Scaling Conversations with WhatsApp + AI
Introduced WhatsApp and AI to improve booking engagement, boost attendance, and centralise customer comms via CRM and Zendesk.
2.2x
25%
8.9*
Context
Following our improvements to the booking consultation journey (see Booking Journey case study), we identified a gap in how we engaged leads post-enquiry.
Our CRM relied heavily on static, email-based communications. These messages often felt impersonal, were missed or ignored, and didn’t offer an easy path for follow-up — especially outside working hours. We needed a faster, more responsive, and accessible way to guide users through the consultation process.
Approach
To support a more seamless and responsive customer journey, we introduced WhatsApp as a key communication channel within our CRM ecosystem. This allowed us to shift from passive reminders to real-time, conversational messaging — engaging users more naturally during the crucial post-enquiry and pre-consultation phase.
This wasn’t just a tactical improvement — WhatsApp became part of our global omnichannel messaging platform, designed to support customer service (CS) teams and improve operational efficiency. Our goals were to:
Increase enquiry-to-attendance and closure rates
Eliminate ad-hoc and manual contact methods
Remove reliance on personal WhatsApp accounts
Centralise communications for consistency, analytics, and ease of monitoring
What role did I play
Mapped the end-to-end customer communication journey, identifying friction points in the post-enquiry to qx phase
Led the service design of a scalable, omnichannel messaging approach
Defining when and how WhatsApp, SMS, and email should be used
Collaborated cross-functionally
Working with Product, engineering, content writer, marketing, and CS to integrate WhatsApp into our CRM and Zendesk without disrupting workflow
Designed and prototyped
Natural conversation flows for both human agents and the AI assistant, including tone, escalation logic, and edge cases.
Defined fallback logic
(e.g. SMS if WhatsApp not available) to ensure accessibility across all user types
Worked with data and analytics teams
To implement tracking for open rates, reply rates, booking conversions, and time-to-book
Set up phased rollout plans
with testing, feedback loops, and training to support CS teams globally
Reviewed early AI bot interactions
To improve naturalness, relevance, and alignment with brand tone
Impact
Although WhatsApp contact volume was low relative to total leads, it had clear business impact:
2.2x higher booking rate for users who engaged via WhatsApp
2x higher attendance rate from those contacts
+30% increase in open rates vs. email
+45% increase in reply rate
Faster response times and reduced time-to-book
Reflection
This initiative showed that improving how — and where — we talk to customers can significantly influence outcomes. By introducing real-time, human-centred messaging through WhatsApp and AI, we created a more responsive and scalable journey that drove measurable improvements in booking and attendance — without increasing the burden on our teams.
