AlphaMerge//Case study 04 — DutyDeskLive · our own product|
Case study 04 · Our own product
DutyDesk — automate the inbox without handing it over.
A desktop application that joins WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger and Instagram to a single rules system. It runs on the operator's own machine, and the conversations stay there — nothing is relayed through us.
4
Channels, one rule set
0
Messages on our servers
5
Languages, he-first RTL
1
Install, no infrastructure
2
The problem
A large share of small businesses here sell entirely in chat. They answer the same twenty questions all day — opening hours, price, is it in stock, can you deliver — and the only automation on offer is a cloud inbox that wants their whole customer history uploaded to somebody else's server first. For a shop that is both a privacy problem and a monthly bill.
01The conversations must not leave the operator's machine
02Every channel, one place to write the rules
03A shop owner has to be able to set it up without a developer
04Automation must hand back to a human cleanly, mid-thread
05Hebrew, and therefore RTL, in every surface including the rules
3
Architecture
Shipping it as a desktop application is the architectural decision the rest follows from. The app holds the channel sessions, the message store and the rules engine locally. There is no tenant to provision, no inbox to host, and no queue between a customer's message and the reply.
That also means the product's cost does not scale with message volume, which is why it is one flat yearly licence — ₪3,000 plus VAT, two computers — rather than a per-seat contract, sold direct rather than by card. The trade is honest and worth stating: close the laptop and the replies stop — only posts already scheduled to a Facebook Page go out without you.
A rules engine is easy to build and hard to make usable. Too simple and it only matches exact keywords; too general and it becomes a programming language the customer will never learn. The shape that worked is a flat list of when → if → then rules, evaluated in order, where the first match wins and every rule can hand the thread to a human instead of answering.
DutyDesk/rulesfirst match wins · 6 active
Rule list
1Opening hours
2Price list
3In stock?
4Delivery areas
5Complaint → human
6Fallback greeting
Drag to reorder. Order is the whole priority model — there is nothing else to learn.
Rule 1 — opening hours
When
מתי אתם פתוחיםשעות פעילותopening hours+ add
↓
If
any channelfirst message only
↓
Then
אנחנו פתוחים א׳–ה׳ 09:00–18:00, ו׳ עד 13:00. אפשר להזמין גם דרך האתר.
then hand to human
Rule 5 answers nothing — it only escalates. Knowing when to stop talking is a feature.
5
One inbox, every channel
DutyDesk/inboxauto-handled 41needs you 3
AllWhatsAppTelegram
WAדנה כהן
ההזמנה הגיעה שבורה
escalated · rule 5
TG@yossi_5x
delivery to Haifa?
answered · rule 4
WA+972 5x-xxx
שעות פעילות?
answered · rule 1
Every thread says which rule spoke, and what it said.
WAדנה כהןBot paused
היי, ההזמנה הגיעה שבורה
מצטערים לשמוע. מעבירה אותך לנציג.
↳ rule 5 · handed to human 09:41
כתוב תשובה…Resume bot
The desktop product page, Hebrew and right to left: one licence, two computers, renewed once a year.
6
What shipped
Channels
WhatsApp · TelegramMessenger · InstagramOne unified inboxPer-channel conditionsScheduled posts, comments answeredPromotion campaigns from a spreadsheet
Automation
Ordered rule listKeyword and regex triggers, any languageBusiness hours, cooldowns, menu flowsAI replies, your key, off by defaultVoice-note transcriptionContacts, with tags and stagesBooking calendar, Google Calendar awareAnalytics, exportableHand-off to humanPause and resume per thread
Local-first
Desktop installMessages stay on the machineNo relay, no vendor inboxNo per-message billing5 interface languages, he and ar RTL
The honest trade
Close the machine, replies stopOne licence: 2 computers, renewed yearlyNo cloud analyticsAI replies, if on, call your provider
Chat automation that stays yours.
Try DutyDesk, or talk to us about a local-first product of your own.
