Theos is the best tool to sell on WhatsApp with AI in 2026 because it's an AI sales agent: it holds real conversations on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook (Meta's official APIs), understands voice notes, images and documents, qualifies, tags, books meetings, and its app alerts you to approve. The others are inboxes or CRMs with AI added, or flow-based chatbots.
Disclosure: Theos is our product. Prices are what each company publishes on its website as of September 2026, in US dollars unless noted, linked to the source. For almost all of them, add the fees Meta charges for some messages.
Quick comparison
| Tool | What it is | Channels | Starting price (Sept 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theos | AI sales agent: talks, qualifies and books meetings (inbound + B2B outbound) | WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook (Meta's official APIs), B2B social networks | Free to build and test; paid plan to launch |
| respond.io | Omnichannel inbox with AI agents | WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, email, calls | $79/mo (annual) |
| Leadsales | WhatsApp CRM with an AI agent | WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram | $97/mo |
| Kommo | Messaging CRM with AI agents | WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, Messenger, Telegram | $25 per user/mo |
| Wati | WhatsApp platform with AI agents | WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger | $45/mo (annual) |
| Manychat | Chat marketing with flows | Instagram, TikTok, Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram | Free; Pro $29/mo (annual) |
| Cliengo | Chatbots and AI agents for lead capture | Web, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger | $45/mo |
| Botmaker | AI agent platform for enterprises | WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, web, voice and more | $149/mo |
| Omnifox | Omnichannel inbox with CRM and AI agents (new, 2026) | WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, web, voice | $29/mo (annual) |
What you need to sell on WhatsApp with AI
- A real conversation. Your customers write however they like, send voice notes, photos or a PDF, and ask things that don't fit in a menu. You need an agent that understands all of that, handles objections and sounds like you, not a "press 1, 2 or 3" flow. We explain it in what is an AI sales agent.
- The official WhatsApp Business API, through a Meta-authorized provider. It's how you connect a number to a platform with multiple users and AI agents. Connecting through WhatsApp Web can work to start, but it isn't the official route for working at scale. Look for "Meta Business Partner" or official WhatsApp provider: Theos, Wati and Botmaker, for example, are.
- A verified business and website. Meta asks for business details to approve the number. Leadsales, for example, notes in its FAQ that the API requires a registered company and its own website.
- An agent that qualifies and books, not just replies. What counts is reaching an outcome: qualifying the lead, tagging the conversation and booking the meeting on your calendar, and stopping follow-ups once the customer has booked.
- Control over what gets sent. At first you want to approve every reply; once you trust the agent, you let it reply on its own. The tool should allow both and let you take over any chat whenever you want.
- Alerts on your phone. Knowing when a lead is interested or a reply is ready to approve, without living in the inbox.
- Budget for Meta's message fees. Some messages, such as templates sent outside the 24-hour window since the customer's last message, are charged separately, and the price varies by country.
Sales agent, inbox or chatbot: the difference
In this comparison, respond.io, Leadsales, Kommo, Wati and Omnifox are inboxes or CRMs with AI; Manychat, Cliengo and Botmaker are chatbots and bot platforms. Theos is a different category: an AI sales agent.
| Theos | AI inboxes and CRMs | Chatbots and bot platforms | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A sales agent that talks with your customers and works until it gets the result | An inbox or CRM for your team to reply, with bots or AI agents added on top | Flows, keywords and menus, with AI features added |
| How you set it up | You tell it what you sell or paste your website; it researches your business and writes the strategy | You configure the inbox, the flows and the AI agent | You draw the flow the conversation follows |
| Back-and-forth conversation | Yes, no "press 1, 2 or 3" menus | Partial: depends on the AI agent and the plan | Partial: the conversation follows the flow you drew |
| Voice notes, images and documents | Yes, it understands them | Partial: varies by tool | Partial: varies by tool |
| Qualifies and tags by your criteria | Yes, in every conversation | Partial: depends on each plan's AI agent | Partial: with the flow's questions |
| Books meetings | Yes, on Google Calendar, and it detects meetings booked through your Calendly link | Partial: some do, like Kommo on its Pro plan | Partial: varies by tool |
| Mobile app | Alerts you when the reply is ready and you approve it from your phone | Partial: some have an app for your team to reply by hand | Partial: varies by tool |
| Goes out to find B2B customers | Yes, on B2B social networks | No | No |
Theos also has a real-time unified inbox for every channel: you take over any conversation, reply by hand or pause a contact. The difference from inbox apps is that the Theos app alerts you when the agent already has the reply ready, and you just approve.
The tools, one by one
1. Theos
What it is: an AI sales agent. It works like Claude Code, but for sales: you give it a goal, and it researches, plans and talks with real people until it gets the result. It works from your own WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook accounts through Meta's official APIs (Theos is a Meta Business Partner), so every conversation sounds like you.
Why it's #1:
- It holds real conversations. No "press 1, 2 or 3" menus: it understands the voice notes, images, documents and links people send, handles objections and writes in each contact's language (it detects 19 languages).
- It takes every chat to an outcome. It qualifies and tags each conversation by your criteria and books meetings with Google Calendar. It also detects meetings booked through your Calendly link, and once someone books, it stops sending them follow-ups.
- You choose how much control you keep. Approve every reply, let it reply on its own and hand you a draft when a conversation needs review, or let it always reply on its own. In the unified inbox you take over any conversation, reply by hand or pause a contact.
- It alerts you on your phone. The app sends a notification when a reply is ready to approve or when a conversation changes tag, for example an interested lead or a booked meeting. From there you approve or edit the reply, rewrite it with AI if you want, and send it.
- One agent for WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. On Instagram and Facebook it answers direct messages and comments. On WhatsApp Business it answers incoming messages and can start conversations with an approved template.
- You set it up by talking. Tell it what you sell or paste your website: Theos researches your business before asking you anything and only asks what it can't work out. To change something, you ask in plain language, and you can undo the change.
- It tells you what works. It reads every conversation, verifies every quote and writes a head-of-sales report on what's working and what to change. You approve the changes.
- It also goes out to find B2B customers. On B2B social networks it finds decision-makers, writes a personal first message, holds the conversation and sends up to 10 follow-ups.
- It connects to what you already use. Custom CRM integration on request (Salesforce, HubSpot, Odoo, Attio and more), plus a public API and webhooks.
Theos has managed more than 1.3 million contacts and 300,000 conversations. See concrete cases in our customer stories.
Price: building and testing your campaign is free; launching it requires a paid plan.
2. respond.io
What it is: an omnichannel team inbox with workflows and autonomous AI agents for sales, marketing and support, plus WhatsApp and Messenger calls. Capterra reviewers call it costly for small businesses and not beginner-friendly.
Compared with Theos: respond.io is built for your team to handle many channels from one inbox, with workflows and AI agents added. In Theos the agent is the product: it talks, qualifies, tags and books, and alerts you on your phone when a reply is ready to approve. Theos also goes out to find B2B customers.
Price: Starter 99 monthly, with 5,000 AI credits included; Growth 199 (pricing). WhatsApp fees are extra.
3. Leadsales
What it is: a Mexican CRM for WhatsApp and social selling, with a shared inbox, sales pipelines and Lead Agent, an AI agent that attends, qualifies and follows up with prospects 24/7. It's built for LATAM SMBs with several reps. The Básico plan connects through WhatsApp Web; the official API is on Profesional and Avanzado. It has few independent reviews.
Compared with Theos: Leadsales is a CRM for your reps to work the pipeline, with an AI agent added. Theos always runs on Meta's official APIs, understands voice notes, images and documents, books meetings with Google Calendar and alerts you on your phone to approve.
Price: Básico 133, Avanzado $247, no lock-in, with discounts for quarterly, semi-annual or annual billing (pricing). Lead Agent pricing after the free first month isn't published.
4. Kommo
What it is: formerly amoCRM, an all-in-one CRM for selling over WhatsApp, Instagram and TikTok, with pipelines, AI agents and AI appointment booking on the Pro plan. Capterra reviewers mention a learning curve and slow support.
Compared with Theos: in Kommo your team sells by chat inside a pipeline, and the price grows with every user. In Theos the agent does the talking, qualifying, tagging and booking; you supervise from the unified inbox or your phone.
Price: Base 35 and Pro $45 per user/mo, with a 6-month minimum (pricing).
5. Wati
What it is: a platform on the WhatsApp Business API with an inbox, broadcasts, chatbots and AI agents, strongly focused on WhatsApp and e-commerce. It describes itself as a Meta Premium Partner.
Compared with Theos: Wati revolves around the inbox and broadcasts, with chatbots and AI agents depending on the plan. Theos is built to sell through conversation: it qualifies, handles objections, tags and books the meeting, and you choose whether to approve every reply or let it reply on its own.
Price: Growth 59 monthly (pricing). WhatsApp template messages are charged per message, and the number of AI agents depends on the plan.
6. Manychat
What it is: a chat marketing tool built on flows: replies to comments, stories and DMs. Very popular on Instagram and TikTok, and its Pro plan can move leads from Instagram or TikTok into WhatsApp.
Compared with Theos: Manychat runs on flows and isn't an autonomous sales agent: the conversation follows the path you drew. Theos needs no flows: it understands what the customer writes or says in a voice note, handles objections and moves the conversation toward the sale on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook.
Price: free up to 25 contacts; Essential 39/mo or $29 annual (Manychat help center). New pricing launched in March 2026.
7. Cliengo
What it is: an Argentine conversational AI platform for capturing leads from the web, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, with AI agents and a copilot that summarizes conversations. It focuses on real estate, education, health and automotive. Capterra reviewers rate its support 3.8 out of 5.
Compared with Theos: Cliengo is built to capture leads, mostly from the website, and its copilot summarizes conversations for your team. Theos takes the conversation all the way: it qualifies, handles objections, tags and books the meeting. It also goes out to find B2B customers.
Price: Starter 119, Business $259 (pricing). The WhatsApp API is on the Business plan.
8. Botmaker
What it is: an Argentine platform for building autonomous AI agents for chat, email and voice, with offices across Latin America and official WhatsApp provider status. It covers many channels (including Mercado Libre and Apple Messages) and targets large companies. Very few independent reviews are published.
Compared with Theos: Botmaker is a platform for your company to build its own agents. Theos already is the sales agent: tell it what you sell or paste your website, and it researches your business and writes the full strategy, with messages and follow-ups.
Price: Standard 249, Pro $499 (pricing).
9. Omnifox
What it is: a new (2026) omnichannel inbox with a CRM, workflows and text and voice AI agents, aimed at SMBs in Latin America and Spain. It has no independent reviews yet.
Compared with Theos: Omnifox is an inbox with AI added that's just getting started. Theos is a sales agent that has already managed more than 300,000 conversations, and the same agent that answers your WhatsApp goes out to find B2B customers.
Price: Lite from $29/mo billed annually, billed per team rather than per user (pricing).
How to choose
| If your situation is… | Look first at |
|---|---|
| You want AI to talk and sell across WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook | Theos |
| Your customers send voice notes, photos and questions that don't fit a menu | Theos |
| You want to approve replies from your phone before they go out | Theos |
| You get comments and direct messages on Instagram | Theos: it answers both |
| You sell B2B and need meetings with companies | Theos: it also goes out to find customers on B2B social networks |
| You sell to customers who speak different languages | Theos: it writes in each contact's language |
| You only need a shared inbox for your team to answer by hand | An inbox like respond.io or Kommo. Theos also has a unified inbox: you take over any chat whenever you want |
Whatever you pick, measure booked meetings or closed sales, not messages answered.
FAQ
Theos, because it's an AI sales agent, not an inbox with a bot on top. It holds real conversations on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook through Meta's official APIs, understands voice notes, images and documents, qualifies, tags and books meetings. Its mobile app alerts you when a reply is ready to approve.
Yes. An AI sales agent like Theos, connected to the official WhatsApp Business API, answers incoming messages, understands voice notes and images, handles objections, qualifies the customer and books the meeting. The key is giving the agent your business context and a clear goal: with Theos you just tell it in a conversation or paste your website.
A chatbot follows fixed flows ("press 1, 2 or 3") that someone has to draw. An agent understands what the customer writes or says in a voice note, handles objections and moves the conversation toward the sale. Theos is an agent: you don't draw any flows.
To work with multiple users, AI agents and volume, yes. It's Meta's official route. The WhatsApp Business app works for answering by hand, but not for scaling. Theos always runs on Meta's official APIs: it's a Meta Business Partner.
Yes, with an approved template. It also answers incoming messages, and on Instagram and Facebook it answers direct messages and comments.
With Theos, building and testing your campaign is free; launching it requires a paid plan. In September 2026, the other SMB tools cost from about 100 per month. On top of that come the fees Meta charges for some messages, depending on the country.
Yes. Theos handles WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook with the same agent through Meta's official APIs. Most of these tools also handle Instagram and Messenger, from an inbox or with flows.
