WhatsApp Business API Automation Bot
Budget: ₹12,500 – ₹37,500 INR
You are building a “virtually free” WhatsApp chatbot with 100% automation using Meta WhatsApp Cloud API + Firebase (Functions, Firestore, Hosting, Storage). The bot must work in Hindi + English, be flow-first (buttons/lists) and use AI only as escalation (RAG) so operating costs stay near-zero. Webstore integration will be added later; design all services as internal APIs so the bot doesn’t need rewriting.
CONTEXT:
- Expected volume: ~300 WhatsApp conversations/month.
- Goals: Both sales + support.
- Product scope: Books + Stationery + Notebooks + Toys + Gifts (all).
- Languages: Hindi and English.
- “Baremetal” means we own the app (not Shopify/WooCommerce dependency). Later we will connect to our webstore.
STACK (MANDATORY):
- Meta WhatsApp Cloud API (direct, not a BSP tool).
- Firebase: Cloud Functions (Node.js TypeScript), Firestore, Firebase Hosting, Firebase Storage.
- Optional but preferred: Firebase Authentication for admin panel.
- AI: Use an API-based LLM only when necessary. Must be RAG-based on our own knowledge base in Firestore/Storage. No hallucinations allowed; if low confidence, open a ticket.
- Deployment: Firebase project with environments (dev + prod).
CORE REQUIREMENTS:
1) WhatsApp Bot Features (MVP)
- Language selection at start: हिन्दी / English
- Main menu (interactive list):
1) Place Order / ऑर्डर करें
2) Catalog + Prices / कैटलॉग व रेट
3) Track Order / ऑर्डर ट्रैक करें
4) Wholesale / B2B / होलसेल
5) Corporate Gifting / कॉर्पोरेट गिफ्टिंग
6) Support / सपोर्ट
- Each menu option must be a deterministic flow (finite state machine) stored in Firestore session state.
- Support flow must have categories:
- Payment issue, Wrong/Missing item, Return/Replace, Delivery, Invoice/GST, Other (AI escalation)
- Create Ticket automatically when:
- AI confidence < threshold
- user stuck 2 times
- complaint keywords appear
- All flows must end with a clear “Next action” CTA.
2) “AI Learning” Loop (Practical)
- Log unanswered questions + drop-offs into Firestore
- Nightly job clusters unresolved questions and drafts suggested FAQ entries
- Put suggestions into an Approval Queue for admin panel
- After approval, add to knowledge base; future answers improve (RAG)
3) Data Model (Firestore collections)
- customers/{phone}: {name, language, tags, createdAt}
- sessions/{phone}: {state, step, lastIntent, updatedAt, context}
- messages/{id}: {phone, direction, text, payload, ts}
- orders/{id}: {phone, items[], amount, status, createdAt, paymentRef}
- tickets/{id}: {phone, category, summary, status, createdAt}
- kb_docs/{id}: {title, source, text, lang, updatedAt}
- kb_suggestions/{id}: {question, draftAnswer, lang, status(pending/approved/rejected)}
4) Webhooks + Security
- Implement WhatsApp webhook verification.
- Verify request signature where applicable; never accept spoofed requests.
- Rate limit per phone number + abuse protection.
- Do not store sensitive data unnecessarily (mask payment refs).
- Maintain audit logs for admin changes.
5) Admin Panel (minimal)
- View: tickets, orders, wholesale leads
- Approve/Reject KB suggestions
- Edit static content (store timings, policies, FAQs, messages)
- Hosted on Firebase Hosting.
6) Cost Control
- Use interactive flows as default; AI only for “Other” or complex free text.
- Cache answers for repeated FAQs.
- Keep WhatsApp messaging costs low by encouraging user-initiated conversations.
DELIVERABLES:
A) Architecture doc (1–2 pages) + flow map
B) Firebase project structure (repo)
C) Cloud Functions code with:
- /whatsapp/webhook (receive)
- /whatsapp/send (internal helper)
- /cron/nightly-learning
D) Firestore rules + indexes
E) Admin panel (React) basic screens
F) Setup guide: step-by-step to connect Meta WhatsApp Cloud API, configure webhook, deploy to Firebase
G) Test plan + sample test conversations (Hindi + English)
ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA:
- Bot runs end-to-end in WhatsApp with menus + flows and stores session state.
- Tickets are created automatically for escalations.
- Admin can approve KB suggestions and they affect bot answers.
- Code is clean, documented, and deployable. No hardcoded secrets.
- Must work without any paid third-party chatbot platforms.
CONTEXT:
- Expected volume: ~300 WhatsApp conversations/month.
- Goals: Both sales + support.
- Product scope: Books + Stationery + Notebooks + Toys + Gifts (all).
- Languages: Hindi and English.
- “Baremetal” means we own the app (not Shopify/WooCommerce dependency). Later we will connect to our webstore.
STACK (MANDATORY):
- Meta WhatsApp Cloud API (direct, not a BSP tool).
- Firebase: Cloud Functions (Node.js TypeScript), Firestore, Firebase Hosting, Firebase Storage.
- Optional but preferred: Firebase Authentication for admin panel.
- AI: Use an API-based LLM only when necessary. Must be RAG-based on our own knowledge base in Firestore/Storage. No hallucinations allowed; if low confidence, open a ticket.
- Deployment: Firebase project with environments (dev + prod).
CORE REQUIREMENTS:
1) WhatsApp Bot Features (MVP)
- Language selection at start: हिन्दी / English
- Main menu (interactive list):
1) Place Order / ऑर्डर करें
2) Catalog + Prices / कैटलॉग व रेट
3) Track Order / ऑर्डर ट्रैक करें
4) Wholesale / B2B / होलसेल
5) Corporate Gifting / कॉर्पोरेट गिफ्टिंग
6) Support / सपोर्ट
- Each menu option must be a deterministic flow (finite state machine) stored in Firestore session state.
- Support flow must have categories:
- Payment issue, Wrong/Missing item, Return/Replace, Delivery, Invoice/GST, Other (AI escalation)
- Create Ticket automatically when:
- AI confidence < threshold
- user stuck 2 times
- complaint keywords appear
- All flows must end with a clear “Next action” CTA.
2) “AI Learning” Loop (Practical)
- Log unanswered questions + drop-offs into Firestore
- Nightly job clusters unresolved questions and drafts suggested FAQ entries
- Put suggestions into an Approval Queue for admin panel
- After approval, add to knowledge base; future answers improve (RAG)
3) Data Model (Firestore collections)
- customers/{phone}: {name, language, tags, createdAt}
- sessions/{phone}: {state, step, lastIntent, updatedAt, context}
- messages/{id}: {phone, direction, text, payload, ts}
- orders/{id}: {phone, items[], amount, status, createdAt, paymentRef}
- tickets/{id}: {phone, category, summary, status, createdAt}
- kb_docs/{id}: {title, source, text, lang, updatedAt}
- kb_suggestions/{id}: {question, draftAnswer, lang, status(pending/approved/rejected)}
4) Webhooks + Security
- Implement WhatsApp webhook verification.
- Verify request signature where applicable; never accept spoofed requests.
- Rate limit per phone number + abuse protection.
- Do not store sensitive data unnecessarily (mask payment refs).
- Maintain audit logs for admin changes.
5) Admin Panel (minimal)
- View: tickets, orders, wholesale leads
- Approve/Reject KB suggestions
- Edit static content (store timings, policies, FAQs, messages)
- Hosted on Firebase Hosting.
6) Cost Control
- Use interactive flows as default; AI only for “Other” or complex free text.
- Cache answers for repeated FAQs.
- Keep WhatsApp messaging costs low by encouraging user-initiated conversations.
DELIVERABLES:
A) Architecture doc (1–2 pages) + flow map
B) Firebase project structure (repo)
C) Cloud Functions code with:
- /whatsapp/webhook (receive)
- /whatsapp/send (internal helper)
- /cron/nightly-learning
D) Firestore rules + indexes
E) Admin panel (React) basic screens
F) Setup guide: step-by-step to connect Meta WhatsApp Cloud API, configure webhook, deploy to Firebase
G) Test plan + sample test conversations (Hindi + English)
ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA:
- Bot runs end-to-end in WhatsApp with menus + flows and stores session state.
- Tickets are created automatically for escalations.
- Admin can approve KB suggestions and they affect bot answers.
- Code is clean, documented, and deployable. No hardcoded secrets.
- Must work without any paid third-party chatbot platforms.