Auto-reply
WhatsApp chatbot — answer the same questions automatically
Build a flow that greets people, answers the question they always ask, collects what you need, and hands the conversation to you when it matters. No Business API, no template approval, no per-message fee — it runs from your own WhatsApp number.
Windows 10/11 · free 24-hour trial
Without the Business API
Most WhatsApp chatbots are built on the Business API from Meta, which means an approval queue for every message template, a business verification, and a fee for every conversation. This one attaches to the WhatsApp account you already use. You write the reply and it sends it — there is nothing to submit and nobody to bill you per message.
How Direct Send compares to the Business APIA flow is built from blocks
You lay blocks on a canvas and join them with lines. That is the whole model — there is no scripting language to learn.
- 1A reply arrives
- 2A trigger matches
- 3The answer goes out
If nothing matches, nothing is sent. The message simply waits for you in the Inbox — silence is the default, not a wrong answer.
Trigger
What starts the flow. An incoming message that matches sets it running; anything that does not match is left alone.
Message
Something the flow says. Use it to answer, to acknowledge, or to set up the question that follows.
Question
Asks for something and waits for the reply — a name, an order number, which of three things they want. The answer is kept with the conversation.
Branch
Sends the conversation down a different path depending on what they answered, so one flow can serve several intents.
Hand-over
Stops the automation and gives the conversation to a person. Collect the details first, then hand over — that is usually the right shape.
Seven flows you can start from
Each one arrives fully written, in your language. Open it, change the wording to yours, and switch it on.
- A greeting menu
- An after-hours reply
- A price enquiry
- Lead capture
- Order status
- Appointment requests
- Out-of-office
Several of them collect an answer and then hand the conversation to you, rather than trying to finish it alone.
What the flow does not answer lands in the Inbox
Replies to your campaigns arrive in the app's own Inbox, not scattered across chats. A flow handles the repetitive questions; everything else is waiting in one place for a person.
Mark a conversation Open, Pending or Closed so a second person knows what still needs answering.
Save the answers you type most often as quick replies and reuse them in the Inbox or in a campaign.
What it will not do
Worth knowing before you build, because each of these is deliberate rather than missing.
It answers while the app is running
A flow replies when the master switch and its own switch are both on, and while WB Sender is open. On a PC that is the easy part — a desktop can stay on in a way a phone cannot.
It stays quiet when nothing matches
There is no catch-all reply guessing at what somebody meant. An unmatched message goes to the Inbox for you to answer, which is better than a confident wrong answer.
It stops two robots talking to each other
If the person you are answering also runs an automatic responder, the two can reply back and forth endlessly. The app spots that and pauses just that chat. It stays paused until you resume it in Paused chats, because the other side's responder is usually still on.
It respects a stop word
A reply containing your stop word drops that person from every future campaign, in every list. That is the mechanism that keeps a list worth sending to.
Setting one up
- 1
Link the WhatsApp account you want to answer from.
- 2
Open Flow Bots and pick a template, or start from an empty canvas.
- 3
Edit the wording, set the trigger, and add a hand-over where a person should take over.
- 4
Turn on the flow's switch and the master switch, and leave the app running.
Questions people ask first
Do I need the WhatsApp Business API to run a chatbot?
No. The Business API is one way to build one, and it brings template approval, business verification and a per-conversation fee. This runs on the WhatsApp account you already have, and you write the replies yourself.
Does the chatbot reply when my computer is off?
No. A flow answers while WB Sender is running. That is why a desktop suits it — a PC can be left on, where a phone sleeps and drops the connection.
What happens if someone asks something the flow does not cover?
Nothing is sent. The message waits in the Inbox for you. There is no catch-all reply, because a wrong automatic answer costs more than a slightly slower human one.
Can the bot collect information and pass it to me?
Yes — that is what the question and hand-over blocks are for. Several of the ready-made flows are built that way: they ask for what you need, then give the conversation to a person.
Will it reply to another business's automatic responder forever?
No. The app detects two responders answering each other and pauses that one chat. You resume it from Paused chats once you have answered that person yourself.
Can I use it on more than one WhatsApp number?
Yes. The desktop app connects several accounts, and flows are set per account, so a support number and a sales number can answer differently.
Stop typing the same answer
Seven templates to start from, a canvas when you outgrow them, and an Inbox for everything a flow should not try to handle.