WhatsApp Flow

12 min

we recognize that entering information via whatsapp chats may be challenging and time consuming for users, potentially leading to a drop in engagement to make things smoother, you can use whatsapp flows to schedule appointments, and reservations, book a service, or schedule a consultation within whatsapp or any other form based use case where structured interactions are more relevant for your business \availability\ ensure that your bot is deployed on whatsapp using 360dialog as the provider by following these steps navigate to configure > deployment > whatsapp > provider, and select 360dialog to locate the node, go to bot builder > add node > data input nodes > whatsapp flows \setup\ to display your flows on the 'whatsapp flows' node, it is essential to initially create these flows on facebook business manager (fbm) https //business facebook com/wa/manage/ \how do you create flows on fbm?\ select whatsapp manager from fbm & select the business account that we need to manage & select the flows option 2\ select the flows option & this will display a list of the flows 3\ click on create new flow fill in the flow name & categories for which flow is being used 4\ once the new flow is created, it is created with the default script we can update the script accordingly to create different flows with multiple screens 5\ once the flow is created, publish the flow 6\ you can also refer to the meta’s official documentation on whatsapp flows https //developers facebook com/docs/whatsapp/flows/gettingstarted/creatingaflow https //developers facebook com/docs/whatsapp/flows/gettingstarted/creatingaflow \whatsapp flows \ once the flow is created in fbm, you can configure it in engati via the whatsapp flows node \s\ \tatic whatsapp flow\ select an existing flow choose the appropriate flow from the dropdown menu set up in your facebook business manager (fbm) message compose an initial message that introduces and outlines the purpose of your flow button label specify a name for your action button that will activate your flow choose the path choose the appropriate path from your current bot using the dropdown menu this path will be activated after interacting with the mentioned button attribute values for dynamic fields specify attributes for this field to retrieve a dynamic value according to your specific use case \dynamic whatsapp flows\ to allow flexible and personalized automation in conversations, engati supports dynamic whatsapp flows using two methods 1\ attribute based dynamic flows with this method, you can pass dynamic attribute values into your flow fields these values are retrieved from user attributes already captured in the conversation supported attribute types string (default) number boolean array object benefits pre fill form fields using known data like user name, phone number, selected product, etc reduce typing effort and errors build personalized experiences for each user how to configure navigate to bot builder > add node > whatsapp flows select your flow created in fbm in attribute values for dynamic fields , add attribute references like {{user name}}, {{user email}}, {{selected product}}, etc save and connect this node to your bot path example a previously saved {{appointment time}} can be auto filled in the whatsapp flow form 2\ endpoint based dynamic flows this method enables you to fetch live data from a backend api and inject it into your whatsapp flow in real time when to use flow input fields depend on real time data (e g , available slots, stock info, pricing) you need to render different options based on user segments or preferences how to configure create the flow in fbm add or open the whatsapp flows node under type of input, select flow selection choose the required flow from select an existing flow expand flow configuration click setup dynamic flow inside the setup screen copy the generated endpoint uri if it is required while configuring the flow in meta click browse upload the custom python script file click save return to the node configuration screen enter the message shown before the flow opens enter the button label choose the path to continue after submission save the node 3\ bsp compatibility dynamic whatsapp flows are now supported across all major bsps bsp dynamic flow support api key setup during whatsapp deployment 360dialog supported automated whatsapp cloud supported automated karix supported manual sinch supported manual notes for 360dialog and whatsapp cloud , api key setup is handled automatically during whatsapp channel deployment for karix and sinch , api key setup must still be completed manually the in node script upload flow is the latest setup experience for endpoint based dynamic flows \\ 1 multiple screens (login) { "version" "3 0", "screens" \[ { "id" "login", "layout" { "type" "singlecolumnlayout", "children" \[ { "type" "form", "name" "flow path", "init values" { "path" "happy find ap" }, "children" \[ { "type" "textinput", "name" "name", "required" true, "input type" "text", "label" "name" }, { "type" "textinput", "name" "email", "required" true, "input type" "text", "label" "email" }, { "type" "footer", "label" "continue", "on click action" { "name" "navigate", "next" { "type" "screen", "name" "confirmation" }, "payload" { "name" "${form name}", "email" "${form email}" } } } ] } ] }, "title" "login", "data" {} }, { "terminal" true, "data" { "name" { "type" "string", " example " "john" }, "second name" { "type" "string", " example " "kane" } }, "id" "confirmation", "title" "confirmation", "layout" { "type" "singlecolumnlayout", "children" \[ { "type" "textheading", "text" "confirm details" }, { "type" "textsubheading", "text" "name" }, { "type" "textbody", "text" "${data name}" }, { "type" "textsubheading", "text" "email" }, { "type" "textsubheading", "text" "${data email}" }, { "type" "footer", "label" "continue", "on click action" { "name" "complete", "payload" { "name" "${data name}", "second name" "${data email}" } } } ] } } ] } 2\ ticket booking { "version" "3 1", "screens" \[ { "id" "sign up", "title" "finish sign up", "data" {}, "terminal" true, "success" true, "layout" { "type" "singlecolumnlayout", "children" \[ { "type" "form", "name" "form", "children" \[ { "type" "textinput", "name" "firstname", "label" "first name", "input type" "text", "required" true }, { "type" "textinput", "label" "last name", "name" "lastname", "input type" "text", "required" true }, { "type" "textinput", "label" "email address", "name" "email", "input type" "email", "required" true }, { "type" "footer", "label" "done", "on click action" { "name" "complete", "payload" { "firstname" "${form firstname}", "lastname" "${form lastname}", "email" "${form email}" } } } ] } ] } } ] } best practices keep the opening message clear and contextual use concise button labels with a clear action prefer attribute based dynamic flows when data already exists on the bot use endpoint based flows only when live backend data is required test the complete user journey in whatsapp after saving the node validate backend responses before rendering dynamic values in the flow