Customer Experience · Conversation Design
A phone rental, from offer to collection, in one WhatsApp chat.
How I designed Funeka, PEP FoneYam's WhatsApp agent, to carry a regulated credit application without feeling like a form.
The process story
I raised this child.
- The brief
Meet customers where they already are.
PEP wanted an AI agent that helps South Africans discover and take up PEP mobile products. Not on an app they have to download. On WhatsApp, the one app they already open every day.
- The job
What it says, when it says it, how it says it.
I was the lead, and only, Customer Experience Specialist on the proof of concept. Funeka's words, timing, tone, personality and the whole experience were mine to design.
Basically, I raised this child.
- The method
Gentle parenting for an AI.
You can't shout an AI into behaving. You use your words. "No, you can't say that." "Say it like this instead." Again and again, until it says the right thing, at the right time, in the right voice.
- The listening
Design for what people actually do.
Real customers don't follow the happy path. They want to look before they hand over an ID number. They ask if they can get a phone for someone else. They want to know what they're signing. Every one of those moments got its own answer.
- 12 October 2026 · 14:30
My baby left the sandbox.
65,000 South Africans received a WhatsApp message from Funeka. Talking to something I designed from the ground up.
- What's next
Four. Million.
FoneYam already has 2.6 million active customers. Once we've confirmed a few assumptions, around 4 million South Africans will talk to Funeka.
Go well, Funeka.
The challenge
A credit agreement that has to feel like a chat.
Renting a smartphone from PEP FoneYam is a credit agreement. Before a customer walks out with a phone, they need an ID check, consent before any credit enquiry, a credit decision and contract terms they understand.
PEP wanted all of that to happen with Funeka on WhatsApp, the channel its customers already use every day. The risk was obvious: put a regulated process into a chat and you get a form with speech bubbles, and customers drop off.
The job was to make a compliant process feel like a helpful conversation, and to send the customer to the store only to collect.
What customers actually do
I designed around real moments, not the happy path.
I just want to look first.
Asked for an ID number, many customers want to browse before they commit. Funeka shows devices with prices and specs instead of insisting, and asks for ID when the customer is ready.
Can I get a phone for someone else?
A common question with a firm policy answer. Funeka explains plainly that every applicant applies in their own name, so the customer knows where they stand.
What am I agreeing to?
End-of-contract options, device locking rules and insurance claims are set out in plain language before the customer accepts, not buried in a link.
The journey I designed
Seven steps, one conversation.
A renewal offer arrives on WhatsApp
Funeka reaches an eligible customer with a personalised device offer and a short intro video.
Customers browse phones in the chat
Devices appear with prices and specs, so looking first is easy.
Clear answers to policy questions
Questions like buying for someone else get a direct, friendly answer.
Verified, with consent at each step
ID check, marketing opt-out respected, and explicit consent before any credit enquiry.
An instant, personalised credit offer
A maximum value with 18-month and 12-month repayment options for the chosen device.
Terms made plain before accepting
The parts of the contract that matter most, explained before the customer taps "I accept".
Collect in store with a barcode
The customer gets a payment reference and a barcode to collect the phone at PEP.
What changed
One conversation. Offer to collection.
Customers can browse, verify, get a credit decision, accept terms and receive a collection barcode without leaving WhatsApp. The store becomes the place you pick up your phone, not the place you fill in forms.
