Identify the channels your customers require
Chatfuel’s official pricing page describes AI chatbot use across WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. If several social channels are essential to your business, include that requirement explicitly in the evaluation. SyncWABA’s customer workspace should be assessed for its WhatsApp workflow, not presented as a verified replacement for every social channel. Ask each vendor to demonstrate the channels and handoff behavior your team needs. Check who operates the business messaging connection and how customer details move to a responsible person when an enquiry becomes actionable.
Test product discovery and sales follow-through
Prepare a buyer enquiry that includes a product preference, location and a request for a demonstration. Ask the assistant to answer from approved knowledge, clarify only what is missing and preserve the useful details. Then test a changing price or an unusual request that needs a person. Review the resulting lead context rather than judging only the tone of the reply. This makes the comparison specific to your sales process and shows which operational steps are included, which need configuration and which require additional development.
Compare the same business scenario in each demo
Use a small set of enquiries your team receives often, along with the approved answers and qualification fields. Include an incomplete message, a policy question and a request for a person. Check what the assistant says, which facts it records and whether a team member can continue without repeating discovery. Include a case where a connected service fails or the knowledge is missing. Ask vendors to distinguish standard features from custom work and record those assumptions in the proposal. A consistent scenario makes the comparison more useful than a long generic feature list.
Plan any transition before changing production
Document the current messaging number, connection ownership, knowledge sources and customer data you need to retain. Ask which export or migration steps are supported and who performs them. Do not assume conversation history, accounts or integrations transfer automatically between providers. Agree a test environment and a path for human coverage while evaluating the new workflow. Compare the complete cost of setup, usage and support using the same volume assumptions. Expand only after the team can review answers, take over a chat and verify that the intended operational steps work.