Most Bangladeshi online shops sell in the inbox. A customer asks the price, someone answers, then asks for name, phone, address and area, works out the delivery charge, types the total, and copies it all into a sheet. Every step is a chance for a wrong price, a missing digit in a phone number, or a customer who loses patience and leaves.
AI order taking is a chatbot capability that collects a customer's order inside the chat. SaleMag's version does the repetitive part and hands you a clean cash-on-delivery order.
What does AI order taking do?
SaleMag's AI order taking lets the AI chatbot find products, quote prices, build the cart and collect delivery details, so a chat ends as a numbered COD order. The table shows who does each step of a chat order.
| Step | Who does it |
|---|---|
| Find the product the customer means | AI, searching name, SKU, category and brand |
| Quote price, regular price, stock and options | AI, from your catalog only |
| Send up to three product photos per reply | AI |
| Build the cart with sizes, colours and quantities | AI |
| Collect name, phone, address and delivery area | Customer, on the order form or in chat |
| Add the delivery fee and calculate the total | SaleMag server, from your settings |
| Confirm, pack and ship | Your team |
How does AI order taking avoid wrong prices and stock?
SaleMag's AI order taking uses three safeguards: a catalog lookup before any price, a price guard on every reply, and totals calculated by the server.
- Lookup first. The AI must search your catalog before it states a price, option or stock level. Results include the live price, any compare-at price, per-option prices and low-stock notes such as "only 3 left".
- Price guard. Any money amount in the AI's reply that is not a real price from your catalog is caught; the reply is rewritten once, then replaced with a safe fallback.
- Server totals. The total is always calculated by the server in exact amounts. When the order is placed, every line is re-priced live. If a price changed, the customer gets an updated summary before anything is saved.
Every option (size, colour) must be chosen before checkout, and Shopify variants keep their own price and stock.
How do customers check out in a chat order?
Customers check out in SaleMag on a short order form or directly in the chat; you choose the style.
- Order form (recommended). Once the cart is ready, the customer gets a short form: a native WhatsApp order form, built on WhatsApp Flows, on official WhatsApp numbers, or a secure link on other channels. They pick the delivery area, enter name, phone and address, and tap Place order.
- In chat. The AI asks for the details, then sends an exact summary with the total. The order is placed only after the customer clearly says yes, and only against that exact summary.
Delivery areas are flat fees you set once, for example Inside Dhaka and Outside Dhaka, each with an optional Bangla label. You can add up to 20.
What does my team see when the AI takes an order?
Your team sees each AI order in SaleMag's orders list with a number such as CH-000123, under Ecommerce → Orders with the Chat filter, marked pending. Your team can confirm it, mark it paid, add a tracking number when it ships, complete it or cancel it. For products you added by hand, stock goes down when an order is placed and comes back on cancel.
If team notifications are on, everyone who can view orders gets an in-app and push alert: "New chat order". The order also fires an order placed event, so you can send a confirmation through the automation flow builder.
Can AI order taking work in Bangla and Banglish?
Yes. SaleMag's order summaries, confirmations and order form exist in Bangla and English, picked from the chat language or fixed in settings. The confirmation step understands Banglish ("ji", "thik ache", "order koren") and Bangla digits. Bangladeshi mobile numbers are checked: 11 digits starting with 01, with or without +880.
When does a person take over from the order-taking AI?
SaleMag's order-taking AI makes a human handover to your team for wholesale or bulk orders, custom requests, complaints and changes to an order that is already placed. When someone on your team replies in a chat, the AI stays quiet there for 15 minutes so customers never hear two voices at once. If the same customer repeats an identical order within 30 minutes, the summary warns them first.
Who is AI order taking for?
SaleMag's AI order taking is for Facebook and Instagram shops, WhatsApp sellers and small brands in Bangladesh that take cash-on-delivery orders by chat and want fewer typing mistakes and faster replies. For a step-by-step setup, read how to take COD orders on WhatsApp with AI, or see pricing.
Step by step
- 1
Add your products
Sync your Shopify, WooCommerce or BigCommerce store, or add products by hand with prices, options and stock.
- 2
Set delivery areas
Add each area you ship to, such as Inside Dhaka and Outside Dhaka, with its fee and an optional Bangla label.
- 3
Turn on order taking
Open your AI chatbot, switch on order taking and choose order form or in-chat checkout.
- 4
Test it
Place a test order in the chatbot playground; nothing is saved, so you can try as many times as you like.
Frequently asked questions
Which payment method do AI chat orders use?
Cash on delivery. Orders taken by SaleMag's AI are recorded as COD; there is no online payment step, and bKash, Nagad and card payments are not built in.
Can the AI take orders in Bangla?
Yes. SaleMag's order summaries and order form come in Bangla or English, chosen automatically from the chat or fixed in settings. The confirmation step also understands Banglish replies such as 'thik ache' or 'order koren', and Bangla digits.
Can the AI quote a wrong price?
SaleMag's AI order taking is built to prevent it: the AI must search your catalog before stating a price, and any amount in its reply that is not a known price is rewritten or replaced. At checkout the server re-prices every item, and if a price changed the customer sees a new summary.
What is the difference between AI order taking and taking orders by hand?
With manual chat orders, a person types the price, delivery fee, total and address into a sheet. With SaleMag's AI order taking, the AI reads prices from your catalog, the customer enters their own details and SaleMag's server calculates the total; your team still confirms, packs and ships every order.
Are chat orders sent to my Shopify or WooCommerce store?
No. SaleMag's chat orders live in SaleMag's orders list. Your Shopify or WooCommerce products are used for prices and stock, but the order itself is processed in SaleMag.
Does SaleMag check Bangladeshi phone numbers?
Yes. SaleMag's AI order taking accepts 01XXXXXXXXX numbers with or without +880 and asks the customer to correct anything that is not an 11-digit number starting with 01.
What happens with wholesale or custom requests?
SaleMag's AI hands the chat to your team for bulk or wholesale orders, custom requests, complaints and changes to an order that was already placed.
How much does AI order taking cost to run?
SaleMag's AI order taking runs on your own OpenAI, Anthropic or Gemini key with a model that supports tool calling, so the provider bills you for AI usage; SaleMag shows which models qualify. SaleMag plans are on the pricing page.
About the author
WhatsApp & F-commerce automation, Dhaka
The Dhaka team that builds SaleMag, the AI sales inbox for WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram used by online sellers in Bangladesh.