An honest comparison
TecnifAI or Meta's free agent: when each one suits you
Meta launched its free business agent on 3 June 2026 (announced in Meta's official newsroom). It's a good way to start. Here I tell you, plainly, how it differs from what I build and when it's worth making the jump.
If you run a service business and get questions on WhatsApp all day, Meta's free agent can take work off your hands starting today. I'll set it up for you too if you ask. But there comes a point where a generic assistant falls short: when your trade has its own rules, its own prices and things that should never be said to a customer. That's where my way of working comes in.
What Meta's agent does well
It's free, it lives inside WhatsApp and you can have it running in an afternoon. It answers common questions, collects the customer's details and costs you nothing to try. For many businesses just getting going it's enough, and it's the logical place to begin. If it works for you, stay there with no second thoughts.
Zero cost
You don't pay to use it and it's built into the app your customers already use.
Immediate
You set it up yourself in little time, with no one having to come round.
Enough to start
If your questions are simple and similar to any other business, it covers you well.
What you get when the tool belongs to your trade
I don't start from an assistant meant to fit everyone the same way. I sit down with you, understand how you really work and build the tool for your trade. We test it with your customers and, when it works, there's a person behind it keeping it running and improving it with you. The first case was a locksmith: his assistant answers customers while his hands are on the lock, and it never explains how to open one. That trade-specific safety is built in from day one.
Made for your trade
It knows your services, your prices and how your sector talks. No off-the-shelf answers.
Per-trade safety
It knows what it must not say. The locksmith's assistant never explains how to open a lock.
A person who looks after it
When something doesn't fit, you message me and I fix it. You're not left alone with a settings panel.
Your data in Europe
It runs on Google Vertex AI in Europe, without OpenAI, and I don't train on your customers' data. With a signed DPA and GDPR compliance.
How they differ
Both options answer over WhatsApp. The difference is who each one is built for and what happens the day you need something specific to your trade.
| Meta | TecnifAI | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's built for | A generic assistant, the same one for any business. | A tool built for your trade, with your services and your way of talking. |
| How it gets going | You set it up yourself in minutes, at no cost. | I sit down with you, understand your day-to-day and we build it together. |
| Per-sector safety | General rules, the same for everyone. | It knows what it must not say in your trade. The locksmith's assistant never explains how to open a lock. |
| Who maintains it | You do, from the panel. | A person who improves it with you when things change. |
| Where your data lives | Per the platform's terms. | In Europe, on Google Vertex AI, without OpenAI and without training on your customers' data. |
| Cost | Free. | A custom tool with a price; I tell you clearly before we start. |
What's already working
Three real businesses already work with their own tool today. A locksmith, whose assistant answers on WhatsApp while he works. A Spanish real-estate agency, which generates its rental contracts in minutes. And a Swiss real-estate agency, which uses the same locksmith assistant adapted to its needs. Around 200 locksmiths are on a waiting list, almost all of them arriving through word of mouth from other professionals.
«In home services, the phone never stops ringing with questions while we work, and if you don't pick up, you lose the customer.»
Frequently asked
Why pay if Meta's is free?
Because you're paying for something different: a tool made for your trade, with your sector's safety and a person who maintains it with you. If your questions are simple, Meta's free agent may suit you just fine. The jump makes sense when you want something built to your measure.
Can I start with Meta and switch later?
Of course. In fact I think it's sensible. Start with the free agent, see if it fits and, if the day comes when it falls short, we talk and build something made for your trade.
Where do my customers' data end up?
In Europe. The tool runs on Google Vertex AI on European soil, without OpenAI, and I don't train the models on your customers' data. I work with a signed DPA and GDPR compliance. From 2 August 2026, the EU AI Act also requires telling people they're talking to an AI (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, art. 50); my assistants already do.
Start wherever suits you
Meta's free agent is a great start and I encourage you to try it. TecnifAI is for when you want a tool made for your trade, with your sector's safety and your data in Europe. See the locksmith assistant demo at aistant-eight.vercel.app/demo/cerrajero and, if you'd like us to sit down and look at yours, message me on WhatsApp at +34 632 402 668 or at gaspar.garcia@fixender.com.
or by email: gaspar.garcia@fixender.com