Setting up the AI assistant
Connect OpenAI, write the assistant's instructions and choose how it hands chats to a person.
The AI assistant replies to customers on WhatsApp automatically, using what you teach it in AI Training. It hands the conversation to a person whenever the customer asks for one.
Note: The assistant runs on your own OpenAI account. You’ll need an OpenAI API key, and OpenAI bills that account for usage. Your Wazline package may also limit AI messages and tokens.
Configure the assistant
Open AI Settings in the Admin Panel.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Enable toggle | Turns the assistant on or off. While it’s off, new chats go straight to New Customers. |
| API Key | Your OpenAI API key, from the OpenAI dashboard. Use Test Connection to check that it works. |
| Max Tokens | The maximum length of each reply — between 50 and 4,000 tokens (default 500). |
| Temperature | From 0 (precise and consistent) to 2 (more creative). The default is 0.7. |
| Human Prompt toggle | When on, a chat is also handed to a person if the AI runs into an error and can’t reply. |
| Human Trigger Word | The phrase a customer sends to reach a person — talk to agent by default, up to 50 characters. |
| System Prompt | Your instructions for the assistant: who it is, the tone to use, what it should and shouldn’t talk about. |
| Show “AI” badge on messages | Marks AI replies in the inbox so agents can tell them apart. |
Click Save Settings when you’re done.
How the AI replies
For each customer message, the assistant looks at:
- your FAQ, Policies, Knowledge Base and Products from AI Training;
- your System Prompt;
- the recent messages in the conversation.
Replies are formatted for WhatsApp. Voice notes from customers are transcribed first, so the AI can answer spoken questions too.
Handing over to a person
- Typing the human trigger word hands the chat over straight away. Small typos are tolerated — tak to agent still works.
- If a customer asks in their own words, such as “can I speak to a real person?”, the AI replies with the exact phrase to send.
- The AI’s first reply in each conversation mentions how to reach a person.
Handed-over chats appear in New Customers in the Team Inbox. See Chat assignment & the 24-hour window.
Writing a good system prompt
- Say who the assistant represents and who it’s talking to.
- Set the tone — friendly, formal, short or detailed.
- List topics it must not handle, and tell it to suggest the trigger word for anything it can’t answer.
- Keep facts such as prices and opening hours in AI Training rather than in the prompt, so they’re easy to update.
Tip: Turning the assistant off doesn’t lose anything. Chats it was handling move to New Customers the next time those customers write.
Our team is happy to walk you through Wazline and help you set up your workspace.