQs in one place, automate the first reply, capture every enquiry as a lead, set up follow-ups, and only then add campaigns and payment reminders. Each step depends on the one before it.
Can I automate WhatsApp without the Business API?
Yes. The WhatsApp Business app has a greeting and an away message. Querygen goes further on personal WhatsApp numbers your team already uses, with AI replies, lead capture, follow-ups, and campaigns. You need the Business API mainly to message people who haven't written to you recently, using approved templates.
What should I not automate on WhatsApp?
Leave negotiation, complaints, custom quotes, and anything involving an exception to a person. Automation should answer the repeat questions, collect details, and remind people, then hand the conversation over with the details attached.
How long does WhatsApp automation take to set up?
The basics (connected numbers, knowledge, first replies, lead capture, and follow-ups) fit in the first week. Campaigns and payment reminders work better in the second week, once replies and lead records are running.
How much does WhatsApp automation cost in India?
There are two parts: the tool and Meta's fees. Querygen is ₹9,900 + GST a month with 9,900 credits, and each automated answer, lead, follow-up, or campaign message uses 1 credit. On a WhatsApp Business API number, Meta also charges for each delivered template message. Personal numbers carry no Meta fees.
From the journal
Keep reading
WhatsApp Chatbot for Business in India
Button bots or AI agents? How WhatsApp chatbots work, what each type is good at, examples for Indian businesses, what Meta allows, and what one costs.
Read articleInstagramInstagram vs WhatsApp for Selling in India
Instagram gets you found. WhatsApp brings customers back. What each channel allows, where each one wins, and how to sell on both without doubling the work.
Read articleWhatsAppWhatsApp CRM for Small Businesses in India
A WhatsApp CRM should fill itself in from your chats, not add typing. What to look for, how to set one up in a day, and what it costs a small team in India.
Read articleMore ideas are waiting in the journal.
Browse all articles