South African company chatbots: official WhatsApp numbers

South African company chatbots have quietly become the fastest way to get simple things done: buying data, checking a balance, logging a power fault or finding your tax number. Most run on WhatsApp, some live inside banking apps, and a few are real AI assistants rather than menus. The problem is that scammers copy them, so this directory lists only numbers and chat locations that we found on each organisation’s own website, as at 28 September 2026.

South African company chatbots at a glance

Telecoms and TV

Vodacom chatbot: TOBi. Vodacom describes TOBi as a digital assistant built with AI and available 24/7 to prepaid, top-up and contract customers. It is on WhatsApp on 082 009 8624, on SMS at 082 009 4975 and on Vodacom’s help website. Vodacom lists balance checks, airtime advance, bundle purchases, PUK numbers, SIM swaps and invoices among the things TOBi handles.

MTN Chat. Save 083 123 0011 as MTN Chat, say Hi on WhatsApp, and tap Main menu. MTN says anyone can use it, with options tailored to prepaid, personal contract and business contract customers, and people on other networks can use it to recharge MTN numbers. It uses only text, so data use is minimal, according to MTN.

Telkom. Telkom’s self-service page says you can WhatsApp Telkom on 081 160 1700 to load airtime and data, check balances and send queries, even from a non-Telkom SIM.

Cell C. Cell C’s website links to its WhatsApp line on 084 444 0040, including from its page on switching to Cell C and keeping your number. Cell C’s own help line is 084 135.

DStv chat bot. DStv Self Service is on WhatsApp on 060 060 3788: save the number and type Hello. DStv also runs live chat on its website from 07:00 to 23:00 and a USSD menu on *120*68584#.

Banks

Standard Bank says it runs a verified chatbot assistant on WhatsApp on 064 570 0291. Its page lists features such as digital banking status, loan tools and calculators, financial education videos and funeral claims, and it spells out how to recognise the real account: a verification tick, the official logo and a business profile with the bank’s website, email and street address.

Capitec answers on WhatsApp on 067 418 9565, 24 hours a day. Capitec says you chat to its agents, and lists switching your salary and debit orders, stopping a lost or stolen card, viewing your balance and tracking queries.

Nedbank’s Enbi is described by Nedbank as an AI-trained, 24/7 digital banking assistant. You find it behind the chat icon on Nedbank’s website, in the Money app and on Online Banking. Nedbank says Enbi can help reverse a debit order, download proof of payment and change card limits, and that typing Chat to an agent connects you to a person.

Absa’s Abby lives in the Absa Banking App: tap the Abby icon at the top of the home screen. Absa says Abby is powered by AI, available 24/7 to Absa customers using the app, and that it only speaks English.

FNB offers Secure Chat inside the FNB App, which FNB describes as a way to message a team of bankers at any time.

Government, utilities and medical aid

SARS is on WhatsApp on 0800 11 7277. Its menu covers your tax reference number, statement of account, refund and audit status, notice of assessment, auto-assessment status and two-pot applications. SARS says tax services need you to be registered and to message from the number SARS has on record. Its Contact us page also offers an AI Assistant, a USSD menu on *134*7277# and a free SMS service on 47277.

Eskom’s Alfred handles power faults on WhatsApp on 08600 37566. Our guide to the Eskom chatbot covers how it works and what to do when it will not recognise you.

City of Cape Town takes water and electricity fault reports and service requests on WhatsApp on 060 018 1505, which it restored in September 2025.

Discovery says clients can get help through Discovery AI and WhatsApp support. Its WhatsApp service, Ask Discovery, answers product and benefit questions after you register through Discovery’s website, and Discovery says it will not send marketing messages there.

Not listed, and why. We found no WhatsApp chatbot on the websites of SASSA, Home Affairs, the City of Johannesburg or City Power as at September 2026. SASSA’s toll-free line is 0800 60 10 11 and the Home Affairs call centre is 0800 60 11 90. Joburg Water’s website links to a WhatsApp channel for updates, which is a broadcast feed rather than a chatbot.

How to spot a fake company WhatsApp number

• Get the number from the source. Type the company’s web address yourself and copy the number from there, not from a forwarded message, a Facebook post or a search advert.
• Check the verification tick. Large organisations such as Standard Bank use WhatsApp’s business verification tick next to their name, with a profile that lists the real website and address.
• Be suspicious of urgency and prizes. Scammers push you to act now, promise rewards and send links to unfamiliar websites.
• Never share a PIN or one-time PIN. No chatbot needs them to answer a question.

Chatbot, agent or both?

Not every WhatsApp number is AI. Vodacom, Nedbank, Absa and Eskom describe their assistants as AI. Standard Bank calls its service a chatbot assistant, and SARS offers both a WhatsApp menu and an AI assistant on its website. MTN, Telkom and DStv describe theirs as self-service, while Capitec and FNB route you to people. Some, such as Nedbank’s Enbi, can hand you to a person, so if you are going in circles, ask for an agent or use the phone line.

For businesses, the lesson from this list is that customers now expect answers on WhatsApp. If you are weighing up your own, Zaiq’s guide to choosing a WhatsApp chatbot in South Africa compares the options, and our guide to Meta AI on WhatsApp explains how a company bot differs from Meta’s own assistant.