Klaviyo AI & WhatsApp: How to strategically use AI in CRM marketing

Insights from a conversation with Luam Mesfun, Partner Manager at Klaviyo

Artificial intelligence is changing how brands communicate with their customers—across channels, based on data, and increasingly in a dialogue-oriented manner. In conversation with Luam Mesfun, Partner Manager at Klaviyo, it becomes clear that AI is no longer an isolated feature, but rather the foundation of modern CRM strategies. The role of WhatsApp as an integrated part of the Klaviyo ecosystem is particularly exciting.

What is Klaviyo (K:AI)?

Klaviyo is a customer relationship management (CRM) platform designed specifically for e-commerce brands. With Klaviyo AI (K:AI), Klaviyo is expanding this platform to include artificial intelligence that is deeply integrated into all core functions—from campaigns and personalization to service and commerce use cases.

AI at Klaviyo: deeply integrated instead of used selectively

“Klaviyo AI is essentially embedded in the entire platform,” explains Luam Mesfun. Instead of individual AI tools, Klaviyo takes a holistic approach.

At the heart of this approach are two agents:

• Marketing Agent: Supports brands in planning, creating, and optimizing campaigns, flows, and content.

• Customer Agent: Automatically responds to customer inquiries, recommends products, and supports service—including directly via WhatsApp.

“The AI is not an external add-on, but uses all the data that is already available in the Klaviyo profile,” says Luam. That is precisely where the strategic advantage lies.

AI-powered campaigns & content creation

The marketing agent takes on a large part of the operational work. After the website has been uploaded, the AI analyzes the content, industry, and brand style and uses this information to create campaigns, emails, flows, and forms.

Luam clearly describes the change in roles: “Marketers will spend less time building things manually and more time controlling and improving the system.”

In the future, the team's responsibility will lie more in strategy, goal definition, tone, and quality assurance, while the AI scales.

Personalization based on real customer data

A key advantage of Klaviyo AI is access to complete customer profiles. These include, among other things:

• Purchase history

• Website behavior

• Interests

• Responses to email, SMS, WhatsApp, or push notifications

“The AI can use all this information to make better decisions—for example, about which content or products are truly relevant,” explains Luam. The choice of the appropriate channel is also supported by data.

Who benefits from K:AI?

AI is a decisive lever, especially for smaller teams. Routine tasks such as text drafts, campaign ideas, product recommendations, or optimizations can be automated.

Luam sums it up this way: “AI takes over routine work so that teams can focus on strategy, creativity, and brand building.”

Brand voice & consistency: Tone of Voice AI

A common concern with AI content is maintaining brand voice. Klaviyo addresses this with Tone of Voice AI.

This analyzes:

• the website

• previous campaigns

• industry standards

• defined brand rules and guardrails

“Brand voice is central – and that's exactly why it's an integral part of our AI,” emphasizes Luam. Multi-level AI checks also ensure quality and consistency.

WhatsApp as an integrated CRM channel

WhatsApp is not just another channel at Klaviyo, but is fully integrated into the CRM.

“Everything that happens on WhatsApp lives in the Klaviyo profile,” explains Luam. Messages, clicks, opt-ins, and responses flow directly into segmentation, personalization, and reporting.

With around 3 billion active users in over 180 countries and extremely high open rates, WhatsApp is becoming a central touchpoint, especially for international e-commerce brands.

Opportunities and challenges in international use

WhatsApp offers enormous growth potential for brands looking to expand internationally, but it requires a particularly sensitive approach. Every message is highly personal and should be tailored precisely to the customer at their respective stage of the customer journey.

Luam explains: “WhatsApp enables brands to reach their customers directly and contextually at every stage of the customer journey.”

Brands must not only adapt content to regional linguistic characteristics, but also take cultural differences into account. For example, expectations regarding customer service, communication style, tone, and even the frequency of messages vary from country to country. A message that is perceived as friendly and helpful in one country may seem intrusive or inappropriate in another.

In addition, international brands should observe local legal regulations on data protection and marketing communication, especially with regard to WhatsApp opt-ins and GDPR compliance in European markets. This means that WhatsApp offers enormous potential as a global channel, but must be carefully planned, tested, and continuously adapted to be effective and brand-compliant.

Performance & attribution of WhatsApp campaigns

WhatsApp campaigns are measured using the same metrics as email or SMS at Klaviyo, including open and click-through rates, revenue, customer lifetime value (CLV), and omnichannel attribution.

Luam explains, “Some brands have seen that they generate twice as much revenue per recipient on WhatsApp as they do via SMS.”

Channel Affinity: the right channel at the right time

With Channel Affinity, K:AI analyzes which channel individual people are most likely to respond to.

“Not every channel is equally useful for every person, and not every channel has the same costs,” explains Luam.

The AI therefore selects the most efficient communication channel for each contact. This is complemented by Smart Send Time, which determines the optimal time to send messages.

WhatsApp as a dialogue channel rather than a newsletter channel

WhatsApp unleashes its full potential when used as an interactive dialogue channel. “WhatsApp should feel like a conversation, not like advertising,” emphasizes Luam.

Particularly successful formats include:

• Product quizzes that actively engage customers

• Decision trees that guide users to suitable products by asking questions

• Consultation chats for individual recommendations

• Rich media such as images, videos, or carousels that present content in a visually appealing way

K:AI Customer Agent – Service and sales combined

The Customer Agent is a 24/7 assistant on WhatsApp. It knows the product catalog, orders, guidelines, and customer data.

The following can be automated, among other things:

• Product and style advice

• “Where is my order?”

• Shipping and returns questions

• Standard FAQs

“The Customer Agent is not just a ticket bot, but also a sales assistant,” says Luam. It can suggest cross-sells and upsells, activate shopping carts, and support purchasing decisions.

Complex cases are handed over to human teams, including context and a summary.

Data protection & data quality as a basis

AI is only as good as the quality of its data. Clean customer profiles, accurate event tracking, and documented opt-ins are essential to ensure personalized and legally compliant communication. Klaviyo supports companies in this with features such as identity resolution, data cleansing, and monitoring. WhatsApp also has a clear double opt-in policy, so that all messages are sent exclusively to contacts with valid consent.

Three recommendations for getting started with WhatsApp & AI

Finally, Luam offers three key tips:

1. Start with a few clear use cases (e.g., welcome flow, shopping cart reminders).

2. Set up data and opt-ins cleanly and bundle all channels in the same customer profile.

3. Think of WhatsApp as a conversation channel, not just another newsletter.

Conclusion

Klaviyo AI shows how CRM marketing is evolving: away from isolated channels and toward intelligent, dialogue-oriented customer relationships.

WhatsApp is combined with AI to become a genuine service and sales channel. This requires a clean database, clear guidelines for AI, and a willingness to rethink marketing.