Rajasthani Samaj of Hong Kong
Samaj Saathi
Building a Conversational WhatsApp Assistant for Member Services
Samaj Saathi gives members a conversational way to access services through WhatsApp while keeping the organisation's existing website as the source of truth for member records, event registrations, invoices and payments.
The assistant handles supported requests through controlled workflows and existing website APIs. Event registrations require explicit confirmation, online payments use the established checkout flow, and conversations can be handed to committee staff when human assistance is needed.
Rajasthani Samaj of Hong Kong already had a PHP website supporting member information, event bookings, invoices, payments and outstanding balances. The challenge was to make those services easier to access through WhatsApp without creating a separate system of records or forcing every request into a rigid menu. Satani Ventures built Samaj Saathi, a conversational WhatsApp assistant integrated with the existing member website. Members can describe what they need in their own words, while the website's APIs and business rules continue to determine which operations are allowed and what information is correct.
- Client
- Rajasthani Samaj of Hong Kong
- Place
- Hong Kong
- Channel
- System of record
- Existing member website APIs
How it works
- A member sends a WhatsApp message; operations traffic flows through the samaj's support inbox into the Samaj Saathi service.
- The sender's number is matched to approved family registration in the samaj database; guests get a limited path without directory or account actions.
- Menu buttons, payment options, and in-progress event registrations follow deterministic handlers — data changes are not left to open-ended model turns alone.
- Open messages are classified into tasks such as event search, balances, invoices, payments, bookings, or handover to committee staff.
- Lookups, bookings, invoices, and payments call the same HTTP APIs as the existing PHP member website.
- Event registration submits only after the member confirms the summary (and chooses an allowed payment option when required).
- Online checkout runs on the website; when payment completes, the member receives a WhatsApp confirmation.
- When a human is needed, the member stays on WhatsApp while staff continue the thread from the support inbox.
Services involved
- Business Automation & Integrations
Connected WhatsApp, the support inbox, the legacy PHP member portal, payment completion callbacks, and member data into one member-facing flow without duplicate ledgers.
- Custom Software Development
Built Samaj Saathi as a dedicated service with routing, booking sessions, guardrails, and automated tests around the samaj's real rules.
- Product Engineering & Modernisation
Extended how members use an existing website — natural-language and conversational booking paths on top of the same APIs and validation the portal already enforced.
- Cloud & Infrastructure
Production deployment with health checks, webhook security, and operational controls for an always-on WhatsApp channel.
What was actually wrong
Rajasthani Samaj of Hong Kong already had a PHP website for discretionary lookups, event bookings, invoices, payments, and dues. Members live in WhatsApp, so the obvious build was a bot with a menu for each of those tasks. That is how most WhatsApp bots work, and it would have failed here. Members do not arrive with a neat request that fits one button. They explain a situation. A fixed workflow cannot follow that, and it does not feel like talking to the person who usually helps them.
A conversation, with guardrails
Samaj Saathi lets the member write as they would to the samaj's office. A language model helps interpret how members phrase their requests. When a request requires access to member data or changes to a booking, the assistant uses defined handlers and the website's APIs rather than relying on the model alone to decide what is true or what action to perform. The aim is the feel of a representative: direct and specific to what was said. It is still software — not presented as a person — and it does not invent an answer when the records or rules do not support one.
Booking did not fit one path
Event booking was the clearest case. Members do not all want the same thing. The people coming, the kind of booking, and the conditions around it vary. A single form would have forced every booking through the same steps. The conversation picks up which situation this member is in, collects what that situation still needs, and only then completes the booking against the samaj's rules — with an explicit confirm step before anything is submitted.
What the conversation can finish
Once the request is clear, Samaj Saathi carries it through on the samaj's records. A member can:
- Look up their own discretionary details.
- Book an event, including cases that do not share one set of steps.
- See payment invoices.
- Pay online through the same checkout flow as the website.
- Check what is due.
The same records as the website
The assistant is integrated with the PHP site members were already using. A lookup, booking, invoice, payment, or balance in WhatsApp is the same operation the website performs. The conversation layer decides what the member is asking; the website's validation decides what is true and what is allowed. Staff do not keep a second set of books for WhatsApp.
Built around existing business rules
The project extended the member website rather than replacing it. This meant the WhatsApp experience could support more natural conversations without creating a separate system for member records or payment status. The integration also kept important actions controlled: the assistant can interpret a request, but the existing application and its validation rules determine which operations are permitted.
A person, when the assistant should stop
Some messages are not a lookup or a booking the software should finish — membership questions from guests, or a member asking to speak with someone. Samaj Saathi sends a short handover message, documents context for staff, and opens the conversation in the support inbox so the committee can continue in the same WhatsApp thread.
Planning through production
Satani Ventures delivered specification, build, integration with the existing site, and production deployment. Samaj Saathi is designed for English, Hindi, and Hinglish as members actually write.