Short answer: first map when your buyers are at work against your own hours; for a Malaysian team, Europe's afternoon and the US working day fall in your evening and night. Cover those hours with an honest away message or with AI replies that answer factual questions (MOQ, lead times, shipping, how to order) from your own knowledge base, and hand everything else to a person: prices outside the list, discounts, complaints, anything uncertain. Then make the first job each morning a review of what the AI answered and what it handed over. In BlackCat SCRM, AI replies (Pro and above) do this on WhatsApp, Telegram, LINE and Messenger, but only while the app is running and online, so the computer has to stay on overnight.
When are your buyers messaging?
Put your buyers' working hours on Malaysia time and the gap is obvious. In November, a buyer in Dubai works until 10pm your time, Germany until 1am, the UK until 2am, and the US East Coast's whole working day runs from 10pm to 7am. Only Australia, mostly in your morning, overlaps well. Daylight saving moves these by an hour twice a year, so check again in March and October.
Why it matters: in a Harvard Business Review study of how 2,241 US companies answered online enquiries, firms that replied within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify the lead as those that took longer. An enquiry that waits ten hours for your morning has usually gone to whoever answered first.
What are the options for the hours you don't cover?
- An away message. Honest and free: it says when a person will reply. The WhatsApp Business app can send away messages outside the business hours set in your profile. It keeps the buyer informed but answers nothing.
- Someone on a late shift. The best answer for a large market, if you have the people. It costs salary and is hard to keep up every night.
- AI replies with a hand-over. Answers the common factual questions straight away and passes the rest to your team for the morning. The quality depends entirely on what you teach it.
Most small export teams combine them: AI replies overnight, an away message where AI isn't switched on, and a person checking the important accounts once in the late evening.
What should AI answer overnight, and what should wait?
Let the AI handle questions with one correct answer that you've written down:
- Product details, sizes, materials and certificates.
- MOQ, standard lead times, shipping methods and the ports or countries you ship to.
- How to order, which payment methods you accept, and what information you need for a quote.
- Opening hours and when a person will reply.
Hand over to a person for:
- Prices that aren't on the list, discounts and special terms.
- Complaints, refunds, quality problems and anything involving a dispute.
- Promises about dates or quantities you haven't confirmed.
- Anything the knowledge base doesn't cover. "Let me check with the team and reply in the morning" is a good answer at 2am.
WhatsApp's own Business Messaging Policy asks businesses that automate replies to give customers a prompt, clear way to reach a person. That's good practice on every app, not just a rule.
What does the morning handover look like?
- Read the night's AI conversations first, before new messages. Check that the answers were right.
- Reply to every hand-over before anything else, starting with the oldest.
- Fix the knowledge base whenever the AI was unsure about something it should know, and correct anything it got wrong.
- Note the follow-ups in each customer's notes, so whoever is on shift knows what was promised.
How do AI replies work in BlackCat SCRM?
AI replies in BlackCat SCRM (Pro plan and above) answer from a knowledge base you build from text, web pages, Excel, PDF, images, audio, video, Google Sheets or an API. Each account uses one knowledge base, and several accounts can share it.
- They work on WhatsApp, Telegram, LINE and Messenger, and you switch them on per account, so you can cover only the accounts that serve other time zones.
- They answer new private text messages received after you switch them on. Groups, older messages and messages they can't read aren't guaranteed to get a reply.
- You set how long to wait for a customer's follow-up messages before replying, a daily reply limit, and your reply instructions.
- When the knowledge base doesn't have the answer, the AI sends your hand-over message so a person can take over.
- Test before you switch on: the test area answers your sample questions without sending anything to customers.
Honest limits: AI replies only run while BlackCat SCRM is open and the computer is online, so for overnight cover the computer must stay on and connected, with sleep turned off. They use your plan's monthly AI points. And they're only as good as the knowledge base: keep prices and lead times current, and re-learn a source after you change it.
Sources
- Harvard Business Review: The Short Life of Online Sales Leads (March 2011; 2,241 US companies).
- WhatsApp: WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy (automated replies need a clear escalation path to a person).
- WhatsApp Help Center: How to use away messages (WhatsApp Business app).
- Time differences: standard UTC offsets for November 2026 (Europe and the US on standard time, Sydney on daylight saving).
- BlackCat SCRM user guide: knowledge bases and AI replies.
FAQ
Can AI replies work while my computer is off?
No. In BlackCat SCRM they run inside the app, so it has to be open and online. For overnight cover, leave the computer on, connected and set not to sleep.
Will customers know they're talking to AI?
Say so if you're asked, and consider stating it in your reply instructions or away message. Customers mind being misled more than they mind talking to AI, and they should always be able to reach a person.
Which plan includes AI replies?
Pro and above. Each plan includes monthly AI points; see pricing for the allowances.
Should AI quote prices overnight?
Only prices from your current price list, written in the knowledge base. Special prices, discounts and anything negotiated should go to a person.
