Doinel Atanasiu

TL;DR I build custom AI assistants that read customer requests on WhatsApp, photos included, check the company's price list and prepare every reply as a draft. A person approves or edits it before it is sent. In a real case, a home-maintenance company in Milan, Italy, the owner estimates that preparing a quote went from about 30 to 10-15 minutes.

A custom AI assistant that drafts your WhatsApp quotes, and you approve them

It reads your customers' requests, checks your price list and suggests the reply. The message goes out only when you approve it.

For companies and tradespeople who get quote requests in chat.

Tell me how a quote starts in your business

The problem

A customer sends you three messages and two photos, then adds a detail. To reply you have to piece the request together, remember your prices and write a clear quote, often while you're at another customer's place.

Many people paste the chat into ChatGPT at this point, tidy up the answer and copy it back into WhatsApp. That saves a few minutes, but every quote is still handmade. Meanwhile the requests stay scattered across chats, with no record.

How it works

  1. Your customer writes to your WhatsApp Business number, as they do today.
  2. The assistant waits until they've finished writing and reads the whole conversation, photos included.
  3. It checks your price list, the jobs you don't take on and your instructions, then prepares a draft reply.
  4. You read it in a dashboard that works like WhatsApp. You approve it, edit it or write your own reply.
  5. The message goes out only after you approve it.

The only message the system sends on its own is the privacy consent request, with fixed wording that you set.

Why every reply goes through you

A quote is a commitment to the customer: a price, a date, sometimes a site visit. So the assistant prepares and you decide. Every message stays a draft until you approve it, even when it has no price in it.

Before the customer reads it you can fix a figure, change the tone or add a condition. For delicate requests you ignore the draft and reply yourself from the same dashboard.

If you're looking for replies that go out on their own, that's a different service, and we can talk about it on the first call.

Who it's for

It's built for anyone who gets quote requests in chat, for example:

  • home maintenance and repairs;
  • plumbers, electricians and heating or air-conditioning installers;
  • small building and renovation jobs;
  • windows, doors, blinds and insect screens;
  • custom furniture and joinery;
  • removals and house clearances;
  • cleaning and gardening;
  • technical support and appliance repair;
  • rentals.

How you work matters more than your sector. This service fits if:

  • requests reach you in chat, with messages and photos;
  • your prices and terms can be written down in a price list a colleague could follow;
  • preparing quotes takes up time every week;
  • someone can review the drafts before they go out.

The published case is in home maintenance. In other sectors, the first step is checking together that your process has these traits.

What you gain

  • Less time per quote. You start from a draft already written with your prices, instead of a blank message.
  • Everything in one place. The conversation, the price list and the draft sit in one dashboard, so the copy-paste between apps goes away.
  • You update the price list yourself. When you change a price, the next draft already uses it. Every change creates a new version, and you go back to the previous one in a click.
  • Every conversation is on record. You know how many requests you get and can find them again when you need them.
  • Your customers carry on as before. They write to the usual WhatsApp number and install nothing.

A real case, in brief

A home-maintenance company in Milan, Italy, has used the assistant since 1 July 2026. In the first two months:

  • the time per quote went from about 30 to 10-15 minutes, by the owner's estimate;
  • the assistant handled 95 conversations, and 21 of the 50 approved drafts were edited by hand before sending;
  • AI usage came to about $30, development and testing included.

The 21 edits count the times the owner stepped in, whether for an error, a detail or the tone. That's why every reply goes through a person.

If you're weighing whether it pays off, I've written up when it makes sense to have AI draft your quotes, and what it costs. If you're curious about the technical side, here's how I built the assistant.

How we start and what it costs

  1. First call. You tell me how your quotes come about. It's free.
  2. Process analysis. We write down your price list, exceptions and rules.
  3. Fixed-price quote. You know the cost up front.
  4. Development and testing. I test the assistant on conversations like yours before it goes live.
  5. Training and launch. I show you how to approve drafts and how to update the price list and instructions.

The build cost depends on how many rules and exceptions your price list has, how many people reply to customers and which integrations you need. Running costs come on top: AI usage, hosting and any WhatsApp channel costs.

Accounts and infrastructure are in your company's name, so the system stays yours even if you change supplier one day.

Working with me from abroad

I'm based in Italy and work remotely by default. Calls, process analysis, testing and training all run online, and I travel on-site when a project needs it. I pick EU-based services whenever one exists, and everything runs on accounts in your company's name, so your customers' data stays under your control.

Tell me how a quote starts in your business

Write to me with the channel your requests arrive on, how many you get a month, how long they take to prepare and the most common exceptions. I'll reply with a first assessment. If it makes sense, we'll set up a free call, and you decide only after seeing the quote.

Interested in a system like this?
Reach out on LinkedIn, or send me an email - I read both.
Message me on LinkedInEmail me at doinel@atanasiu.me
FAQ
Common questions and answers
Can AI draft quotes from WhatsApp conversations?
Yes. An AI assistant connected to a company's WhatsApp Business number reads the requests, checks the price list and drafts a reply. A person approves it before it is sent.
Does the assistant send messages on its own?
Only the privacy consent request, with fixed wording set by the company. Every other reply stays a draft until a person approves it.
How is this different from a WhatsApp chatbot?
A chatbot replies on its own, straight away, which suits standard questions such as opening hours or bookings. The assistant prepares a draft that a person reads and approves before it is sent. It's meant for replies that include a price or a commitment to the customer.
Who checks the prices before sending?
A person at the company. They can approve the draft, edit it or replace it with a reply of their own.
Does the assistant understand photos and voice notes?
It reads the text and photos in the conversation. Voice notes and documents reach the person replying, but the assistant doesn't interpret them. If your requests come in mostly as voice notes, the flow needs adapting.
Do my customers need to change anything?
No. They keep writing to the usual WhatsApp number. The only new message they get is the privacy consent request.
Does it work in my sector?
It works when the quote comes out of a conversation and follows rules you can write down in a price list. Availability, exceptions and site visits are assessed case by case during the process analysis.
I already use quoting software. Do I still need this?
Quoting software helps you put quotes together and lay them out. The assistant works one step earlier: it reads the request in the chat and drafts the reply from your price list. The two can work together, and how to connect them is assessed during the process analysis.
What does it cost?
The build has a fixed price, set after the process analysis. AI usage is low: in a real case it came to about $30 over two months across 95 conversations, development included. Hosting, any WhatsApp channel costs and maintenance come on top.
How long does it take to build?
It depends mostly on how many rules and exceptions your price list has. I give you a precise estimate after the process analysis, together with the quote.
Can you work with a company outside Italy?
Yes. The work runs remotely by default, from the process analysis to training, with on-site visits when a project needs them. EU-based services are the first choice, and everything runs on accounts in the client company's name.