What’s new (and why it matters)

• WhatsApp policy countdown (Jan 15, 2026): WhatsApp’s rule change curbing distribution of general‑purpose AI chatbots is still on the calendar, even as Italy’s AGCM ordered Meta to suspend the ban pending investigation and the EU opened a probe. Treat WhatsApp as support‑first and stay strictly compliant. Sources: TechCrunch, TechCrunch.
• Alexa+ becomes a booking engine: Amazon announced integrations with Expedia, Yelp, Angi, and Square, turning Alexa+ into a practical path for voice‑native discovery and bookings across travel, local services, and salons. Source: Amazon.
• Gemini spreads to the car and dashboard: Google is rolling Gemini deeper into Android Auto and Waymo is testing an in‑car Ride Assistant. Think: hands‑free sales moments and concierge‑style support while in motion. Sources: WIRED, TechCrunch.
• Signal from the field: December’s San Francisco outage showed robotaxi systems can stumble in emergencies. Design your in‑car flows to be assistive but non‑driving‑critical and resilient to connectivity drops. Source: Reuters.

Who this playbook is for

Startup founders, e‑commerce operators, and product/growth leads who want immediate, measurable wins from assistant channels in Q1. If you own revenue, support, or retention, this 7‑day plan is for you.

Your 7‑day ship plan

1. Day 1 — Define the high‑intent moments

   List the top 10 intents that drive dollars or save dollars. Examples:

   • Bookings: “Book a haircut Friday 4pm,” “Find pet‑friendly hotel under $200.”
   • Support: “Where’s my order?,” “Start a return,” “Warranty claim.”
   • In‑car: “Reschedule pickup to 7:15,” “Text store that I’m 10 minutes out.”

2. Day 2 — Lock WhatsApp into support‑first

   Given the Jan 15 policy, re‑scope WhatsApp to customer service and post‑purchase care only. Ship flows that are clearly transactional/service:

   • Order status, delivery windows, returns/exchanges
   • Warranty registration and claim triage
   • Appointment reminders/rescheduling (if you’re services)

   Use intent guardrails, clear hand‑offs to human agents, and explicit disclosures. If you need a blueprint, see our guide: Build a compliant WhatsApp support bot.

3. Day 3 — Become voice‑bookable on Alexa+

   Map your top two revenue intents to Alexa+ integrations announced for 2026:

   • Square: Pull availability and create, modify, or cancel salon/spa/grooming appointments.
   • Yelp: Improve local discovery for your service area and category.
   • Expedia: Hospitality brands: publish inventory/amenities and test voice‑first offers.
   • Angi: Home services: quotes and scheduling for standard jobs.

   Follow the 72‑hour checklist here: Become voice‑bookable in 72 hours.

4. Day 4 — Prep for Android Auto and the in‑car moment

   Design 3–5 hands‑free tasks that are safe, short, and valuable:

   • Status: “What’s my order ETA?” → speakable summary + link SMS’ed for later.
   • Rescheduling: “Move my 4pm appointment to tomorrow morning.”
   • Store ops: “Tell the curbside team I’m at Bay 3.”

   Keep responses under 12 seconds, avoid real‑time driving commentary, and cache answers for poor connectivity. Deep dive: In‑car AI assistants: your 10‑day plan.

5. Day 5 — Ship Assistant SEO (A‑SEO) pages

   Assistants need structured, action‑ready content. Publish pages that answer and transact in one place:

   • “Reschedule my [service]” pages with intent schemas, hours, cancellation rules, and links.
   • “Track my order” pages with authentication hand‑off and speakable FAQs.
   • “Book [service] near me” with inventory, price ranges, and modifiers.

   Use our playbook: Assistant SEO (A‑SEO) for 2026.

6. Day 6 — Instrument KPIs and guardrails

   Track channel‑specific metrics so you know what to scale:

   • WhatsApp: deflected tickets, CSAT/NPS uplift vs. email, hand‑off rate to human.
   • Alexa+: discovery → selection → booking funnel, no‑show rate, repeat bookings.
   • In‑car/Android Auto: task completion time, abandonment under 12s, SMS follow‑through.

   Add safety rails: intent whitelists, profanity/harassment filters, privacy warnings for PII, and emergency fail‑safes (never give driving advice).

7. Day 7 — Compliance check (15‑minute sweep)

   Do a fast pass against current rules and timelines:

   • WhatsApp: confirm your bot is support‑only and clearly disclosed; remove general‑purpose chat modes.
   • EU AI Act 2026 milestones: transparency and high‑risk obligations begin ramping by August 2, 2026; ensure your docs, logging, and human‑oversight plans exist for higher‑risk use cases. Start here: EU AI Act overview.

Fast examples by vertical

• Salon/Wellness: Publish an Alexa+ path using Square for “new booking,” “reschedule,” and “cancel.” Add a WhatsApp flow for post‑visit care and upsell to memberships. Instrument no‑shows and rebooking rate.
• DTC e‑commerce: Make WhatsApp your post‑purchase hub (order status, exchanges, warranty). Build an A‑SEO “Track my order” page and a “Find store pickup” in‑car flow.
• Home services: Use Alexa+ with Yelp/Angi for quotes and scheduling; WhatsApp for job updates and technician ETA; in‑car for customer arrival messages and payment links.

Avoid these common pitfalls

• Unscoped bots on WhatsApp: If your assistant acts like a general‑purpose chatbot, you risk shutdown. Keep it clearly service‑oriented.
• Overlong voice responses: Anything past ~12 seconds leads to drop‑offs. Summarize and send a follow‑up link/SMS.
• Data‑blind bookings: Without availability and policy data wired in, Alexa+ flows will fail. Connect inventory, calendars, and rules before launch.
• No audit trail: Add logging from day one (prompts, actions, outcomes) to prepare for EU AI Act reviews and internal QA.

Resources to move faster

• Weekly signal check: This Week in AI Assistants (Jan 1, 2026)
• Alexa+ sprint: 7‑day founder sprint and 72‑hour booking checklist
• In‑car execution: 10‑day in‑car plan
• Assistant SEO: A‑SEO playbook

Build it fast with HireNinja

If you want a turnkey way to ship compliant, multi‑channel assistants, our team can help. We’ll wire your WhatsApp support flows, publish Alexa+ intents to Square/Yelp/Expedia, and add in‑car moments that convert — with analytics and guardrails built‑in.

• Try HireNinja
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Call to action: Book a 20‑minute working session — we’ll map your top three intents and ship your first production flow this week.