How to Automate WhatsApp Intake for an Installation Company

Start with the goal of the intake

The intake does not need to make every technical decision. Its goal is to collect enough reliable information to choose one of these next steps: prepare a standard quote or price indication, schedule a phone assessment, arrange a site visit, decline the request because it falls outside the service area or offering, escalate an emergency, or park the request until missing information is received.

Define required, optional and conditional fields

Build a data model per job type. For a basic request, name, location, job description and contact details are usually relevant. Photos can be optional but for visual work should be requested at least once. Dimensions are only mandatory when needed for a price or schedule. Process every message in three steps: extraction (what facts, preferences and corrections does this message contain?), validation (are the data clear, plausible and not conflicting with earlier answers?), next action (which single question or action advances the file most?).

• Customer name
• Address, postcode or town
• Job type and description of desired outcome
• Scope or quantities
• Photo or video of the current situation
• Materials included or supplied by the customer
• Urgency and preferred period
• Access, parking or other site limitations

Use conditional questions instead of one long list

An electrician needs different information from a plumber. Even within one trade a fault differs from a renovation. Build a decision tree based on job type, urgency and available information. Customer: 'I want three extra power sockets in the kitchen in Utrecht and the consumer unit was replaced last year.' Good follow-up: 'Could you send a photo of the desired positions and indicate whether the walls are open or finished?' Bad follow-up: 'What town do you live in and was your consumer unit recently replaced?'

Build clear stop and handover rules

Automation must know when to stop. Make handover mandatory for: emergency, possible danger or safety risk; anger, repeated confusion or a request for a real person; complex bespoke work outside the standard decision tree; conflicting data that cannot be resolved with one question; price, warranty or legal disputes; or a pre-set high job value.

• Analyse twenty recent WhatsApp requests and note what information is often missing
• Choose one common job type for the pilot
• Design fields, follow-up questions and handover rules
• Test with real language: typos, multiple answers at once, photos and voice notes
• Measure and improve based on repeated questions, drop-outs and manual takeovers