WhatsApp chatbot in Bahasa Melayu: what to look for

Test it on real messages, not textbook Malay

Customers do not write in formal Bahasa Melayu on WhatsApp. They write “bro ada stok saiz M tak”, “boleh book esok pagi?”, or switch to English halfway through. They abbreviate (x for tak, sy for saya, org for orang) and use particles like lah, kan and ke. A chatbot trained on formal text will often misread these or answer in stiff, translated Malay that feels wrong to the customer.

The simplest test: take twenty real messages from your WhatsApp history, remove names and numbers, and send them to the chatbot. Check two things. Did it understand the question? Did it reply in the language and tone the customer used?

The language checklist

• Understands rojak. One message mixing Malay, English and sometimes Mandarin should get one sensible answer, not confusion.
• Replies in the customer’s language. If the customer writes in Malay, the reply should be in Malay, even if your knowledge base is written in English.
• Natural register. Polite but not stiff. “Boleh, kami buka sampai 10 malam” reads better than a literal translation of an English sentence.
• Names and terms stay intact. Your product names, place names and brand should not be translated or mangled.

Know the 24-hour rule

WhatsApp Business lets you reply freely to a customer for 24 hours after their last message. Outside that window you can only send a pre-approved message template. This matters more than most buyers expect:

• Reminders, follow-ups and order updates sent the next day need an approved template.
• A chatbot that tries to send free text outside the window will simply fail, sometimes silently.
• Ask the vendor how templates are created and approved, and what the product does when a message falls outside the window.

Floee supports approved templates for messages outside the 24-hour window and records when a send is refused, so a failed message is visible instead of being recorded as delivered.

Answers only from your information

The biggest risk with any AI chatbot is a confident wrong answer: a price you do not charge, a promotion that ended, an opening hour you never had. Ask how the chatbot decides what to say. It should answer from a knowledge base you control and say “I’m not sure, let me get someone” when the answer is not there. Test this by asking something you know is not in your information.

Handover to a person

Some conversations should go to a human: complaints, refunds, anything unusual, or simply a customer who asks. Check that:

• the customer can ask for a person in Malay (“nak cakap dengan orang”) and it works;
• your staff see the conversation in one inbox with the full history;
• the chatbot stops replying once a person has taken over;
• a frustrated customer is noticed and handed over before they have to ask twice.

Memory across channels

Your customers do not only use WhatsApp. They call, message on Instagram or Facebook, or use your website chat. If each channel is a separate bot, a customer who booked by phone and asks on WhatsApp is a stranger again. Look for one record per person across channels, so the chatbot can say “your booking is on Thursday at 3pm” without asking for details the customer already gave.

It should do things, not only answer

A WhatsApp chatbot earns its keep when it finishes the job: takes a booking, checks stock and takes an order, sends a payment link, or logs a complaint with a reference number. Ask the vendor to show each of these in a live WhatsApp conversation, not in slides.

Practical questions for the vendor

1. Can I connect my existing WhatsApp Business number?
2. Who approves templates, and how long does it take?
3. What happens to a message that WhatsApp refuses?
4. Where is conversation data stored, and how do I erase a customer?
5. How is usage charged: per conversation, per message or per month?
6. Can I see every conversation and correct the knowledge base myself?

If you want to test the language handling before connecting WhatsApp, Floee’s free plan runs the same agent on your website chat. See how it works for retail and restaurants.