- Chatbot marketing is a digital marketing approach that uses automated chatbots to engage customers and prospects while promoting products, services, or brands through conversations.
- Businesses can use chatbots marekting to turn CTWA traffic into conversations, qualify leads, re-engage inactive leads, and support product discovery and payment.
- Mekari Qontak AI Chatbot helps businesses address fragmented conversations and manual response by integrating chatbot automation, WhatsApp API, broadcast campaigns, and CRM in one platform.
Customers increasingly expect brands to respond rather than simply send announcements.
The gap, then, comes less from a lack of channels than from conversations that are disconnected from customer data.
A marketing chatbot can close part of that gap. In this article, Mekari Qontak Blog explains about marketing chatbots, the main chatbot types, examples, and how to pick your first use case.
What Is a Marketing Chatbot?
Marketing chatbot is a digital marketing approach that uses automated conversational tools to interact with customers and prospects, helping businesses promote their products, services, or brands through personalized conversations.
In contrast, a customer service chatbot primarily handles issues that arise after a purchase.
Marketing chatbots usually combine three layers. Menu-based flows collect basic details, AI agents answer product questions from a knowledge base, and message templates reopen conversations after the customer has gone quiet.
On WhatsApp, free-form replies are allowed only within a 24-hour window that each customer message opens and resets, so any message outside that window must use a template Meta has approved.
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| Chatbot layer | What It Does | Limit to Plan For |
|---|---|---|
| Menu or rule-based flow | Collects details, verifies information, routes requests | Rigid; off-menu questions end in a handoff |
| AI agent with knowledge base | Answers product questions, qualifies leads by usage profile | Needs quality monitoring and clear disclosure |
| Marketing message template | Opens a conversation outside the 24-hour window | Requires opt-in and Meta-approved templates |
Types of Chatbots Used in Marketing
Marketing chatbots mainly differ based on the channel where the conversation takes place.
1. Website Chatbots
Website chatbots appear as a chat window on a page and greet visitors while they browse.
They answer product questions and collect contact details before a visitor leaves, which suits pages with high traffic and an unclear next step.
2. Social Media Chatbots
Social media chatbots reply to direct messages and comments on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.
Click-to-message ads can send people straight into these chats, so the conversation starts at the moment of interest.
3. Messaging App Chatbots
Messaging app chatbots operate within apps such as WhatsApp, where customers already communicate with friends and family. Six of the seven examples in this article use WhatsApp.
This allows brands to initiate conversations with approved templates and continue them within the 24-hour reply window.
4. Voice Chatbots
Voice chatbots handle spoken conversations through phone lines or smart speakers. They appear less often in marketing than in service, and none of the seven examples below uses one.
Chatbot Marketing Examples, from First Click to Repeat Purchase
The seven examples below follow the customer journey from the first click through repeat purchase. Each result comes from the respective brand, so the figures should be treated as claims to validate rather than universal benchmarks.
1. Growing a Conversation Audience with Click-to-Chat Ads
Click-to-chat ads send people straight from an ad into a chat, so the brand builds an audience it can message directly.
Once people opt in, personalized marketing messages keep the relationship going, and instant perks such as discounts give people a reason to start the conversation.
A restaurant operator in Latin America reports a 13x return on investment from marketing messages and open rates three times higher than email. It does not explain how ROI is calculated, but the sequence is clear: ads build the audience first, and messages serve it second.
2. Qualifying Leads before Sales Steps In
A chatbot with approved product knowledge can answer detailed questions and ask about usage before a salesperson joins. Sales then receives fewer unready leads, and the leads it does receive arrive with context.
An automaker that replaced a rigid menu bot with an AI agent reports that its qualified handoff rate rose from 30% to 58%, with factual errors below 1% over 15 days.
3. Reviving Leads That Sales Never Reached
Sales teams rarely have time to contact every old lead. An AI conversation agent can reach them at scale and pass the interested ones to a person.
A software company reports that its agents contacted 130,000 leads and created 3,200 opportunities in four months, or roughly 2.5% by our arithmetic.
It also notes that agents can struggle without complete customer context, making clean and connected data an important starting point.
4. Guiding a High-Stakes Application inside the Chat
Longer processes such as loan applications often stall when people must leave the chat to finish them. A chatbot can guide each step, verify information, and run fraud checks in the same conversation, then follow up on unfinished applications.
A bank serving customers aged 50 and older reports that 51% of people who started a chat took at least one credit product. The figures cover June 2024 to June 2025 and are self-reported. They suggest that a regulated process can run in chat when verification is built in from the start.
5. Moving from Discovery to Payment in One Conversation
A shopping agent can recommend products, show details, and take payment without sending the customer to another app. Fewer handoffs between screens means fewer places for a shopper to drop off.
A retailer reports a conversion rate three times higher than its own app and website over six weeks in late 2025. In-chat payment depended on a local payment method, so other markets should test the flow before expecting the same result.
6. Turning Abandoned Carts into Conversations
When shoppers leave without completing a purchase, a follow-up message can bring them into a conversation with the brand. The chatbot can answer product questions, address purchase concerns, and direct shoppers back to the checkout page.
A health brand reports a 49% lower cost per purchase and a 51% better return on ad spend than its usual approach.
7. Driving Repeat Purchases with Segmented Campaigns and Loyalty Flows
CRM data can split customers by purchase frequency and location, so each group receives a message that fits its behavior. Automated flows, such as receipt verification for a loyalty reward, keep customers engaged between purchases.
A pizza chain attributes a 72% sales increase in 2023 and a 6.3x return on investment to its WhatsApp efforts. That figure is the company’s own attribution and blends campaigns with automated flows, so it does not isolate the effect of a chatbot.
Consent and Disclosure Rules to Settle Before Launch
Chatbot marketing works only when recipients agreed to hear from you and know who they are talking to.
1. Opt-In for WhatsApp Messaging
Meta requires businesses to obtain opt-in before messaging people on WhatsApp. The opt-in can be general rather than specific to WhatsApp, but it must state that the person agrees to receive messages and name the business that sends them.
Storing that record with the customer profile lets any campaign show proof of consent.
2. Telling People They Are Talking to AI
Under Article 50 of the AI Act, “people should know when they are interacting with AI”, and providers must “design AI systems in a way that ensures individuals are explicitly informed whenever they interact with an AI system directly
Article 50 of the EU AI Act applies from 2 August 2026 and sets transparency rules for interactive AI systems. The European Commission’s guidelines state that people should know when they interact with AI.
Data protection laws add duties for vendors that handle customer data. For example, Indonesia’s Personal Data Protection Law, Undang-undang (UU) Nomor 27 Tahun 2022 Pelindungan Data Pribad, requires data controllers to supervise the parties involved in processing.
In practice, marketing usually owns the opt-in wording, IT owns CRM integration and vendor access, and legal reviews both.
How to Choose the First Example Worth Copying
Start by identifying the funnel bottleneck that creates the largest cost or operational problem for your business. Then match it with the example that most closely resembles the situation.
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| Funnel Bottleneck | Closest Example | Data You Need | Main Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Many leads, few qualified | Stellantis | Approved product knowledge base, handoff rules | Wrong answers |
| Old leads never contacted | Salesforce | Clean, connected CRM data | Missing customer context |
| Applications stall midway | Banco Mercantil | Verification and fraud-check integrations | Compliance and sensitive data |
| Checkout conversion is low | TriHealth, Magalu | Connected cart or product catalog | Message frequency and template costs |
| Repeat purchases are low | Domino’s, Arcos Dorados | CRM segmentation | Opt-outs and message fatigue |
| Conversation audience is small | Arcos Dorados | Click-to-WhatsApp ads and opt-in | Audience quality |
These matches reflect our reading of the seven examples, not claims from the brands. Pick one bottleneck and one metric, run a pilot, and expand only after the numbers hold.
Build Your Marketing Chatbot with Mekari Qontak
Generic campaigns, slow replies, and unclear consent hold back most chatbot marketing. The examples in this articles point to the same fix, connect the conversation to customer data, give it a clear handoff, and measure one result at a time.
As an official Meta Business Solution Provider, Mekari Qontak Chatbot AI brings your WhatsApp conversations, chatbot automation, WhatsApp broadcast campaigns, and CRM software into one connected platform.
Mekari Qontak Chatbot AI helps your team automate repetitive conversations while keeping responses relevant to your business knowledge.
Train the AI with your own data, customize how it communicates, connect it to real-time information, and route complex conversations to the right agent when needed.
Explore Chatbot AI Mekari Qontak and discover how your marketing team can turn more conversations into opportunities.
Discuss your business needs with Mekari Qontak Expert and get a free trial now.
References
- Salesforce, State of Sales 2026
- WhatsApp for Business, Arcos Dorados
- WhatsApp for Business, Stellantis
- WhatsApp for Business, Banco Mercantil
- WhatsApp for Business, Magalu
- WhatsApp for Business, TriHealth
- WhatsApp for Business, Domino’s Pizza Indonesia
- WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy
- Meta for Developers, Get opt-in for WhatsApp
Frequently Asked Questions About Chatbot Marketing Examples (FAQ)
How Is a Marketing Chatbot Different from a Customer Service Chatbot?
How Is a Marketing Chatbot Different from a Customer Service Chatbot?
A marketing chatbot attracts, qualifies, and converts prospects, while a customer service chatbot resolves issues after the purchase. Both can share one platform and the same customer data.
Do You Need Consent Before a Chatbot Messages Customers on WhatsApp?
Do You Need Consent Before a Chatbot Messages Customers on WhatsApp?
Yes. Meta requires opt-in before businesses message people, and the opt-in must name the business and state that the person agrees to receive messages.
Does a Marketing Chatbot Have to Say It Is AI?
Does a Marketing Chatbot Have to Say It Is AI?
Your customer should know when they interact with AI. Rules differ by market, so confirm the requirements with your legal team.
Which Metrics Show Whether a Marketing Chatbot Is Working?
Which Metrics Show Whether a Marketing Chatbot Is Working?
Your business can choose one metric that matches the goal. The examples above used qualified handoff rate for lead qualification, cost per purchase and return on ad spend for cart recovery, and conversion rate for in-chat shopping.
When Should a Chatbot Hand a Conversation to a Human agent?
When Should a Chatbot Hand a Conversation to a Human agent?
A chatbot should hand over when a customer shows high purchase intent or asks something the approved knowledge base cannot answer. Stellantis, for example, passes high-intent customers from its bot to sales.
Can a Marketing Chatbot Work with a CRM?
Can a Marketing Chatbot Work with a CRM?
Yes. You can use CRM data to segment customers or build audiences. This CRM connection also tells the chatbot who it is talking to.
