Glossary of AI chatbot, WhatsApp and lead terms
Plain definitions of the words used around AI chatbots, voice agents, WhatsApp Business messaging and lead management. Each definition describes the term in general, not one product, and links to a longer article where Vyostra AI has written one.
AI agent
Software that holds a conversation and takes actions on its own, such as answering a question, asking for contact details or booking a follow-up, instead of only following a fixed script. Read more: What an AI sales agent can and cannot do
AI receptionist
An AI agent that answers phone calls to a business: it picks up, answers common questions, takes messages or books appointments. It works on a phone line, unlike an on-page voice agent, which works inside a web page. Read more: AI receptionist vs website voice agent
Chatbot
Software that replies to messages on its own, in a chat window on a website or in a messaging app. Older chatbots follow scripted flows; AI chatbots write replies from content they have been given. Read more: The real estate chatbot guide
Click to WhatsApp ad
A Facebook or Instagram ad whose button opens a WhatsApp chat with the advertiser instead of a website or a form. The person who taps it starts the conversation. Read more: Click to WhatsApp ads vs lead forms
CRM
Customer relationship management: the system a business keeps its leads and customers in, with their contact details, history and where each one stands. Read more: What a CRM chatbot is
Customer service window
On the WhatsApp Business Platform, the 24 hours after a user last messaged or called a business. Inside it the business can send ordinary messages; outside it, only template messages Meta has approved. Read more: WhatsApp Business app vs API
Embed code
A short snippet, usually one script tag, pasted into a website’s HTML to add a chat widget, form or other tool to every page that carries it. Read more: Widget embeds in the developer docs
Exit intent
A trigger that shows something, such as a chat bubble, when the visitor’s mouse moves toward the top of the window as if to leave. It relies on a mouse, so it applies on desktop, not on phones. Read more: Chatbot greeting messages and when to show them
Free entry point
On the WhatsApp Business Platform, a window of up to 7 days that opens when a business replies in time to someone who messaged from a Click to WhatsApp ad. Meta does not charge for marketing, utility, authentication or service messages while it is open. Read more: WhatsApp Business app vs API
Hallucination
An AI model stating something that is not true as if it were, such as an invented price or policy. A chatbot that answers only from given content, and says when the answer is not there, hallucinates less.
Handoff
The moment a chatbot passes a conversation or a lead to a person. In a live handoff a person joins the chat; in a lead handoff the chatbot collects contact details and a person follows up. Read more: Chatbot vs live chat
Knowledge base
The content a chatbot answers from: pages read from a website, plus entries a business writes for questions the website does not answer. Read more: What to put in a chatbot knowledge base
Lead
A person who has shown interest in buying and left a way to reach them, such as a phone number or an email address.
Lead capture
Collecting a visitor’s contact details so the business can follow up, through a form, a chatbot, an ad form or a phone call. Read more: Lead form vs chatbot
Lead form
A web form that asks a visitor for contact details and, often, a few questions about what they want. Each submission becomes a lead. Read more: Lead forms
Lead qualification
Working out whether a lead is likely to buy and how soon, usually by asking about need, budget and timing, so the team spends its time on the leads most likely to close. Read more: Chatbot lead qualification questions
Messaging limit
On the WhatsApp Business Platform, the number of unique users a business can message outside a customer service window in a moving 24 hours. Meta starts new business portfolios at 250 and raises the limit as the business is verified and keeps message quality high. Read more: WhatsApp Business app vs API
Meta lead ads
Facebook and Instagram ads with a form built in: the person fills it in without leaving the app, and the advertiser receives their details as a lead. Read more: The Meta Lead Ads integration
Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)
A way of building AI chatbots in which the system first finds the passages of its knowledge base that match a question, then writes the answer from those passages rather than from the model’s general training.
Template message
On the WhatsApp Business Platform, message wording a business submits to Meta in advance for review. Only approved templates can be sent outside a customer service window, for example the first message to a new lead. Read more: WhatsApp Business app vs API
Voice agent
An AI agent that talks instead of typing. An on-page voice agent runs in the browser when a visitor taps a button; a phone voice agent answers or makes calls. Read more: The AI voice agent
WhatsApp Business app
Meta’s free WhatsApp app for small businesses. A person on the team types every reply, with a few automatic messages such as a greeting and an away message. Read more: WhatsApp Business app vs API
WhatsApp Business API
The common name for the WhatsApp Business Platform: a connection software sends and receives WhatsApp messages through, with no app of its own. Meta charges per delivered message from the business. Read more: WhatsApp Business app vs API
WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP)
A company Meta authorises to connect businesses to the WhatsApp Business Platform and send messages for them. Gupshup is one.
WhatsApp CRM
A CRM that stores WhatsApp conversations against each lead, so the team sees who said what without scrolling a phone. Read more: What a WhatsApp CRM is
Widget trigger
The rule that decides when a chat widget appears on a page: immediately, after a delay, after the visitor scrolls part of the page, or on exit intent. Read more: Chatbot greeting messages and when to show them