WhatsApp chatbot for recruiters
Most US candidates expect a call or a text about a job, but some would rather use WhatsApp: Spanish-speaking and immigrant workers, candidates abroad, and people who answered a click-to-WhatsApp job ad. A WhatsApp agent handles their logistics questions on your recruiting number, and recruiters keep the conversations that need a human.
How do recruiters use WhatsApp with an AI agent?
Recruiters put their hiring number on the WhatsApp Business API and let an agent answer the questions candidates send about pay ranges you publish, shift patterns, locations, documents to bring and where to go on the day. The agent does not judge or rank candidates. It passes anything about an offer, a rejection or a personal situation to the recruiter with the full thread.
Worked example
A warehouse hiring drive on WhatsApp
Say a staffing agency is filling 50 warehouse roles for peak season, with many Spanish-speaking applicants who asked to be reached on WhatsApp. The figures are an example; use your own.
| Candidate message | Example volume over two weeks | Agent action |
|---|---|---|
| "What's the pay and shift?" | 300 | Answers from the job posting you uploaded |
| "Is there a bus to the site?" | 90 | Shares the transport notes |
| "What do I bring on day one?" | 120 | Sends the document checklist |
| "I got an offer, can I start later?" | 25 | Hands to the recruiter |
Recruiters stop answering the same pay question from a personal phone and focus on offers and start dates.
Setup checklist
Before candidates start messaging
- Verify the business with Meta, usually 24 to 48 hours, and move off recruiters' personal WhatsApp accounts.
- Collect opt-in on the application form or job ad ("message me about this application on WhatsApp").
- Offer text messages too. SMS is the default text channel for US candidates, so let applicants pick text or WhatsApp on the form. The same agent answers both from the same postings.
- Write templates for messages you send first, such as "your application was received" or a shift-start notice. Meta approves each.
- Upload job postings, site directions and document checklists as PDFs, DOCX or URLs.
- Set handoff rules for offers, rejections, accommodation requests and pay disputes.
Replies within 24 hours of a candidate's last message need no template and are free. Meta bills template fees directly, with no Botcadence markup.
Boundaries
Fair-hiring guardrails for the chat
The agent makes no hiring decisions and does not ask about age, religion, family plans, health, nationality or any other protected characteristic. If a candidate volunteers such information, it does not respond to it or store it as a factor. Requests for accommodation go straight to a recruiter. Pass candidate details to your applicant tracking system through a webhook or Zapier, so the record lives where recruiters already work.
Measuring it
Signs the recruiting number is working
Compare the two weeks before and after launch on three things: how long candidates wait for a first reply, how many questions recruiters answer by hand, and how many candidates turn up on day one with the right documents. Read a sample of handoffs too. If recruiters keep receiving questions the job posting could answer, add that detail to the posting and retrain the agent so the next candidate gets it straight away.
See hiring AI screen a candidate
Book a demo to map candidate screening and interview scheduling onto Botcadence for one role family.
Common Questions
WhatsApp recruiting questions
They can, but the conversations then live on personal phones and leave when the recruiter does. A shared API number keeps every candidate thread in one inbox, lets the agent answer routine questions and lets any recruiter pick up a handoff.
No. It answers questions and passes details along; recruiters decide who moves forward. Rejection messages, if you send them on WhatsApp, are written and triggered by your team.
Only applicants who opted in to WhatsApp messages can receive it, and it must use a Meta-approved template. Keep it specific, such as role, location and how to apply, and include a way to stop future messages.
Yes. The agent replies in 50+ languages, so a candidate writing in Spanish or Polish gets the shift and pay details in that language from your English job posting. Have a fluent colleague spot-check the first replies.
Start with screening for one role
Begin with candidate screening and interview scheduling for one role family, then add phone screens once your questions are consistent.
- Reader-first workflows
- Human handoff when needed
- Grounded in your content