Build your first chatbot flow

A flow is a menu the customer taps through — a chatbot that answers without an agent. Flows are in Beta.

How flows work

• A flow starts from a message. Someone writes in, or taps a button on something you sent, and the flow takes the conversation from there.
• Buttons carry the routing. Each button has an id, and that id decides the next step. The customer sees the label; the flow follows the id.
• An agent stepping in wins. If a person replies from the inbox while a flow is running, the flow pauses.
• Flows work inside the 24-hour window. A flow sends normal messages, so it can only run while the window is open. Use a template to start the conversation first. See The 24-hour window.

Create a flow

1. Go to Flows and click New flow.
2. Start from a ready flow, or type a name under Or start blank and click Create blank flow:
   – Welcome menu — greets customers who type a keyword and routes them based on whether they’re new or existing.
   – FAQ bot — the customer picks a topic from a list and the bot replies with the answer.
   – Lead capture — asks first-time contacts for name, email and company, then hands off to sales with the answers in a note.

Build on the canvas

1. Click Add node and pick a node type. See Flow node types.
2. Click a node to edit it in the side panel — its text, buttons and the node each option leads to.
3. Drag from a button’s dot to another node to connect them, or choose the next node in the panel.
4. Switch between Canvas and List view at the top. List view is handy on small screens.
5. Click Save.

Set the trigger and activate

1. Open the flow’s trigger settings and choose When…:
   – A message contains a keyword — enter keywords, e.g. hi, menu, help.
   – Customer’s first ever inbound message.
   – Manual only (no auto-trigger).
2. Pick the Entry node — usually Start.
3. Check the validation bar. It must say No issues. Ready to activate. Click an issue to jump to the node.
4. Click Activate.

The flow card now shows Active. Test it by sending the keyword from a personal WhatsApp number — not the business number itself.

Next: Flow node types.