AtiendeIA — WhatsApp AI Bot for Small Business

AtiendeIA connects a real WhatsApp number to Claude AI so it can hold genuine conversations with your customers — answering questions, showing a catalog or menu, checking appointment availability, booking, and taking orders. No Meta Business API approval needed.

Three business modes: retail store and restaurant use free-form AI conversation; service/appointment businesses use a fast, reliable guided menu flow instead — built specifically because WhatsApp does not support native interactive buttons on personal accounts.

This is a lean, developer-focused edition: clean TypeScript source, a documented API contract, and command-line setup tools (no admin panel). Includes a minimal backend (Express + Node's built-in SQLite — zero native dependencies, nothing to compile).

Key features:

Real WhatsApp connection via QR code, no Meta approval process

Powered by Claude Haiku 4.5 with prompt caching (under $0.01 per message)

Built-in AI tools: catalog with photos, schedule lookup, availability check, appointment booking, order creation, human handoff

Voice message transcription

Multi-tenant: one deployment serves multiple client businesses at once

Console tools: business setup wizard, WhatsApp linking, tenant listing, and a chat simulator to test without spending a QR scan

Requirements: Node.js 22.5+, your own Anthropic API key (billed separately, usage-based), a dedicated WhatsApp number per business.

Important: this connects via Baileys (WhatsApp Web protocol), not the official Meta Cloud API. This is what makes zero-approval setup possible, but it operates outside WhatsApp's official terms for automated messaging — use a dedicated number, not one you cannot afford to lose.