WhatsApp Chatbot Guide: Build Your First Flow in SalesInbox
A hands-on walkthrough of SalesInbox's visual flow builder — build a keyword-triggered welcome bot with branching and human handoff, step by step.
Umair
Founder of SalesInbox
TL;DR: SalesInbox's flow builder is a visual, drag-and-drop canvas for building WhatsApp chatbots — no code required. This guide builds one real flow end to end: a keyword-triggered welcome bot that greets customers, offers a menu, and branches to either a human agent or a tagged, auto-closed conversation depending on what they're asking for.
What You're Building
A flow in SalesInbox is a canvas of connected nodes: a trigger that starts the conversation, message nodes that send things to the customer, condition nodes that branch based on what they said, action nodes that update their contact record, and end nodes that close the conversation or hand it to a person. You build it by dragging nodes onto the canvas and connecting them — nothing here requires writing code.
Step 1 — Set the Trigger
Create a new flow and drag a Keyword Match trigger onto the canvas — this is the only trigger live today (Opt-in, Ad Click, and Webhook triggers are marked "coming soon" in the builder, so every flow you build right now starts from a keyword). Set it to match "hi", "hello", and "start", so the bot fires the moment a customer opens with any of those.
Step 2 — Send a Welcome Message
Connect a Send Text node to the trigger with something like "Hey! 👋 Welcome to [Your Store]. How can we help you today?" This is the plain-text reply the customer sees first — no template approval needed since it's a reply inside the service window the customer just opened.
Step 3 — Give Customers Options
Add a Send Buttons node next — a message plus up to a few quick-reply buttons. Set the text to "What are you looking for?" with buttons for "Get Support", "View Products", and "Talk to Sales". This turns a free-text conversation into a menu the bot can actually branch on, instead of trying to parse open-ended replies.
Step 4 — Branch the Conversation
Connect an If/Else condition node that checks whether the message text contains "support". This is where the flow stops being a straight line and starts actually deciding what happens next based on what the customer picked.
Step 5 — Route to a Human or Close the Loop
On the "support" branch: add an Add Tag node (tag the contact "needs-support"), then a Hand to Human end node routed to your Support department — this is where the bot stops and a real agent picks up the conversation with the tag already visible on the contact. On the other branch: add a different Add Tag ("sales-lead") followed by an End Flow node — the bot closes the conversation but the lead is tagged for your sales team to follow up on later.
That's a complete, working flow: trigger → welcome → menu → branch → human handoff or tagged close. Turn it on, and it runs on every matching conversation from then on.
What Else You Can Build
Send List shows an interactive list menu instead of a few buttons, useful for a longer product catalog. Send Media attaches an image, video, or document. Template sends a pre-approved template instead of free text. Route branches on a specific value rather than a simple yes/no condition, useful once you have more than two paths. Wait/Delay pauses before the next step, so a flow can follow up later instead of firing everything at once. Set Attribute writes a value to the contact's record — useful for capturing an answer mid-flow. API Request calls an external system, so a flow can pull real data (like an order status) into the conversation. Mark as Resolved and Assign Agent are two other ways to end a flow — closing a conversation as resolved, or handing it to a specific agent rather than a department queue.
Keyword Auto-Replies and Drip Sequences
The flow builder isn't the only automation surface in SalesInbox. Keyword Auto-Replies handle simple one-off reply rules without needing a full canvas, and Drip Sequences handle scheduled, multi-message sequences sent over days rather than a single real-time conversation branch. Use the flow builder when the conversation needs to actually branch; reach for those two when it doesn't.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to know how to code to build a flow?
No — the builder is entirely drag-and-drop. The only place anything resembling code appears is the optional API Request node, and even that's a configuration form, not a script.
Can a flow trigger on something other than a keyword?
Not yet — Opt-in, Ad Click, and Webhook triggers are listed as coming soon. Keyword Match is the only live trigger today, which is why every flow currently starts with a customer typing something.
What happens to the conversation after Hand to Human?
The bot stops responding and the conversation appears in your shared inbox for an agent in the routed department, with any tags the flow added already attached to the contact.
Can I duplicate and edit an existing flow instead of starting over?
Yes — flows can be duplicated from the flow list, which is a faster way to build variations than rebuilding a similar flow from scratch each time.
Does a message sent by a flow need template approval?
Only if you use a Template node. Send Text, Send Buttons, Send List, and Send Media nodes are free-form replies inside the customer's open service window, so they don't need pre-approval the way outbound template messages do.
Can one flow have more than one branch?
Yes — you can chain multiple If/Else or Route nodes to build as many branches as the conversation needs; the example here uses one branch point to keep the first build simple.
Build the Bot That Actually Frees Up Your Team
A flow like this handles the first 80% of conversations automatically — the welcome, the menu, the routing — so your agents only pick up what actually needs a human. For the campaign side of WhatsApp automation rather than real-time conversation flows, see our guide to WhatsApp Business API bulk messaging.