Ask every provider the same questions. Including us.

What happens after the first reply?

Fast replies are easy to demonstrate. Ask the provider to walk through one real request from first message to final status: which details are collected, who approves, what the customer is told at each step and where an exception goes. A pending request should never be presented as a confirmed booking.

• Request statuses and who changes them
• Required details and what happens when one is missing
• Where complaints and exceptions go
• How a customer reaches a person

Which platform, and who owns the number?

Ask whether the service runs on the official WhatsApp Business Platform or on unofficial apps or WhatsApp Web automation, which can lead to bans. Ask who owns the business account and the phone number, and whether you keep both if you leave. Official access does not make any account immune from Meta’s rules: opt-in, approved templates and human escalation still apply.

What backs the integration claim?

A logo on a slide is not a connection. Ask for the exact product and version, which operations are supported (read, create, change), what permission it relies on, how it was tested and what happens when the connection fails. If no connection exists yet, ask how requests reach your team in the meantime.

Who runs it after launch, and how do you leave?

Ask who owns the service day to day, how changes are requested and how fast they are made, what support covers, how often performance is reviewed, and what the exit terms are. Ask how your approved content and conversation records are returned if you stop.

How is data handled?

Ask where conversations are stored, which AI model provider and other processors see them, how long data is kept, how deletion requests are handled, and whether your customers’ data is ever used for anything outside your service. For sensitive sectors, ask how the workflow avoids giving medical, legal or financial advice.

What is the full cost?

Ask for setup, monthly operation, included usage and what happens above it, Meta’s message charges, any software-vendor fees for integration access, and the cost of changes. Compare total cost for the same scope, not headline prices.

What proof can they show?

Ask for a case study the client agreed to publish, with dates, the baseline, how results were measured and the limitations. Be careful with guaranteed results, unexplained percentages and client logos without a named contact. Where no proof exists yet, a short, measured pilot with agreed criteria is a fair alternative.