Lebanon
It speaks Lebanese, the way people type it.
Lebanese Arabic, Arabizi, English and French, often in one message. The same assistant runs your app, your WhatsApp number and your calls.
3endkon chips w drinks lal match? We're 6
Read as Arabizi · Searched snacks and drinks
Akid, hayde l combo lal match, bi kafe 6:
Doritos Nacho Cheese 100 g
$2.23
7up Can 330 ml
$0.70
Castania Cashews 75 g
$1.59
In short
Hephon Commerce is an AI shopping assistant for Lebanese Arabic and Arabizi. It reads Lebanese as shoppers type it, in Arabic script or in Latin letters with numbers, mixed with English and French, and answers in the same language and script.
It searches the retailer's live catalog with each branch's prices, fills the basket in the retailer's app, on its WhatsApp Business number and on calls, where a Lebanese speech engine hears and speaks the dialect. Nothing is ordered until the shopper confirms.
Updated
A Lebanese chat, in three languages.
Arabizi, French and English in one conversation, the way people in Beirut text a shop.
- Shopper:
Marhaba, 3endkon labneh w zeit zeitoun?
Hi, do you have labneh and olive oil?
- Assistant:
Ahla, eh 3enna, hayde l labneh w zeit l zeitoun yalli bi far3ak:
Hi, yes we do, here is the labneh and olive oil at your branch:
Read as Arabizi, two searches, one row each. Answered in Arabizi.
- Shopper:
Fi labneh light?
Is there a light labneh?
- Assistant:
Eh, hayde l labneh l light:
Yes, here is the light labneh:
Stays in the same category.
- Shopper:
Merci, w bade a3mol tabbouleh la 6
Thanks, and I want to make tabbouleh for 6. (French and Arabizi)
- Assistant:
Akid. Hayde l ghrad lal tabbouleh la 6 ashkhas, kel shi bil 7ajm l mazbout:
Sure. Here is what you need for tabbouleh for 6, each in the right pack size:
Recipe: ingredient lines with amounts, and for each the pack that covers it for the least money.
- Shopper:
Parfait, zidon kellon
Perfect, add them all.
- Assistant:
Tamem, zedton. L basket jehze, bas ekbos confirm.
Done, added. Your basket is ready, just tap confirm.
Nothing is ordered until the shopper confirms.
What is Arabizi?
Arabizi is Arabic written in Latin letters, with numbers for the sounds Latin has no letter for: 3 for ع, 7 for ح, 2 for ء, 5 for خ. In Lebanon it is how many people text: "3endkon" is "do you have", "bade" is "I want", "7aleeb" is milk. The same word is spelled several ways, and no keyboard setting fixes that.
Does it understand Lebanese Arabic as people type it?
Yes. Shoppers write شو في عندكن or "shu fi 3endkon", بدي or "badde", and mean the same thing. Hephon Commerce reads Arabic script and Arabizi as Arabic, and its product search combines keywords and meaning, so "7aleeb" finds milk and a brand typed in Latin letters finds the product spelled in Arabic. It replies in the script the shopper used.
Can shoppers mix French and English?
Yes, and in Lebanon they do: "merci", "parfait" and "please" land in the middle of Lebanese sentences. Each message is weighed as a whole, so a French word in an Arabizi sentence does not switch the reply to French. A shopper who writes fully in French or English gets a reply in French or English.
Does it speak Lebanese on calls?
Yes. On calls and voice notes, Lebanese Arabic is heard and spoken through a Lebanese speech engine, so the assistant sounds like someone from Lebanon, not a Gulf or formal voice. It reads the basket back before anything is ordered, and the caller confirms on the keypad. A caller can always be handed to a person.
How does it keep the tone Lebanese?
Its fixed replies come from a phrasebook of approved Lebanese phrases for each situation, which your team can edit. That keeps "akid", "tamem" and "yalla" in the right places, rather than a translation from formal Arabic.
When Hephon Commerce is not the right fit
- You have no online catalog with prices and stock. The assistant needs them to work.
- You only need answers to support questions. A customer-service tool will cost less.
- You want self-serve signup and a public price. Access is by invitation and each retailer gets a proposal.
Built for how Lebanon shops.
- Arabizi, read properly
- 3 for ع, 7 for ح, 2 for ء: it reads Arabic typed in Latin letters and finds what the shopper meant, so “7aleeb” finds milk.
- Mixed in one message
- Arabizi, English and French in the same sentence are weighed together, and the reply follows the shopper.
- Lebanese by voice
- On calls and voice notes it hears and speaks Lebanese Arabic as people say it.
- Replies your team approved
- A phrasebook of Lebanese replies, written or approved by your team for each situation, keeps the tone local.
Live in three steps.
- 1
Connect your catalog
From Shopify, WooCommerce, a product feed, our REST API or a custom connector, with each branch's prices and stock.
- 2
Set it up and test it
Its name, its Lebanese tone and phrasebook, and handover. Then tests built from your catalog run in Lebanese, Arabizi, English and French.
- 3
Go live channel by channel
In your app, on your WhatsApp number, then calls.
Lebanese, answered.
See it on your own catalog.
We set up a demo with your products, your branches and your shoppers' languages.
