Quick answers about what Esek is, how it works, what it costs, and how partners work with us. Can't find what you need? Message us on WhatsApp from any page on esek.io, or email info@esek.io.
Guides and resources
Step-by-step setup instructions and explanations, available without signing in.
About Esek
What is Esek?
Esek is the AI secretary and operations stack for businesses that live in WhatsApp. It turns your existing WhatsApp Business number into a full operations stack: phone call answering, lead qualification, booking, payments, and a shared team inbox, all without making customers leave the chat.
Who is Esek for?
Two main groups:
- Service businesses that sell time: event venues, clinics and aesthetics, contractors, real estate, consultants, photographers, studios.
- Independent businesses and retail selling products or services via chat: boutique brands, clinics, studios, and local shops that take orders, answer questions, and manage customer conversations.
If you offer both services and products, one Esek workspace handles calls, bookings, and product orders on the same number.
Do I need a website?
No. Esek replaces the parts of a website most small businesses actually need: catalog, checkout, booking, and customer comms. If you already have a site, Esek can sit alongside it.
What languages does Esek support?
The product UI ships in English, Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish, and Portuguese, with full right-to-left layout for Hebrew and Arabic. Customer-facing messaging is whatever language you write in.
Getting started
How long does setup take?
Most workspaces are live within minutes. Meta verification runs in the background and can take up to two weeks, but it does not hold up your activity: you can answer customers from day one. Onboarding is concierge-style: we handle Meta verification, import your catalog, configure your AI assistant, and walk your team through the inbox.
Do I have to change my WhatsApp number?
No. Esek runs on your existing WhatsApp Business number through the official WhatsApp Business Platform, so there is no porting and no second number for customers to learn.
Can I keep using the WhatsApp Business app?
Yes. Keep your number and keep using the WhatsApp Business app on your phone while Esek answers. You connect by scanning a QR code from the app during setup. Replies you send from the phone show up in your Esek inbox, and the AI holds back briefly, then carries on. It has to be the WhatsApp Business app (version 2.24.17 or later), not personal WhatsApp; switching to WhatsApp Business is free and keeps your chats. Group chats are not synced, and open the app on your phone at least once every two weeks or WhatsApp disconnects it.
What happens to my existing WhatsApp chats?
They come with you. When you connect, Esek imports up to 6 months of your WhatsApp chat history, once you approve sharing it in the WhatsApp Business app.
Is concierge setup included?
Yes, at no extra fee, once you have topped up your balance. We connect your number, submit your message templates and set up your first playbook, with a call if you want one.
Pricing and billing
What does Esek cost?
Esek is free. You pay only for usage, from a prepaid balance: messages and call minutes beyond the weekly free allowance, and the monthly items you switch on, such as the AI phone line. See the prices.
What is the difference between the two products?
- Esek Secretary: answers your calls and WhatsApp, books appointments, takes orders and follows up. It works from day one.
- Esek Sales & Marketing: AI outbound sales calls, WhatsApp campaigns and managed ads. It switches on once your paid top-ups reach ₪100 (or the amount the app shows for your currency), you add your business details and you accept the automated-dialing rules.
What is free every week?
{freeConversations} message conversations and {freeIncomingMinutes} incoming call minutes, for every workspace, with one staff login. No credit card is needed.
What happens when the weekly allowance runs out?
Usage is paid from your balance. Top up in the app; the larger packs add a 10% or 15% bonus. When the allowance and the balance are both used up, new customer messages go to your inbox for you to answer. Allowances reset every Monday in the business timezone, without rollover.
Do prices go down as I use more?
Yes, for call minutes. Each minute is priced by how many minutes you have used this month, so the price drops automatically after 500 minutes and again after 2,000. Messages have one flat price per conversation with one customer per day.
Do I need a credit card?
Not to start. Add a payment method when you top up your balance.
Is anything billed monthly?
Only what you switch on: the AI phone line and extra staff logins. Each is paid from your balance once a month. If the balance cannot cover one, it pauses with a notice and resumes after your next top-up.
How is messaging counted?
Per customer per day, however many messages. All messages with the same customer within 24 hours count once. The weekly free allowance comes first, then a flat price per customer per day from the business balance.
What is business balance?
Business balance pays for usage beyond the weekly free allowance, the monthly items you switch on, WhatsApp template messages, image generation and applicable campaign charges. Advertising spend is separate, and so is Meta's own charge when you use your own Meta account.
What do WhatsApp template messages cost?
A fee per message sent, by type: promotional, service or verification code. On your own Meta account, Meta also bills you its own charge directly. On Esek's Meta account, Meta's charge is included. Fees come from the business balance, and when it runs out, template messages stop until you top up. See the current rates.
How do I cancel?
Esek is free, so there is nothing to cancel. Monthly items can be switched off in the app at any time; each runs to the end of the month already paid.
What's the refund policy?
- 14 days to cancel any top-up: the unused part comes back in full, with no fee.
- Unused paid balance is refunded on request when you stop using Esek. Bonus credit is not paid out.
- Usage already charged, and the current month of a monthly item, are not refunded.
- Top-ups bought in the app: Apple refunds its own purchases; for Google Play we can refund directly.
Full policy: Refund Policy.
WhatsApp, Meta, and compliance
Is this an official WhatsApp product?
Esek is built on the official WhatsApp Business Platform (the Meta API). Your account, conversations, and templates sit inside Meta's infrastructure.
Will I get flagged or banned?
Not if you follow Meta's rules: get proper opt-in, honor opt-outs, don't spam, respect template categories. Esek's AI is built around these rules so the defaults keep you compliant.
Meta is changing its pricing on October 1, 2026. What does that mean for me?
Two things Meta used to give away become billable. Every non-template reply you send inside the 24-hour customer service window (what Meta calls a service message) starts costing money, and so do utility templates sent in response to a customer inside that window. Separately, replies produced by Meta's own Business Agent have been billed per token since August 1, 2026.
We built a free calculator that shows what your bill looks like today and what it looks like on October 2, using Meta's official Israel rate card: the October 1 pricing calculator. No signup.
One deadline worth acting on now: if there is no payment method on file for your WhatsApp Business Account by September 30, 2026, Meta stops delivering your service messages on October 1. That is an outage, not a price rise. You would not be able to reply to your own customers.
Does Esek's AI count as Meta's Business Agent?
No. Meta treats any non-template message not powered by its own Business Agent as an ordinary service message. Esek's AI is a third-party solution, so its replies are billed at Israel's standard service rate rather than Meta's per-token Business Agent rate, which is a global flat rate and works out considerably higher in a low-cost market like Israel. The calculator shows the difference side by side.
Do you store my customers' messages?
We store conversation history so your team and AI can do their jobs (continuity, search, reporting). We don't sell or share customer data. See Privacy and Data Deletion.
Where is data hosted?
On Google Cloud, in the US. Encrypted in transit and at rest.
Features
What can the AI actually do?
- Qualify inbound leads: collect budget, scope, photos, and timing before a human picks up.
- Answer routine questions from your catalog and FAQs.
- Suggest replies the human can edit and send (copilot mode), or run on its own (active mode). You choose per workspace.
- Answer phone calls with the AI secretary when you cannot pick up.
Can I take payments inside WhatsApp?
Yes. Esek supports all major Israeli payment providers, including Cardcom, Grow, Tranzilla, PayMe and others, through direct integrations or existing hosted payment-page links. Send customers links in WhatsApp for booking deposits or order payments. We help you connect the provider you already use. Automatic payment confirmation depends on the connection; existing payment-page links require manual confirmation.
Booking and calendar?
The AI offers slots, takes deposits, and writes the booking into your Esek calendar. Reschedules and cancellations happen in chat.
Phone calls?
Forward unanswered calls from your existing business line to Esek. Your phone rings first, and if you are busy, the AI secretary answers, qualifies the customer, books appointments, and sends you a summary in WhatsApp.
Reviews?
At 48 hours after fulfillment, the AI nudges happy customers to Google, Instagram, Tripadvisor, or your custom form.
Team inbox?
Shared inbox with assignment, internal notes, and read receipts. The AI keeps drafting; humans decide what to send.
Integrations?
Import a catalog from CSV, including Shopify and WooCommerce exports.
Partners
Do you have a partner program?
Yes. We work with agencies, consultants, and integrators who bring WhatsApp-first businesses onto Esek and help them get the most out of it. Reach out at partners@esek.io.
How does it pay?
Recurring revenue share, not a one-time bounty. As long as a merchant you brought in keeps topping up (and you stay an active partner), you earn a share of the top-ups they pay for. Paid monthly, on top-ups that have passed the 14-day cancellation window.
We chose recurring over one-time on purpose: partners do real onboarding work, and we'd rather pay you to keep merchants successful than just to sign them up.
What's expected of a partner?
- Bring in merchants who are a genuine fit (WhatsApp-first service or product businesses).
- Help them through onboarding: Meta verification, AI configuration, first-week wins. We back you up.
- Stay reachable for the merchants you brought in. If you go dormant, rev-share pauses; the merchant stays on Esek.
Who owns the merchant relationship?
The merchant signs Esek's Terms of Service directly and buys its top-ups from Esek (through Paddle on the web, or Apple or Google in the app). Commercially, you're their trusted advisor and first call; operationally, our support team is always available.
Can I rebrand Esek as my own product (white-label)?
Not today. We'd rather get the referral program right first. If you have a specific case, email partners@esek.io and we'll talk.
How is a referral attributed to me?
Through a tracked link or an explicit intro at signup. Attribution holds for a window (typically 30 to 60 days from first contact) to cover the signup cycle. Specifics are in the partner agreement.
What about technical integrations?
Partners building deeper integrations get API access, webhook delivery, and a direct line to our engineering team.
Still have questions?
- General: info@esek.io
- Billing & refunds: legal@esek.io
- Partners: partners@esek.io
- Or message us on WhatsApp from any page on esek.io.