Parents of a two-branch tutoring center write to one WhatsApp number and one email address about everything. An AI agent classifies each message, logs cancellations under the 24-hour policy, routes payment and progress questions with context and acknowledges every message within a minute.
Typical results
Under 1 min
Acknowledgment for every parent message
≈40%
Messages handled without office staff
100%
Urgent or unhappy messages sent to a manager
Figures reflect typical results for this kind of automation.
The challenge
One office assistant reads every parent message across WhatsApp and email: cancellations, schedule changes, invoices, homework and questions about how a child is doing. Each one is copied into the calendar or forwarded by hand. Replies can take hours, late cancellations slip through without the policy applied, and an unhappy parent sometimes waits a day for a manager.
Before and after
Office hours per week sorting parent messages
−80%Minutes to first reply
−99%Late cancellations not charged, per month
−83%The automation
Every message to the center's WhatsApp number and email address is classified by an AI agent built in Make with OpenAI. Cancellations are logged in the lesson calendar with the 24-hour policy applied, so late ones are marked as charged. Payment questions go to the bookkeeper with the family's balance attached, and progress questions are forwarded to the child's tutor. Every parent gets an acknowledgment within a minute, and anything urgent or unhappy goes straight to the branch manager.
How it works
- 01
Message arrives
A parent writes to the center's WhatsApp number or email address about anything at all.
- 02
AI classifies it
The agent tags it as a cancellation, schedule change, payment question, homework, progress question or complaint.
- 03
Cancellations logged
Cancellations are logged in the lesson calendar, and the 24-hour policy decides whether the lesson is charged.
- 04
Routed with context
Payment questions reach the bookkeeper with the family's balance attached, and progress questions go to the child's tutor.
- 05
Acknowledged or escalated
Every parent gets an acknowledgment within a minute, and urgent or unhappy messages go straight to the branch manager.
Starts from
- Parent WhatsApp messages
- Parent emails
Delivers
- Cancellations in calendar
- Payments to bookkeeper
- Progress questions to tutor
The impact
Every parent hears back within a minute, and the office saves about 8 hours a week of sorting and forwarding. The 24-hour policy is applied the same way at both branches, tutors and the bookkeeper get questions with context, and unhappy parents reach a manager the same morning.
Questions about this automation
How does the agent apply the 24-hour cancellation policy?
It reads the lesson time from the calendar and compares it with the moment the parent's message arrived. Cancellations more than 24 hours ahead free the slot at no charge, and later ones are logged as charged. The acknowledgment tells the parent which applies, and exceptions such as illness go to the branch manager to decide.
What counts as urgent or unhappy?
The center defines it: complaints, words like 'disappointed' or 'refund', any mention of a child's wellbeing, or a third message on the same issue. The agent sends those to the branch manager on WhatsApp with the conversation so far, and holds back the routine reply that might feel dismissive.
What does it connect to?
It runs on the center's WhatsApp number and email inbox, writes to the lesson calendar, reads balances from the billing or accounting software and forwards questions to tutors by WhatsApp or email. This is a multi-step build, usually rolled out in stages, starting with cancellations and acknowledgments.