One AI Job for Your SME: What It Costs to Automate the WhatsApp Inbox
Show notes
Today’s AI news looks at the first AI job most small firms in Malaysia should try: answering customer WhatsApps. Aiman starts from the Budget’s RM30 million for SME AI adoption and works out what a WhatsApp AI inbox really costs in ringgit, what breaks, and when it pays for itself.
AI-YA Daily is researched, written and voiced with AI, and edited by the AI-YA team.
Also today: SoftBank, Grab and Petros sign a framework agreement in Kuching to explore an AI platform in Sarawak, with no investment figure yet. Anthropic launches a free scanner that finds security holes in open-source software, and its test results are good but not perfect. Anthropic’s new usage policy also bans sustained cruelty to Claude and spells out its ban on tracking people without consent, which is relevant to Malaysia’s PDPA. The Big Question returns to sovereignty: should Malaysia own the AI infrastructure or fund adoption?
Timestamps 0:04 Cold open 0:25 Meet the hosts 1:19 SoftBank, Grab and Petros explore an AI platform in Sarawak 2:26 Anthropic’s free scanner for open-source security holes 3:44 Anthropic bans cruelty to Claude, and tracking without consent 5:10 A word from Hitower IT 5:57 SME & tools: what it costs to put AI on your WhatsApp inbox 9:48 The Big Question: own the AI infrastructure, or fund adoption? 10:59 The Verdict: respond.io Growth plan 11:37 One thing to do today: count a week of WhatsApp enquiries
Today’s Verdict: respond.io Growth plan (about RM649 a month on annual billing, Meta message fees extra). Aiman: Bayar. Mei Ling: Hype. Raj: Free cukup.
Stories and sources
- Budget 2027: RM30 million for MDEC to help 4,000 MSMEs adopt AI (The Star)
- SMEs must embrace AI to stay competitive, says Sim (The Star)
- respond.io pricing
- respond.io: about the company
- Meta: pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform
- Qiscus: WhatsApp API in Malaysia, providers and pricing
- Whautomate: WhatsApp Business API pricing in Malaysia
- The Edge: AI on WhatsApp for businesses
- BSN: MSME Digital Grant MADANI
- Ringgit opens higher vs US$ (The Star, exchange rate used)
- SoftBank, Grab and PETROS framework agreement (SoftBank press release)
- Grab, SoftBank and Petros explore AI infrastructure in Sarawak (Lowyat)
- Anthropic: opt-in vulnerability-finding service for open source
- Anthropic announces free AI vulnerability scanner (Lowyat)
- CyberDSA 2026 opens with Malaysia’s call for secure AI adoption (AI News)
- Anthropic: 2026 usage policy update
- Venting at Claude is fine, but extreme abuse will be banned (PCWorld)
Standing thread: T1 Sovereignty.
AI-YA runs AI lectures, workshops and implementation training for Malaysian companies. Details at ai-ya.my/podcast.