A WhatsApp AI agent that runs the front desk

CIERA answers your customers on WhatsApp within a minute, day or night. It books the job on your calendar, quotes off your own price list, takes the deposit, sends the invoice and payment link, and hands over to you the moment a human is actually needed. It runs on the WhatsApp Business number you already have. From R799 per month.

See CIERA in action

Customer, 22:14 — Hi, my geyser is leaking through the ceiling. Are you able to come out tonight?

CIERA, 22:14 — That sounds urgent. Please close the geyser's isolator valve if you can reach it safely. I can get a plumber to you tonight — the after-hours call-out is R850, which comes off the repair. What's the address?

Customer, 22:15 — [shares location] Yes please.

CIERA, 22:15 — Booked. A plumber is on the way and will call when close. I've sent the call-out payment link.

Illustrative example. Prices and after-hours rules come from your own price book and policies.

The problem it solves

In a service business the enquiry arrives when you are least able to answer it: under a sink, mid-haircut, driving between jobs, or at nine at night when the customer finally sits down. So the message waits. And the customer who waited twenty minutes has usually already messaged someone else.

Hiring someone to watch WhatsApp fixes it and costs more than most small businesses can carry. A chatbot with buttons does not fix it, because real customers do not follow menus — they send a voice note about a burst geyser at 2am. An AI agent that actually understands the message, and is allowed to act on it, is the thing in between.

What it does, end to end

1. Answers the question using only your verified information — your services, your prices, your hours, your policies. It does not invent an answer it was not given.
2. Works out what is actually needed — an emergency call-out, a quote, a booking, or just a question — and treats each differently.
3. Books it straight onto your calendar, and reschedules or cancels when the customer changes their mind.
4. Quotes it off your price book, and can take a deposit as acceptance so a yes is a yes.
5. Bills it — a branded invoice PDF and a secure payment link in the same conversation.
6. Escalates to you when it is uncertain, when the customer asks for a person, or when the situation is sensitive.

Trained for your trade before you start

A general-purpose chatbot has to be taught what your business is. CIERA covers 22 service industries, and twelve of them have a purpose-built agent with its own playbook. The electrician's agent books a burning-smell or shock report immediately instead of quoting it, and never coaches DIY electrical work. The plumber's agent triages the emergency before it talks about price. The tutoring agent sits in class groups without ever posting in them. The salon agent will not quietly move a regular to a different stylist.

The other ten run on the shared call-out-trade and service-business models with their trade's vocabulary and safety rules on top. Either way, setup means loading your prices, hours and calendar — not training an AI from scratch. See all 22 and what each one handles.

It keeps the record too

Because the agent is the one having the conversation, it writes the customer record as it goes: contacts, households, booking history, quotes, invoices and payments, with no data entry from you. That is the WhatsApp CRM side of the same product.

On your own number, officially

CIERA connects to your existing WhatsApp Business number through Meta's official WhatsApp Business Platform. You keep the number your customers already have, you can carry on using the WhatsApp Business app alongside it, and because the connection is the sanctioned one, your account stays in good standing. This matters more than it sounds: unofficial automation is the most common way South African businesses lose a WhatsApp number they have spent years building.

Built for South Africa

Rand pricing, not dollars. POPIA-conscious by design, with the operating company registered with the Information Regulator. Staff can work in English or Afrikaans. Customers pay through local payment links. Load shedding does not take the agent down, because it does not run on the hardware in your shop.

Common questions

Is this a chatbot?

No. A chatbot follows a script and breaks when the customer goes off it. CIERA reads what was actually said — including voice notes and photos — decides what needs to happen, and then does it: books, quotes, invoices, or escalates to you.

What stops it from saying something wrong?

It answers only from information you have loaded and verified. When it is not confident, or the question is sensitive, it drafts for you rather than guessing. You set what it is allowed to do on its own.

Can it work with my team?

Yes. Staff work on the business number in English or Afrikaans, and the agent hands chats to whoever should take them, then keeps the record updated either way.

How long does setup take?

We do the setup for you. Most businesses are live within about two working days of handing over their price list, hours and calendar.