Free n8n template
A WhatsApp assistant that answers voice notes with voice.
An n8n workflow that answers your customers on WhatsApp about one thing: your business. Text gets a text reply, a voice note gets a voice note back, and a screenshot gets read. When someone needs a person, you get an alert and the bot steps aside.
31 nodes, built-in only. Works on self-hosted n8n and n8n Cloud. Updated November 2026.
- A text message
- A text reply
- A voice note
- A voice note back
- A photo or screenshot
- A text reply about it
- "Can I talk to a person?"
- A reply, then a human
- A sticker or document
- What it can handle
What it does
Customer service on WhatsApp, in the customer's language and format
Answers about your business only
It works from the business information you write: hours, prices, services, policies. It won't invent anything else, and it politely declines questions that aren't about you.
Voice in, voice out
Voice notes are transcribed, answered and spoken back in the customer's language. The first voice reply says it comes from an AI assistant.
Reads screenshots
A photo or screenshot goes to a model that can see it, together with any caption, and the answer comes back as text.
Remembers each customer
Every customer's conversation is stored on Zabio, not in n8n, so it survives restarts and model changes. No memory node to manage.
Hands off to a person
When a customer asks for a person or is unhappy, you get a Telegram alert and the bot stays quiet with that customer for 12 hours.
Logs what each reply cost
The model used, the cost of every turn and the running total per customer go to an n8n data table you can open any time.
What you need
Four accounts, most of them free
-
n8n
Your own or a managed one, reachable over HTTPS. Built-in nodes only.
-
A Meta developer app
Free, with a test WhatsApp number to start. No WhatsApp Business app needed.
-
A Zabio API key
One key for the answers, transcription, image reading and voice.
-
Telegram (optional)
For handoff alerts. Swap in email or Slack if you prefer.
Setup
About ten minutes
- 1
Download the workflow and import it into n8n.
- 2
Create the whatsapp_conversations data table.
- 3
Create a Meta app and add your phone as a tester.
- 4
Add the WhatsApp, Zabio and Telegram credentials.
- 5
Write your business information in Business Settings.
- 6
Activate it and send the test number a message.
Why Zabio
Every AI step through one key, on the lowest-cost model that can do it
Low cost by default
model: auto answers hours and prices on a fast model.
Escalates when needed
A hard question is re-run on a stronger model, with the full history.
Conversations kept for you
History lives on Zabio, per customer, not in an n8n memory node.
One key for everything
Answers, images, transcription and voice on the same credential.
Don't want to run n8n yourself?
Run it on n8n we manage
We install n8n on a fully managed server and keep it updated, monitored and behind a firewall. Import this template, and if something breaks, an engineer can look at the workflow with you. Every AI server comes with $20 in Zabio credits.
FAQ
Questions about this template
Is the template free?
Yes. Download it, import it and change anything you like. You pay only for what you use: Zabio for the AI steps and Meta for WhatsApp messaging, under their own pricing.
Does WhatsApp allow AI assistants like this one?
WhatsApp's Business Platform doesn't allow general-purpose AI assistants. This one only answers questions about your business and declines anything else, which is the kind of customer service use the platform is built for.
Do I need a WhatsApp Business account to try it?
No. A free Meta developer app gives you a test number that can message up to 5 verified phones. Your personal WhatsApp acts as the customer.
Which languages does it speak?
It replies in the language the customer writes or speaks. Voice replies ship with voices for Spanish, English, Portuguese, French and Italian, and you can set others.
Can it answer phone calls?
Not live calls. If you turn on WhatsApp voicemail for your number, recorded voicemails arrive as voice notes and the assistant answers them with a voice reply.
How long does it remember a customer?
30 days after their last message by default, and the clock restarts every time they write. You can change it in Business Settings.
Your customers get answers. You sleep.
n8n on a fully managed server, from people who have run infrastructure since 2001.