With over three decades of experience in the communications industry, Kate Lafone brings deep expertise in content strategy, brand positioning, and market messaging.

As Director and Senior Copywriter at YakChat, Kate leads the development of product positioning, campaign messaging, and customer-facing content across digital and print channels. Her work translates complex communications technology into clear, compelling stories that drive engagement, adoption, and growth.

Kate’s background includes senior marketing and communications roles across North America and EMEA, working with global technology brands such as Avaya and Lucent Technologies. Holding a PhD in Forensic Handwriting Analysis, an MPhil, and a BA (Hons) in English from the University of Birmingham, she brings a uniquely analytical, language-led approach to brand storytelling.

THE CONVERSATION HAS MOO'VED

Think about how your customers actually want to talk to you. It’s not through email or phone calls anymore: it’s messaging.

In the UK, that means WhatsApp:

• 100+ billion messages are sent on WhatsApp every day
• 80% of WhatsApp messages are read within 5 minutes
• Up to 3x higher response rate than email

Yet for most organisations, WhatsApp is not used, or conversations are spread across unmanaged mobile phones, creating compliance blind spots, limited visibility and constant app-switching.

YakChat solves this by bringing WhatsApp directly into Microsoft Teams.

Built specifically for the Microsoft ecosystem, YakChat empowers customer service, sales, recruitment and operations teams to engage customers on the channel they use most – without leaving their Microsoft Teams workspace.

No switching applications. No unmanaged devices. No disconnected conversations.

While WhatsApp drives the highest customer engagement, YakChat also supports SMS and RCS, giving organisations the flexibility to reach every customer on the channel that works best for them.

WHY ORGANISATIONS CHOOSE YAKCHAT

• Response Advantage: Get up to 3x the response rate of email by using WhatsApp, helping teams reach customers faster and keep conversations moving.
• Built for Microsoft Teams: Capitalise on the UK’s favourite messaging channel directly from Microsoft Teams with high-impact, interactive conversations and media sharing.
• Centralised & Compliant: Bring WhatsApp under business control. Use personal or shared inboxes, message assignment and broadcasts while maintaining the strict archiving, security and compliance your business requires.
• Connected Ecosystem: Integrate with Microsoft Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, Entra ID contacts, Power Automate and Copilot Agents to connect messaging with your contacts, workflows and AI-driven automation.

Start getting replies faster on the channel customers prefer. By embedding WhatsApp (and other messaging channels) directly into Microsoft Teams, YakChat accelerates response times, eliminates shadow IT and delivers the compliant, frictionless experience your customers expect.