Choose an AI agent when customers need flexible answers from reliable business information. Choose a message flow when the conversation must collect specific answers or follow defined branches. Use manual handling when a person needs to make the decision or the business has not prepared a dependable automated response.
Momo Business supports all three as account responders. A flow can also contain a bounded AI step, so a structured journey can include natural conversation where it helps.
Start with the customer's next useful outcome
Before choosing a responder, collect a small set of real enquiry types with personal details removed. For each, write the result the customer needs and what evidence is necessary to provide it.
“Where is your collection point?” needs a verified location. “Please arrange an installation” needs a service area, contact details and a team member to confirm availability. “Why was my refund refused?” needs access to the particular case and a person with authority to resolve it.
You need a working connected account, permission to manage its automation and someone responsible for exceptions. An AI agent must have its Thinking Engine enabled and be available for Inbox. A message flow must be published and support the account's platform before it appears in the account selector.
| Customer need | Useful starting choice | What to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| Varied questions about hours, services or policies | AI agent, initially drafting | Verified knowledge and clear limits |
| A consistent request form inside WhatsApp | Message flow | Questions, validation and outcome branches |
| A complaint requiring judgment or an exception | Manual | Case history and an accountable teammate |
| A short intake followed by a flexible explanation | Flow with an AI step | Defined AI goal, turn limit and human exit |
Use an AI agent for questions with different wording
An agent can interpret “Do you open Sundays?” and “Can I collect at the weekend?” as related questions. Its usefulness depends on the information and tools you give it. Selecting an agent does not automatically connect it to stock, bookings, payments or any other business system.
Build a small collection of accurate source material with the knowledge guide. Tell the agent when to acknowledge missing facts and hand over. Test a supported question, an ambiguous question and one outside its knowledge.
Start with Draft for review so a colleague can inspect answers before sending them. Once the team has checked representative cases, decide whether automatic sending suits that particular account. Keep exceptions and sensitive decisions with a person.
Use a flow when missing fields would prevent follow-up
A flow is useful when a team repeatedly has to ask for the same details. Buttons can offer a short menu, Ask text can capture an answer into a variable, and connected branches can handle success, invalid input and timeout.
For an installation enquiry, ask for the area, type of service and a preferred contact time. Add Hand to human so the customer can reach the team. If the request must become a business record, configure a Save record step with actual field mappings; asking questions alone does not create a Data row.
Use the WhatsApp flow guide for the builder and the service-request guide for saving answers. Test every exit, including “I want to speak to someone,” unanswered questions and a failed record save.
Combine them for a specific purpose
Suppose a furniture shop wants a room type and budget before discussing options. A flow can collect those two fields and then use an AI step for a short explanation of the available product categories. Give that step a narrow Goal and a maximum number of turns. Connect its resolved, handoff and budget outcomes to appropriate next steps.
The AI step belongs to the flow's journey. It should not promise availability unless a configured, authorized source confirms it. Reaching the turn limit should lead somewhere useful, such as a human conversation, rather than leaving the customer waiting.
Assign and verify the chosen responder
- Open Accounts → Automations and select the account.
- Choose Manual, AI agent or Message flow.
- Select the eligible agent or compatible published flow. For AI, choose the intended Reply behavior.
- Select Save account automation and read the saved summary.
- In Inbox, test a chat using Use account default from a separate customer identity.
Changing the account default lets already active flow sessions finish. Changing an individual chat's responder stops its previous flow. A chat override also takes priority over the account default, so inspect it before concluding that your new choice failed.
Review the choice using real outcomes
After a small trial, inspect how often customers repeat themselves, abandon required questions or need corrections. Check whether staff can find the captured details and whether the handover reaches someone with account access.
If the agent gives plausible but unsupported answers, improve its sources or keep drafts under review. If a flow becomes a long questionnaire, remove fields that do not affect the next decision. Keep manual handling available for individual exceptions through the chat responder controls.