Chatbot flows

The flow builder lives in the dashboard under Automations. A flow is a small diagram: a Start node that defines the trigger, connected to a chain of nodes that send messages, ask questions, branch on conditions, call your systems, or hand over to a human. You build it by dragging blocks onto the canvas and drawing connections between them.

Once published, the flow runs on its own. When a customer's message matches the trigger, RichAutomate starts a flow run for that contact and walks them through the diagram step by step. Each contact gets their own independent run, so a hundred customers can be at a hundred different points in the same flow at once.

Messages a flow sends are billed like any other message on your plan — Client Pay at Rs 0.10 per message plus Meta conversation charges billed directly by Meta, or SaaS Pay at Rs 1.20 per marketing message and Rs 0.30 per utility message. See pricing for details.

These are the building blocks available on the canvas. Add them from the node menu, or drag a connection from any node's handle onto empty canvas to pick the next block in place.

The Start node supports four trigger types:

• Specific keywords — the flow starts when the customer's message exactly matches one of your keywords. Matching is case-insensitive and ignores surrounding spaces, but it is a whole-message match: hi matches Hi, but not hi there. Add the common variations you expect as separate keywords.
• WhatsApp template — starts when a customer responds to a specific template you sent, which is how a campaign hands replies off to a bot.
• Any message — starts on every inbound message that is not already part of a running flow. Useful as a catch-all welcome menu, but use it deliberately: it will respond to everything.
• Scheduled reminder — starts on a schedule based on contact data, with optional contact conditions, rather than on an inbound message.

Two rules keep behaviour predictable. First, one flow run per contact: while a contact is inside an active run, their replies are handled by the node they are currently on (a button tap, a list selection, an answer to a question) instead of starting another flow. Second, only one flow starts per message — if several active flows could match, the first match wins, so keep keyword sets distinct across flows.

Because flows respond to an inbound message, they usually operate inside the 24-hour customer-service window, where free-form messages are allowed. If a branch needs to re-engage a contact later — say after a long Time Delay — use a Template node, since Meta only delivers approved templates outside the window. See message templates.

Always offer a way to reach a human. Put an Agent Handoff node behind a clearly labelled button or keyword in every flow. Nothing erodes trust faster than a bot with no exit — and the AI Chat node escalates automatically when a customer asks for a person.

Keep menus short. WhatsApp allows at most three quick-reply buttons per message and ten rows in a list. If you are tempted to go beyond that, split the choice across two steps or let an AI Pathway node route by intent instead.

Test with your own number first. Run every branch end to end — including the retry message on Data Collection nodes and the failure path on Payment nodes — before pointing real customers at the flow.

Collect data into attributes as you go. Answers saved with Data Collection or Attribute nodes become filters for campaigns and conditions for future flows, so name attributes consistently from day one.