Chatbot Marketing & Conversational Automation

Help the user build chatbot flows for sales, support, and marketing — across WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Viber, website live chat, and other messaging platforms.

Step 1 — Gather context

What channel are you building for?

a) WhatsApp Business
b) Telegram
c) Facebook Messenger
d) Instagram DMs
e) Website live chat widget
f) Viber
g) Multiple channels / omnichannel
h) Not sure yet — help me choose

What's the bot's primary job?

a) Lead qualification — ask questions, score, route to sales
b) FAQ / support — answer common questions automatically
c) Product catalog / e-commerce — browse, recommend, purchase
d) Appointment booking — schedule meetings or demos
e) Welcome / onboarding — greet new subscribers, set expectations
f) Re-engagement — win back inactive contacts
g) Order tracking / transactional — status updates, notifications
h) Full conversational sales funnel

What's your technical comfort level?

a) No-code visual builder only
b) Comfortable with webhooks and basic integrations
c) Developer — want API-level control

Step 2 — Strategy and approach

Choosing the right channel

Channel	Best for	Audience reach	Rich media	Session rules
WhatsApp	High-intent B2C, transactional	2B+ global users	Images, docs, buttons, lists	24-hour window; templates outside window
Telegram	Tech-savvy audiences, communities	800M+ users	Inline keyboards, files, polls	No session limits
Facebook Messenger	Broad B2C, retargeting	1B+ users	Quick replies, carousels, webviews	24-hour window; message tags for exceptions
Instagram DMs	D2C brands, influencer funnels	2B+ users	Quick replies, stories triggers	24-hour window
Website live chat	B2B lead capture, support	Your site visitors	Fully customizable	No limits — your widget
Viber	Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia	260M+ users	Carousels, buttons	No strict window

Chatbot flow design principles

Start with the happy path — map the ideal conversation first, then add fallbacks
Keep messages short — 1-3 sentences per bubble, max 2 buttons per step on mobile
Use buttons over free text — structured input reduces misunderstanding and drop-off
Always offer a human handoff — "Talk to a person" option at every decision point
Set expectations early — "I'm a bot — I can help with X, Y, Z or connect you to our team"
Respect platform rules — WhatsApp and Messenger enforce 24-hour messaging windows; outside that, you need pre-approved templates
Track key metrics — bot activation rate, completion rate, handoff rate, CSAT

Lead qualification bot framework

Greeting → Qualify (role, company size, need) → Score → Route
  ├── Hot lead → Instant handoff to sales rep
  ├── Warm lead → Book a demo link + add to nurture sequence
  └── Cold/unqualified → Helpful content + newsletter opt-in

Qualification questions to ask (pick 2-3):

What brings you here today? (intent)
What's your role? (authority)
How many people on your team? (company size / fit)
When are you looking to get started? (timeline)
What's your biggest challenge with X? (pain point)

FAQ bot structure

Menu of topics — 4-6 top categories as buttons
Sub-menus — 2-3 levels deep max before offering human handoff
Fallback — "I didn't understand that. Here are the topics I can help with: [menu]"
Escalation — after 2 failed attempts, auto-route to human agent

Step 3 — Platform-specific guidance

In SendPulse

SendPulse supports chatbots across 7 channels from a single visual flow builder:

Supported channels: Telegram, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp Business, Instagram, Viber, Live Chat, and VKontakte.

Building a flow:

Go to Chatbots → select your connected channel → Create Flow
Use the visual drag-and-drop builder to add steps:
- Message — text, images, files, buttons
- Condition — branch based on user input, variable values, or tags
- Action — set variables, add/remove tags, subscribe to mailing list, create CRM deal
- Filter — segment by contact properties
- API Request — call external APIs mid-flow
- AI Step — use ChatGPT/AI to generate dynamic responses
- Delay — wait before next step
- Random — A/B test different paths
Set triggers: keywords, subscription, button click, or webhook
Test in the preview pane before publishing

WhatsApp specifics:

Connect via WhatsApp Business API (requires verified Facebook Business Manager)
24-hour messaging window — free-form messages only within 24 hours of last user message
Outside window: use pre-approved template messages (POST /messenger/whatsapp/send_template)
Template categories: marketing, utility, authentication

Live chat handoff:

Add an "Open chat" action step to transfer from bot to human agent
Agents see conversations in SendPulse's Live Chat panel
Bot pauses during human conversation; resumes if agent closes the chat
Set business hours — outside hours, bot collects contact info for follow-up

Automation 360 integration:

Trigger chatbot flows from Automation 360 workflows (e.g., abandoned cart → WhatsApp message)
Use chatbot events as Automation 360 triggers (e.g., bot completed → add to email sequence)

API endpoints for chatbot messaging:

POST /messenger/telegram/send          # Send Telegram message
POST /messenger/facebook/send          # Send Facebook message
POST /messenger/whatsapp/send          # Send WhatsApp message (24hr window)
POST /messenger/whatsapp/send_template # Send WhatsApp template (outside window)
POST /messenger/instagram/send         # Send Instagram message
POST /messenger/viber/send             # Send Viber message
GET  /messenger/{platform}/contacts    # List subscribers per channel

Pricing note: Chatbot features are included in all SendPulse plans. WhatsApp conversations are billed per Meta's conversation-based pricing (marketing, utility, service categories).

For full SendPulse platform setup, use /sales-sendpulse.

In SWAI

SWAI.ai includes an AI-powered chat widget as part of its autonomous revenue OS:

AI chat widget: Embeddable website chat that uses AI to handle conversations — lead qualification, FAQ, and appointment scheduling
AI-driven qualification: The chat agent qualifies leads based on conversation and routes them to the appropriate next step (booking, nurture, human handoff)
Cal.com integration: Book meetings directly from chat via native Cal.com scheduling
24/7 availability: AI handles all conversations when team is offline — no dead chat widget
Part of autonomous campaigns: Chat widget activity is coordinated with SWAI's email, landing page, and ad campaigns as a unified system
Limitations: No visual chatbot flow builder — the AI handles conversation logic autonomously. No multi-channel chatbot (website only, no WhatsApp/Telegram/Messenger). Less customizable than dedicated chatbot platforms (ManyChat, SendPulse).
Best for: Teams that want an intelligent website chat that qualifies leads and books meetings without building manual conversation flows.

For full SWAI platform setup, use /sales-swai.

In ManyChat

ManyChat is a dedicated chatbot platform focused on Instagram, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, and SMS:

Flow Builder — visual drag-and-drop with conditions, delays, smart delays, A/B splits
Keywords — trigger flows based on specific words in user messages
Growth Tools — QR codes, comment triggers (Instagram), m.me links, website widgets
Instagram automation — auto-reply to story mentions, comments, and DMs; trigger flows from Reels comments
Shopify integration — abandoned cart recovery, order confirmations, product recommendations via bot
Live chat — pause bot, human takes over, resume bot when done
API: REST API for sending messages, managing subscribers, and triggering flows programmatically

In Tidio

Tidio combines live chat with AI chatbot (Lyro):

Lyro AI — trains on your FAQ/help center content, answers questions automatically
Visual chatbot builder — drag-and-drop flows for lead capture, FAQ, product recommendation
Channels: website widget, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, email
Shopify/WooCommerce plugins — product cards, order lookup in chat
Handoff — seamless transfer from Lyro/bot to human agent with full conversation history

In Intercom

Intercom's Fin AI Agent handles support and sales conversations:

Fin AI — resolves support questions using your help center, previous conversations, and custom data
Custom Bots — visual builder for lead qualification, routing, meeting booking
Channels: website messenger, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, SMS, email
Custom Actions — call external APIs from within bot flows
Workflows — automate routing, tagging, assignment based on bot conversation outcomes

In Drift (Salesloft)

Drift (now part of Salesloft) focuses on B2B conversational marketing:

Playbooks — target visitors by page, company, intent; show personalized bot greetings
Fastlane — qualify known leads instantly via form-to-chat conversion
Meeting booking — bot checks rep calendars and books meetings inline
Revenue orchestration — bot data flows into Salesloft cadences and CRM

In HubSpot

HubSpot's chatbot builder (included in free CRM):

Chatflows — visual builder with if/then branching
Qualification — ask questions, create/update contacts, route to owner
Meeting booking — connect to HubSpot meetings tool
Knowledge base — AI answers from your help articles (Service Hub Pro+)
Channels: website, Facebook Messenger

Step 4 — Actionable guidance

Building your first bot (step-by-step)

Define the goal — one bot, one job (don't try to do everything in one flow)
Map the conversation — sketch on paper: greeting → questions → outcomes → handoff points
Build the happy path — create the flow for the ideal conversation first
Add fallbacks — what happens when the user says something unexpected?
Set up handoff — configure human takeover with business hours and offline message
Test with real users — recruit 5-10 people to test; watch for confusion points
Iterate — check completion rates; fix the step where most users drop off

Metrics to track

Metric	Target	What it tells you
Activation rate	>60%	% of visitors who engage with bot
Completion rate	>40%	% who finish the flow
Handoff rate	10-30%	Too low = bot may be blocking people; too high = bot isn't useful
Lead qualification rate	>20%	% of conversations producing qualified leads
CSAT / NPS	>4.0 / >50	User satisfaction with bot experience
Response time (human)	<2 min	Speed of handoff when bot escalates

Common mistakes

Too many questions — 3-4 qualification questions max before offering value or handoff
No escape hatch — always let users reach a human; hiding the option kills trust
Generic greeting — "Hi! How can I help?" loses to "Hey! Looking for [product category]? I can help you find the right fit in 30 seconds"
Ignoring platform rules — sending promotional WhatsApp messages outside the 24-hour window gets your number banned
Not connecting to CRM — bot conversations should create/update contacts and trigger follow-up sequences

Gotchas

Best-effort from research — review these, especially items about platform-specific rules that may change.

WhatsApp 24-hour window is strict — if you send a non-template message outside the window, it silently fails or gets your account flagged. Always check last_activity timestamp before sending.
Facebook/Instagram 24-hour rule — similar to WhatsApp, Messenger has a 24-hour standard messaging window. Outside it, you need message tags (limited to specific use cases like confirmed event updates or account updates).
Template approval takes time — WhatsApp message templates require Meta review (hours to days). Don't wait until launch day to submit templates.
Bot-to-human handoff state — most platforms pause the bot during human chat but don't always resume correctly. Test the full cycle: bot → human → bot resumes.
Multi-channel subscriber identity — a user on WhatsApp and Telegram is often two separate contacts in the platform. Merging/deduplication requires matching by phone or email.

Step 5 — Related skills

/sales-sendpulse — SendPulse platform help (chatbots across 7 channels, visual flow builder, Automation 360)
/sales-swai — SWAI platform help (AI chat widget, autonomous lead qualification, Cal.com scheduling)
/sales-live-chat — Live chat widget setup and optimization (non-bot focused)
/sales-sms-marketing — SMS campaigns and automation (non-conversational)
/sales-cadence — Multi-channel outbound sequences (email, call, social — structured outreach vs. conversational)
/sales-email-marketing — Opt-in email marketing (broadcasts, automations, newsletters)
/sales-integration — Connect chatbot platforms to CRM, helpdesk, and other tools
/sales-audience-growth — Grow your subscriber base (pop-ups, lead magnets, opt-in forms — feed contacts into bot flows)
/sales-do — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install: npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skills sales-do

Examples

Example 1: WhatsApp lead qualification bot

User says: "I want to build a WhatsApp bot that qualifies leads for my SaaS product and books demos" Skill does: Recommends WhatsApp Business API setup, designs a 4-step qualification flow (greeting → role question → team size → pain point), explains 24-hour window and template requirements, configures meeting booking via calendar link, sets up hot lead handoff to sales rep Result: Working WhatsApp bot that qualifies inbound leads and books demos for qualified prospects

Example 2: Multi-channel FAQ bot

User says: "We get the same 20 questions on our website, Facebook, and Instagram. Can I automate this?" Skill does: Recommends a platform with multi-channel support (SendPulse, ManyChat, or Tidio), structures FAQ into 5 categories with sub-menus, configures fallback to human agent after 2 failed attempts, sets up the same flow across website widget + Facebook + Instagram Result: FAQ bot deployed on 3 channels, reducing support ticket volume by handling common questions automatically

Example 3: E-commerce abandoned cart recovery via Messenger

User says: "I want to send abandoned cart reminders through Facebook Messenger instead of email" Skill does: Explains Messenger 24-hour window and checkbox plugin for opt-in, designs flow: 1hr reminder with product image → 24hr discount offer → fallback to email if no response, configures Shopify/WooCommerce webhook to trigger the flow, adds human handoff for purchase objections Result: Messenger-based cart recovery flow that engages customers in a conversational format with higher open rates than email

Troubleshooting

Bot sends messages but users don't see them

Symptom: Messages show as "sent" in the platform but users report not receiving them Cause: Usually a 24-hour window violation (WhatsApp/Messenger) or the user has blocked/muted the bot Solution: Check if the message was sent outside the messaging window — use template messages instead. Verify the user hasn't blocked the bot. For WhatsApp, check your Business Manager quality rating — low quality can throttle delivery.

Bot flow gets stuck in a loop

Symptom: Users report the bot keeps repeating the same message or cycling through the same steps Cause: A condition in the flow always evaluates to the same branch, or a fallback routes back to the same step Solution: Check condition logic — ensure variables are being set correctly. Add a loop counter (increment a variable each pass) and break out after 2-3 iterations with a human handoff.

Human handoff doesn't work during business hours

Symptom: Bot transfers to human agent but nobody picks up, or the handoff action doesn't trigger Cause: Business hours misconfigured, no agents online, or the handoff action isn't connected to the live chat queue Solution: Verify business hours timezone settings. Ensure at least one agent is set to "available" in the live chat panel. Test the handoff action in preview mode to confirm it routes to the correct team/inbox.

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