From free bot to live on your number.

1. Start free

1. Go to fridaytechnologies.ng/whatsapp-bot (or tap “Try it free” anywhere on the site, or fill in the WhatsApp bot assessment).
2. Enter your name, email and WhatsApp number, then tell the bot about your business: what you do, what you sell and the prices, opening hours and the questions customers ask most.
3. Press Build my free bot. We create your account, build your assistant from your answers and sign you in. We also email you a sign-in link — no password needed.

2. Test it on WhatsApp

1. On your bot page press Chat with my bot on WhatsApp. WhatsApp opens our demo number with a message like START FTAB12C already typed — just press send.
2. From then on, our demo number answers as your business. Ask what a customer would: “How much is…”, “Do you deliver to…”, “What time do you close?”.
3. Send EXIT to stop testing. Send your START code again to come back.
4. On a computer? Use the chat bubble on your bot page — it is the same bot.

If an answer is wrong or missing, that is a training gap — fix it in step 3 and ask again.

3. Train your bot (Bot Studio)

Open Bot Studio. The Overview tab shows a checklist of what is left.

• Knowledge Base — upload your price list, menu, catalogue, delivery areas and fees, refund policy and FAQs (PDF, Word or text). One topic per document; write prices exactly as you want them quoted.
• Settings — business name, greeting and tone (friendly, formal, or with some Pidgin), and which details the bot collects from customers. Which AI the bot thinks with is not set here — that's on Your AI (most people never need to change it).
• Commerce (Growth and Business) — add products so the bot can take orders and send Paystack payment links.
• The bot answers questions about your business only from what you give it. When it doesn't know, it offers to connect the customer with you.

4. Plans and replies

Each time the bot answers a customer, that is one AI reply. Every plan includes replies each month; they reset on the 1st.

• Never goes silent: at 80% we message you. Paid plans keep answering a little past the limit; after that customers get a polite “we'll get back to you shortly” and you're told straight away.
• Top-ups: add 500 replies for $2 any time from the billing page.
• Free replies to ad chats: when a customer reaches you from your Click-to-WhatsApp ad or Facebook Page button, the bot's replies in that chat don't count — just like Meta doesn't charge for them.
• Self-serve or done for you: pay monthly and set it up yourself, or add a one-off setup fee and our team trains the bot and connects your number with you (2–5 working days). The fee can be spread over 12 months.
• Change plan any time: upgrades start immediately (you pay the difference for the rest of the month); downgrades start next month.

5. Connect your WhatsApp number

6. Add the chat to your website

Bot Studio → Embed Widget → copy the one-line code and paste it before </body> on your site (or your website builder's “custom code” box).

7. Leads, chats and orders

• Leads — everyone who left their details, with what they asked for.
• Conversations — every chat, word for word. Read a few each week and add anything the bot didn't know.
• Activity & QA — recent answers, marked “grounded” when they came from your documents. Ungrounded answers show what to add next.

Broadcasts, polls & follow-ups

Bot Studio → 📣 Broadcasts. Everything is in plain steps — no setup needed beyond a connected WhatsApp number.

• Contacts — everyone who messages any of your bots is added automatically. Contacts, groups and STOP requests belong to your business, so if you have more than one bot they share one list and nobody is messaged twice. You can also paste numbers (one per line, with or without a name) or upload a CSV, and put people in groups such as “customers” or “vip”. Only add people who agreed to hear from you.
• Send a message — tap ＋ New broadcast, write it (or tap ✨ Help me write it), pick Everyone or some groups, then Send now or Schedule. {name} becomes each customer's first name. Tap Send me a test first to see it on your own phone.
• Polls — choose A poll, type the question and 2–6 choices. Customers reply with a number; the answers are counted on the broadcast card and each person gets a quick “thanks” — this does not use your AI replies.
• Follow-ups — switch on Chat went quiet (a message some hours after a customer's last message, only if they haven't written again) and/or Check in later (some days after their first message). Edit the wording any time.
• STOP — every broadcast ends with “Reply STOP to stop these messages” (you can untick it). People who reply STOP never get broadcasts or follow-ups again unless they reply START. They can still chat with your bot.
• Keeping your number safe — messages go out a few seconds apart and each plan has a daily limit (shown on the page). Anything over the limit continues the next day by itself. Sending lots of messages to people who don't know you can get a number restricted by WhatsApp — stick to your own customers.
• Numbers connected through Meta — WhatsApp only allows free-form messages to people who messaged you in the last 24 hours. Broadcasts skip everyone else (the card says how many) and follow-ups should wait less than 24 hours.
• If sending stops, the page says why in plain words (for example “your WhatsApp connection needs attention”). Fix it, then tap Resume.

Your AI (optional)

Menu → AI & bots → Your AI. One setting covers all your bots and tools. Choose:

• Friday AI (default, included) — nothing to set up. AI replies count towards your plan's monthly replies.
• My key, Friday AI as backup — your own AI account (Groq, OpenAI, Gemini, DeepSeek, OpenRouter or any OpenAI-compatible server) answers first. If your key fails, Friday AI steps in so customers are never left waiting; only those backup replies count towards your plan.
• Only my own key — your AI provider bills you directly and replies don't use your plan's allowance. If your key stops working, the bot pauses (customers get the hand-over message) and we tell you.

Add a key with ＋ Add a key — it is tested before it's saved, stored encrypted, and only the last 4 characters are ever shown. You can use one key for all bots or a different key for one bot. The page also shows which AI each of your bots uses and your last 30 days of usage. Your key is never used for anyone else, and nobody else's key is used for you.

8. Billing

• Pay by card, bank transfer or USSD (Paystack). With a card you can turn on auto-pay; otherwise we email you a payment link each month.
• The billing page shows replies used, next payment, top-ups, plan changes, auto-pay and history.
• If a payment is missed, you have 7 days. After that the bot is paused (customers get a hand-over message) until you pay — then it switches back on immediately.
• Cancelling stops renewal; the bot keeps working until the end of the month you paid for, then returns to the Free plan. A setup fee spread over 12 months stays due.

9. Meta's charges (separate from ours)

• These apply when your number is on Meta's official WhatsApp platform. Meta bills them directly — separate from your plan with us.
• Since 1 October 2026, Meta gives every WhatsApp business number its first 1,000 reply messages a month free. Replies beyond that are charged by Meta per message (about $0.0067 each in Nigeria on Meta's October rate card, plus VAT).
• Chats that start from your Click-to-WhatsApp ad (up to 7 days) or Facebook Page button (72 hours) are free with Meta.
• Promotional messages you send first, and messages sent more than 24 hours after the customer's last message, use Meta templates and are charged by Meta.
• Most small businesses stay inside the free 1,000, so you can usually start without adding a card to Meta. If you go over, or Meta asks for a payment method, add a card in Meta Business Settings → Payments — or tap “Set it up for me” and we'll walk you through it.

10. Troubleshooting