— WhatsApp event assistant
Backchannel gives your conference a WhatsApp number that answers attendee questions using the agenda, speakers, sponsors, venue details and FAQs you manage in the Backchannel dashboard.
Attendees start the conversation themselves, by scanning a QR code or tapping a link. No app to download, no account to create.
— Who it's for
It suits conferences, tech weeks, summits and corporate events where attendees ask the same practical questions all day: when a session starts, which room it's in, who is speaking, where lunch is, how to get onto the wifi.
Instead of sending people to a PDF, a web page or a dedicated event app, you give them one WhatsApp number. The assistant replies in the same chat they use for everything else.
— How a conversation works
"What's on in the main hall after lunch?" The assistant answers from your live agenda, so a change you make in the dashboard shows up in its answers.
Attendees can ask who is speaking about a topic. Sessions are tagged by topic, so the assistant can suggest relevant talks.
Attendees add sessions to their own agenda in the chat, ask "what's my agenda?" and get a WhatsApp reminder before each session they chose.
Venue, travel, accessibility, food and anything else you add to your FAQs and event info.
— Being honest about WhatsApp
Attendees message first. The assistant replies to people who contact your event number. It isn't a tool for sending bulk WhatsApp messages to attendee lists, and it doesn't message anyone who hasn't started a conversation.
Your number and brand depend on your plan. Depending on the plan, attendees message a shared Backchannel number, a dedicated number for your event, or your own WhatsApp Business account with your brand name on every message. See the plan comparison on the homepage.
When it doesn't know, it says so. Questions the assistant can't answer go to your unanswered-question inbox. On plans with the live on-call team, the question is sent by WhatsApp to the team member on call, and their reply goes back to the attendee.
— Getting set up
Most of the work is content you already have. Import your agenda from a spreadsheet, invite speakers to add their own bios, add FAQs and venue details, then test the assistant in the built-in WhatsApp simulator before you share the number.
During beta we help each organiser set up their first event. To see the rest of the platform, read about agenda and speaker management.
— FAQ
Backchannel is the one your attendees actually open — and the last one your team will ever need to set up.
We are taking on a limited number of beta customers.