// whatsapp × claude · the setup

Give Claude your WhatsApp.

An AI assistant in your own WhatsApp that reads your chats, tells you what's open, drafts your replies and waits for your approval. Here is exactly how I set mine up, with my real screens.

  • Linked to my WhatsApp in about three minutes
  • Used every day since 8 September 2026
  • Nothing goes out without my thumbs-up
Start the setup → Try it free for a week

The tool is Perisclaw. That button is an affiliate link: if you sign up through it, I may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

// example chat · names made up
// what it does for me

One chat runs my diary, my follow-ups and my pipeline.

You already open WhatsApp more than any other app. Your clients are there, your team is there, your family is there. So the assistant sits there too, and you message it the way you'd message an executive assistant, by typing or by voice note.

Tracks every open loop

Asks, promises and replies I'm waiting on, across every chat and group.

Drafts, then waits

It writes the message, shows me, and sends only when I approve.

Briefs me twice a day

8 AM: what's on my plate. 8 PM: what got done and what's still open.

Runs my calendar from chat

"Book a Zoom on Tuesday at 4pm in my Outlook", and it's in.

Logs leads to Notion

"Log this person as a sales lead", straight into my pipeline.

Remembers

Who my clients are, which groups matter, whose messages always come first.

// proof: my book launch

300+ personal invites. I approved every batch.

300+personal invitations with the launch flyer, each with the person's first name
157sent in one run, in 39 small batches, five minutes apart
0failed deliveries in that run of 157
What's on your plate: items that need Neeraj, items waiting on others and items done, with a reply already drafted. Names and numbers blurred
// what i open every morning. names blurred
Automations page: the book launch RSVP tracker, the morning digest at 8 AM and the Sunday week in review. A private group is blurred
// it tracked the rsvps for the launch. private group blurred
// the setup · about 20 minutes

Seven steps. Do the first three now.

You need your phone with WhatsApp, and a laptop if you have one. Steps 1 to 3 take about five minutes, and you'll have your first list of open loops before you've finished your chai.

Step 1 · 3 minutes

Sign up and link your WhatsApp

  1. Open partner.perisclaw.com/neeraj-shah (affiliate link) and choose Continue with Google. Week one is free.
  2. Enter the WhatsApp number you already use, with its country code. No new number, no bot account.
  3. Link it as a device, the same way you'd link WhatsApp Web. On a laptop: in WhatsApp on your phone, open Settings → Linked devices → Link a device and scan the QR code. Only a phone? Tap Get linking code, then in WhatsApp choose Link with phone number and enter the 8-character code.
  4. When the dashboard says You're connected, open WhatsApp, search for your own name, and send hello.

You'll see: it replies and starts a short welcome. This chat with yourself is where it lives. You talk to it here.

Step 2 · 1 minute

Answer its welcome

  1. What should I call you?
  2. Which time zone are you in?
  3. What should I always flag, and what should I ignore?

Answer the third with a voice note. Say what your business is, which groups are clients and which are friends, and what you never want to miss.

Step 3 · 1 minute

Ask your first question

Send: "What needs my attention today?"

You'll see: a list of what's open across your chats. Mine came back with my to-dos and who I was waiting on.

Step 4 · about 10 minutes

Connect your email, calendar and Notion

  1. Go to app.perisclaw.com → Apps, or send it "connect my Notion" for a secure link. Connecting always happens on the dashboard, never in the chat.
  2. On Outlook? Click Microsoft 365 and sign in, not Google. On Gmail? Under Google, choose Connect Gmail; it needs its own permission.
  3. Click Notion → Connect and tick the pages and databases it may use.

Then send it one line: "My main calendar is Outlook" (or Google). It saves you a mix-up later.

The Apps page with Google, Microsoft 365 and Notion connected
// my real setup
Step 5 · optional, worth it

Plug in Claude

  1. In Claude, desktop or web, open Customize → Add custom connector.
  2. Name it Perisclaw WhatsApp and paste https://api.perisclaw.com/mcp. Click Add.
  3. Click Connect, sign in, and choose read and write.
  4. Try it. Ask Claude: "Summarize my unread WhatsApp chats."

Using Claude Code? Run claude mcp add --transport http perisclaw https://api.perisclaw.com/mcp, then /mcp to sign in.

The Claude connector instructions on the MCP Server page
// the connector steps, from the dashboard
The MCP Server page showing Claude connected with read and write access
// my real screen: claude, connected, read and write
Step 6 · the one people skip

Teach it who's who

An assistant that doesn't know your world sends generic updates. Send it plain messages like these, one at a time:

  • "Current clients are: [names]. Remember them."
  • "Group clients are in these cohort groups: [names]."
  • "My accountant is [name]."
  • "For official letters, use my legal name: [name]."

And the one that matters most: "If my son sends any message, always tell me immediately."

Any chat it should stay out of? Mark it off-limits under Permissions in the dashboard and it won't read it at all.

Step 7 · before it sends anything

Know when it asks first

When you ask from your self-chat for something that goes to someone else, it shows you the draft first. That's built in. React 👍 or ✅, or reply send. Drafts wait for up to 24 hours.

A /claw request inside another chat acts there straight away, with no draft. So ask for anything that goes to other people from your self-chat. I learned this in my first week, when it posted my instruction to two groups instead of the message I wanted.

// is it safe

It reads. It only acts when you say so.

Read-only by default

Across your chats it can read, but never sends anything on its own. Mark a chat off-limits and it won't read it at all.

Draft first, by default

Before it messages anyone for you, the draft comes to your self-chat and waits for your OK.

Money stays with you

Payments and binding promises always come back to you for approval, even in autonomous mode.

Your data stays yours

Never used to train AI. Each session runs in its own sealed environment, encrypted with per-user keys.

Certified

GDPR compliant and certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2022.

You set the dial, per chat

BlockedStays out completely.

On requestThe default. Acts only when you /claw it.

AutonomousOnly for chats you hand over.

These are Perisclaw's own commitments, from the Security page on perisclaw.com, October 2026.

// what it costs

Free for a week. Then judge it.

The price

Free for 7 days, no card needed. Then $15 a month at the current alpha price (listed at $20). One plan, everything included.

The fair test

Use it for seven days on one routine, the 8 AM briefing. If by day seven you aren't reading it before your inbox, it isn't for you, and the week cost you nothing.

It's for you if

Your clients, team and family already message you on WhatsApp.

Skip it if

Most of your work happens on email or Slack. You'll get less out of it.

Try it free for a week →

Affiliate link. If you sign up through it, I may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. I recommend it because I use it every day to run my business.

// copy, paste, change the names

The messages I send most.

Use it forSend this in your self-chat
Tomorrow's planWhat meetings do I have tomorrow?
Draft a replyDraft a reply to [name] about [topic]. Show me the draft first.
Follow upDraft a gentle follow-up to [name]. We were meant to speak last week.
Watch for a replyKeep track of what [name] replies and tell me when they confirm.
Book a meetingBook a 45-minute Zoom with [name] on Tuesday at 4pm in my calendar.
Time zonesConvert 10:30am Kenya time into IST.
Log a leadLog [name] as a sales lead in my Notion pipeline. I spoke to her today.
Set a reminderRemind me to call [name] on Monday at 11am.
Check firstCheck the chat with [name] before you tell me this is still open.
Find somethingWhat did [name] say about the invoice last week?
// learn from my first month

Five mistakes I made first.

  1. Asking for outgoing messages from the wrong place. From your self-chat it shows the draft first; /claw in another chat acts straight away.
  2. Skipping who's who. If it doesn't know your clients and family, its updates are generic and you'll stop reading them.
  3. Letting it chase finished tasks. Tell it: "Before any task update, check the chat with that person, my email and Notion. Make that a rule in your memory."
  4. Not naming your calendar. I use Outlook. Until I said so, it kept offering Google.
  5. Sending everything at once. For any bulk send: small batches, spread out. Your WhatsApp number is worth more than one campaign.
// straight answers

Before you start

What does it cost?

Free for 7 days, no card needed. Then $15 a month at the current alpha price (listed at $20), as of October 2026. One plan, everything included.

Does it send messages without asking?

Not from your self-chat. When a request would send to someone else, it shows you the draft first, and you approve with 👍, ✅ or the word send. A /claw request inside another chat acts there straight away.

Can it read all my chats? Is my data safe?

It reads your chats so it knows what's open, but it never sends anything on its own, and you can mark any chat off-limits so it isn't read at all. Perisclaw says your data is never used to train AI, and it is GDPR compliant and certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2022.

Do I need Claude?

No. The assistant works on its own inside WhatsApp. Connecting Claude is optional: it lets you ask Claude about your chats and have it draft replies.

Is this an affiliate link?

Yes. If you sign up through a link on this page, I may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

// when you want more than an assistant

An assistant handles the day-to-day. A system runs the business.

The bigger win is AI that already knows your clients, your offer and your voice. In 30 minutes we'll look at where your week goes, what AI should take off your plate first, and what to build. You'll leave with a clear first step, whether or not we work together.

Book a 30-minute call See Titan AI

Prompts are what you type. An operating system is what you build.