Straight answers for Kenyan WhatsApp sellers

Timi helps Kenyan businesses sell on WhatsApp. It replies to ad leads, qualifies buyers, and shows which Meta campaigns led to M-Pesa sales so your ads find more buyers like them. Replies are in English, Swahili, and Sheng. You keep your number and WhatsApp app; Timi hands serious buyers to you to close.

Yes. Timi offers seller-authorized REST and MCP integrations for supported agent platforms. The first connection is read-only and shows aggregate shop insights such as KPIs, trends, funnel metrics, and health. It does not share customer names, phone numbers, conversations, or individual orders. Review or revoke access in Settings → Connected apps.

About 5 minutes: create your account, then follow setup in order - connect WhatsApp, connect Meta, start your trial. After trial you can Brief Timi (paste a website or add products) or skip. Open Feed to reply to leads and copy your share link. Step-by-step walkthroughs are under How-to guides.

No. Once your WhatsApp Business line is linked, copy your WhatsApp link from Feed and share it on Instagram bios, posters, statuses, business cards - anywhere. A website is optional for Brief Timi (catalog scrape).

No. Brief Timi (website scrape or pasted products) is recommended so answers stay accurate. Skip anytime — Timi still replies. You can add shop context later in Settings.

No. Timi is WhatsApp-only. Put a WhatsApp link in your Instagram bio or run Facebook/Instagram ads that open WhatsApp. Timi does not read or reply to Instagram DMs.

Open Feed and click Share link. That copies a wa.me link to your business number - paste it in your Instagram bio, WhatsApp Status, or anywhere buyers can tap a URL.

No - each business connects its own verified WhatsApp Business line in Settings. If a number is already connected to another Timi shop, that shop must Disconnect in Settings → WhatsApp first (or unlink Timi in WhatsApp Business). Timi does not auto-take over a line.

In Settings → Account, save your personal phone (not the shop Business line). Message the official Timi WhatsApp from that phone, then reply YES. Replying YES before you save the number on the dashboard will not verify you.

Personal update numbers and Business lines cannot be shared. Clear the personal number under Settings → Account on the other account, or Disconnect the Business line under Settings → WhatsApp there, then try again. If you lost access, email [email protected].

Open How-to guides from the site footer, or continue setup after you sign in. Guides cover get started, connect WhatsApp, connect Meta, start your trial, set up shop context, and sync your WhatsApp catalog.

Open Settings → Shop context. Add basics, products, FAQs, and delivery. For products you can connect Shopify (OAuth), WooCommerce (REST API keys), sync your WhatsApp catalog, paste a website URL for a background scan (review before publish; 3 scans every 7 days; images imported when available), upload a document (max 10 MB), paste text, or type manually.

Paste your shop URL in Shop context → Import. Timi scans the site in the background (Shopify and WooCommerce catalogs when available; otherwise standard shop page layouts), imports product photos when it can, then shows a report for you to review and publish. When the store’s platform JSON exposes inventory, stock is imported; otherwise set stock in review. Incomplete rows (missing price/image/stock) are left unchecked by default. You get 3 website scans every 7 days; if our systems fail or a scan stalls, that attempt is not counted. You can discard a report to clear it before starting another scan (a finished scan still counts). Unpublished reports expire after 30 days. Sites with bot protection (for example Cloudflare) or JavaScript-only stores may not work - use document, paste, or manual entry instead.

With a dedicated Cloud API connection, open Settings → WhatsApp and tap Sync WhatsApp catalog. Timi reads the product catalog linked to your Business line (names, prices, photos, availability). Sync is read-only - we never change your WhatsApp catalog. Auto-sync refreshes products while keeping fields you edited locally as overrides. Meta does not make catalog sync available when you keep the WhatsApp Business app connected (coexistence); use Shopify, WooCommerce, website, document, paste, or manual entry instead.

Open Settings → Shop context → Store integrations. For Shopify, enter your store domain (for example mystore.myshopify.com) and approve access - products sync automatically (read-only, up to 100 items). For WooCommerce, create a Read REST API key in WooCommerce admin and paste the store URL, consumer key, and secret in Timi. Both support daily auto-sync and manual Sync now.

Shop context shows catalog health - how many products have a name, image, price, and stock. When a buyer asks to be told when something is back in stock, Timi can note a waitlist (badge in Feed). Automatic WhatsApp notify templates are not enabled yet; message those buyers from Feed when you restock.

Timi keeps up to 100 products. If your WhatsApp catalog has more, sync imports the first 100 and shows a note. Remove or edit items in Shop context anytime.

In Meta Business Suite, link a product catalog to this WhatsApp Business account and add products, then sync again in Timi. Meanwhile you can still import via website, document, paste, or manual entry.

If you use coexistence (you kept the WhatsApp Business app connected), Meta catalog sync is not available; import with website, document, paste, or manual entry. Otherwise, disconnect WhatsApp under Settings → WhatsApp, connect again, and approve catalog access when Meta asks.

From KES 1,500 a month. Starter: 500 buyer chats. Growth: 2,000 chats for KES 4,900. Pro: unlimited for KES 12,000. Try free for 5 days, then Paystack bills the plan you chose. Starting a trial takes a KES 1 card verification charge, which Timi attempts to refund after the card is saved. Meta WhatsApp fees are separate.

Each new buyer chat Timi replies to that month. Same buyer again later in the month does not count twice. Chats you take over still count.

Yes. Every new shop gets 5 days free on the plan you pick. Start from Billing in your dashboard. After the trial, you are billed monthly until you cancel or change plans.

We warn you around 80% of your plan limit. Slightly over the limit there is a short soft grace. After that, Timi pauses AI on all chats until you upgrade or the next billing period. Upgrade anytime from Billing.

No. Your Timi subscription covers our product. Meta bills your WhatsApp Business Account directly for platform messaging according to their rates, and we do not mark up Meta’s fees. Starting Oct 1, 2026, Meta will bill *service* free-form replies per message even when you reply inside the 24-hour customer care window. Once the window closes, approved templates are still the right tool for outbound messages.

Yes. The 24-hour window still controls whether free-form replies are allowed (no template needed). Starting Oct 1, 2026 those free-form service replies become billable per message even while the window is open; templates remain the right tool once the window has closed.

Card via Paystack for your Timi subscription. Buyers pay you on Till, Paybill, or M-Pesa — or Timi can send them to your website if you sell online. Timi does not collect buyer money and does not send Paystack checkout links. When the item and delivery are clear, Timi can share a total plus your payment details; otherwise it hands off.

No. Buyer Paystack checkout is retired. Paste Till, Paybill, or send-to-phone in Settings → Payments, or choose I sell online to send buyers to your website. You close the sale (Mark as sold or M-Pesa confirm).

Yes. Open Billing and use Manage subscription to cancel. You keep full access until the end of the period you already paid for (or until your trial ends if you cancel during trial).

Upgrades charge the new plan now and start a new billing month if the charge succeeds. Unused days on the old plan are not credited. Downgrades take effect at period end — you keep the current plan until then, and you can stay on it anytime before the change.

We do not pro-rate refunds for partial months. Cancelling stops future charges; you keep access until the current period ends.

Timi replies naturally in Sheng, Swahili, and English. Most buyers will simply notice that you respond fast and helpfully.

Timi replies to shoppers who message your connected WhatsApp Business line (including via your WhatsApp link from Feed). Personal chats on your phone outside that flow are unaffected.

Conversation history is stored securely so you can read and resume threads from your dashboard. We do not sell or share it.

When a buyer is ready to purchase, Timi may send a catalog-grounded total plus your Till or Paybill if it is sure, then hands off. If it is not sure, it acknowledges, stops auto-replying, and notifies you (email and/or personal WhatsApp updates when enabled). Use Pause Timi anytime to step in earlier.

If a buyer goes quiet during business hours, Timi sends a short, friendly nudge to bring them back. After two unanswered nudges it stops, so your number stays in good standing.

Yes - open Feed, pick a conversation, and tap Pause Timi. Timi stops using AI for that thread until you tap Resume Timi. Buyers can still message you directly on WhatsApp anytime.

Yes - open the chat menu (⋯) and choose Retry Timi on last message when the buyer's latest message has no Timi reply yet, or Timi's reply failed to deliver. Timi re-runs on that message without the buyer having to send again.

Only Click-to-WhatsApp passes referral data Meta and Timi need. A plain wa.me link opens WhatsApp with no campaign attribution - you cannot see which ad drove the chat or send conversion events back to Ads Manager.

QualifiedLead when a buyer engages beyond a bare Hi, InitiateCheckout when Timi hands off a ready buyer, and Purchase when they pay or you mark the sale. Organic WhatsApp DMs are not sent as ad conversions.

Purchase fires when a sale is recorded — M-Pesa confirmation or Mark as sold in Feed. Chats alone send QualifiedLead, not Purchase. Mark offline sales so Meta can optimise for revenue.

Yes - connect Meta Ads during onboarding before your trial starts. Timi uses the connection for conversion reporting and your Ads dashboard (ROAS, cost per qualified lead, per-ad quality).

Open Ads in your seller navigation for ROAS, cost per chat, qualified rate, trends, and per-ad tables. Settings → Ad conversion tracking has the event log and signal health.

Timi hashes buyer phone numbers and keeps five Meta customer-list audiences synced automatically: Customers, Qualified WhatsApp leads, Ad chats no sale, Disqualified leads, and Re-engage.

Yes. It is included in Starter, Growth, and Pro. Connect Meta Ads in Settings → Ad conversion tracking, then turn on Audience Autopilot.

No. Timi creates and updates the five customer-list audiences only. You or your media buyer still creates campaigns, chooses targeting, sets budgets, edits creatives, and publishes ads in Meta Ads Manager.

Timi normalizes and cryptographically hashes phone numbers before sending audience membership to Meta. Hashing reduces exposure in transit, but it is still processing personal data because Meta can match the hashes to its users.

Your business is the controller for its customer data and must have a lawful basis, provide any required notices, respect objections or opt-outs, and use audiences only for permitted purposes. Timi processes the sync on your instructions. Your use must also comply with Meta's Custom Audience Terms, Business Tools Terms, advertising policies, and applicable Kenyan data-protection law.

Yes. Manual CSV upload remains available in Ads Manager. Audience Autopilot replaces repeated exports and uploads by keeping audience membership current as WhatsApp conversations change.

Timi sends contact lists to Meta automatically when your leads change and once every night. Use Update in Meta now in Settings if you want an immediate refresh. Sending to Meta… means Timi is uploading now. Too small for ads means contacts were sent but Meta usually needs about 100 people before you can target that audience. Ready for ads means the list has enough contacts for campaign targeting.

The CRM is your customer base in one place. Every person who messages your shop becomes a contact, and you can also import contacts by CSV. Tag them, add notes, group them into segments, and open any chat to follow up one-to-one.

Timi keeps live groups that update themselves as contacts change - Ready for you, Timi is working, Skip, New contacts, Imported contacts, Active chats, Waiting to pay, Waiting for stock, Paid customers, Repeat buyers, Cold / inactive, Handed to you, From ads, and From shop link. Ready / Nurture / Skip is the simple heat view (close them, let Timi keep chatting, or do not chase). You can also save and edit your own smart segment from a set of rules.

Yes. Open Settings → Team and invite people by email. Each person gets their own login. Owners have full access including billing. Admins can run the shop and campaigns but cannot change billing. Agents can use Feed and CRM only. Team invites are free on all plans.

Yes - in CRM → Import, upload a CSV with a phone column (name and notes optional). Timi adds or updates contacts by phone number. Imported contacts are marked Imported (not Active chats) until they message you. Import is for your records only: because of WhatsApp rules, Timi can only reply after a contact messages you first, so importing never sends any messages.

Yes - Bulk messaging sends an approved WhatsApp template to a CRM segment (up to 200 eligible customers per run, paced one at a time). Only customers who have already messaged your business are included; imported-only and opted-out contacts are skipped. You need a Meta payment method on your WhatsApp Business account and an approved template first.

Create a template in Bulk messaging, submit it to Meta, and wait for approval (usually within 24 hours). Only approved templates can be sent. Meta bills template fees separately - add a payment method in WhatsApp Manager.

Customers can reply STOP to opt out of promotional bulk messages. Timi confirms and skips them on future bulk sends. If they message you again on WhatsApp, they are eligible for promos again.