How many sales reps do you need to answer WhatsApp on time?
Enter your volume and the response time you are aiming for: the calculator sizes the team for business hours and 24/7, and tells you below what cost an AI agent pays off.
Preloaded values are editable references. The formula is in plain sight. The result comes from your data, not from promises.
Example scenario: the preloaded values are an editable starting point, not market averages. Replace them with yours.
Your conversations
New conversations that come in through WhatsApp in a month.
A person's working time per conversation: reading, replying, quoting and entering the order.
Average wait until the first reply.
The ones that arrive at night, on weekends or on holidays.
Your team
Business hours per week: 9 hours Monday to Friday is 45.
Hours each person spends handling conversations. To fine-tune it, subtract meetings and time off.
Salary, payroll taxes and tools, in the selected currency.
The AI agent
Conversations the agent passes to a person: negotiation, special cases or closing.
Optional: the monthly subscription in your quote, with the AI credits for your volume. Without a quote, look at the break-even point.
Optional: the one-time implementation payment. It is spread over 12 months.
WhatsApp messages are left out: you pay Meta the same with people or with an agent. Work them out in the WhatsApp API cost calculator.
The agent pays off if it costs less than
$3,000
Per month. It is the cost of a people-only team for business hours minus the team that still handles the handoffs.
People for business hours
6
$9,000 per month, 5 on shift.
People for 24/7
11
$16,500 per month, 4 on shift in business hours and 2 after hours.
Cost per conversation with people
$3.00
With business hours. The agent pays off below $1.00 per conversation.
People for the handoffs
4
$6,000 per month, in business hours.
Team by coverage, load and wait per block, and the assumptions table. The result on screen is free and requires no sign-up.
How do we calculate this?
hoursPerMonth = hours per week x 52 / 12 arrivalsPerHour = conversations / hoursPerMonth of the block load (erlangs) = arrivalsPerHour x minutes per conversation / 60 averageWait = ErlangC(onShift, load) x minutes / (onShift - load) onShift = fewest people with averageWait <= target response time people = round up (onShift x block hours / hours per person) teamCost = people x cost per person business hours = every conversation, handled within business hours 24/7 = in-hours block (minus after-hours ones) + after-hours block handoffs = conversations x % handed off, handled in business hours breakEven = teamCost (chosen coverage) - teamCost for the handoffs agentCost = subscription + implementation / 12 costPerConv = monthly cost / conversations
With your current data
- Conversations per month
- 3,000
- Minutes per conversation
- 12 min
- Target response
- 5 min
- After hours
- 30%
- Business hours per week
- 45 h
- Hours per person
- 40 h
- Cost per person
- $1,500
- Handed off
- 50%
- Coverage
- Business hours
- Agent per month (quote)
- no quote
The result is an estimated potential based on your data, not a promise of results.
Send this link to whoever signs off on the budget.
What the Sales Reps vs AI Agent Calculator works out
How many sales reps it takes to handle WhatsApp has a mathematical answer: it depends on volume, on how long each conversation takes and on how fast you want to reply.
How it sizes the team
The calculator uses Erlang C, the queueing model contact centers use to decide how many people to put on each shift. From your conversations per month, the minutes of work each one takes and the average first response time you are aiming for, it finds the minimum number of people on shift that meets it and turns that into people to hire, based on each person's weekly hours.
It does this for two coverage options: business hours and 24/7. The gap tends to surprise people: a week has 168 hours and, even if few conversations come in at night, with 40-hour weeks keeping a single person on shift around the clock already takes more than four. The formula is in plain sight on this same page.
How to read the break-even point
An AI agent does not replace the whole team: it replies in seconds, qualifies and quotes, and hands the conversations that call for judgment to a person. That is why the main result is not a saving but a threshold: the cost of a people-only team minus the cost of the team that still handles the handoffs. If the agent costs less than that per month, it pays off.
Speed sells too: a lead contacted within the first hour is nearly seven times as likely to qualify as one contacted an hour later, according to Harvard Business Review (2011). If you already have a Sellium quote, enter it and the calculator compares the cost per conversation handled; if not, request a quote. Meta's messages are the same with people or with an agent: the WhatsApp API cost calculator works them out.
Frequently asked questions
How many sales reps do I need to handle WhatsApp?
How many sales reps do I need to handle WhatsApp?
It comes down to three numbers: how many conversations come in per hour, how many minutes of work each one takes and how fast you want to reply. The calculator runs them through Erlang C, the queueing model contact centers use, and gives you the people on shift and the people to hire.
Why does 24/7 coverage with people cost so much more?
Why does 24/7 coverage with people cost so much more?
Because a week has 168 hours and someone has to be on shift even when few conversations come in at night. With 40-hour weeks, keeping a single person on shift around the clock already takes more than four, before adding the ones who handle the daytime volume.
Does an AI agent replace my sales reps?
Does an AI agent replace my sales reps?
No, and the calculator does not assume it does. The agent replies in seconds, qualifies and quotes, and hands the conversations that call for judgment to a person with the full context of the chat. That is why it subtracts the team you still need for those handoffs.
How much does an AI agent like Sellium cost?
How much does an AI agent like Sellium cost?
It depends on your volume and the systems to integrate, which is why the calculator does not assume any price. Sellium is billed as an initial implementation quoted for each company plus a monthly subscription with expandable AI credits, with no lock-in; WhatsApp messages are paid directly to Meta on your own account, with no markup from Vantegrate. With your break-even point at hand, request a quote and enter it to compare.
Does it include the cost of WhatsApp messages?
Does it include the cost of WhatsApp messages?
No, because they are the same with people or with an agent: Meta charges the same per message whoever writes it. To budget them, use the WhatsApp API cost calculator.
What does Vantegrate do with my data?
What does Vantegrate do with my data?
We only use your email to send you the report and to contact you if you ask. You can unsubscribe whenever you want.
Now put the quote next to it
Request a Sellium quote with your volume and your systems, and compare it with your break-even point. No lock-in, and Meta's messages stay in your name.
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