--- title: "WhatsApp Chatbot for Business: Rules, Types, First Flow | Karobar" url: https://karobar.io/guides/whatsapp-chatbot-for-business language: en description: "A WhatsApp chatbot for business within WhatsApp's rules: the 24-hour window, buttons and lists, handing over to a person, and how to build a first menu flow." --- Guide # WhatsApp chatbot for business: what it can do and how to build your first flow What WhatsApp allows, the kinds of chatbot, and a first menu flow with a handover to a person. Updated 15 October 2026 · 4 min read A WhatsApp chatbot answers the questions every shop gets a hundred times a day, such as tracking an order, prices or opening hours, so your team can spend its time on the chats that need a person. This guide explains the rules WhatsApp sets for bots, the kinds of WhatsApp chatbot you can build, how to design a first flow that does not frustrate customers, and how it works in [Karobar chatbots and flows](https://karobar.io/features/chatbots-flows). ## What WhatsApp allows, and what it does not The [WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy](https://business.whatsapp.com/policy) sets the limits for any bot. The parts that matter most for a shop: - **Permission first.** Only message people who gave you their number and agreed to hear from you. - **The 24-hour window.** You can reply freely while the customer service window is open; it opens and renews with each message from the customer. Outside it, only approved templates can be sent. - **Automation needs a way out.** Automated replies are allowed inside the window, but there must be a quick, clear way to reach a person, such as a handover in the chat, a phone number or an email. - **Respect "stop".** Every request to stop messaging must be honoured. - **No sensitive data.** Do not ask for full card numbers, financial account numbers or identity numbers in the chat. It is also good practice to say in the first message that the customer is talking to an automated assistant. It sets expectations and avoids frustration. ## The kinds of WhatsApp chatbot | Type | How it works | Good for | | --- | --- | --- | | Keyword auto replies | A message containing a word you choose gets your fixed reply. | Prices, location, opening hours. | | Button and list menus | The customer taps an option and the bot follows the path you built. | Order tracking, catalogue sections, talking to a person. | | AI reply drafts | AI writes an answer from your business information; a person sends it. | Questions too varied for a menu. | Most shops combine them: a short menu for the common paths, and a person, helped by AI drafts, for everything else. Keyword auto replies and the 24-hour window are explained in [WhatsApp auto replies and the 24-hour window](https://karobar.io/guides/whatsapp-auto-reply-24-hour-window). ## Buttons or a list? WhatsApp offers two kinds of tappable menu. [Reply buttons](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/messages/interactive-reply-buttons-messages) allow up to three buttons under a message. [List messages](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/messages/interactive-list-messages) open a menu with sections and rows, for when you have more choices. - Use **buttons** for a quick choice: "Track order / Prices / Talk to us". - Use a **list** for more options: product categories, branches, or delivery areas. - Keep labels short and plain; customers read them in a second. ## Design your first flow Start small. A first flow with one menu and four paths covers most of what shops get asked: 1. **Welcome menu:** "Hi! I am the Noor Libas assistant. What can I help with?" with a list: New order, Track my order, Prices and sizes, Talk to a person. 2. **New order:** a short message with your catalogue link and how to order. 3. **Track my order:** ask for the order number, or call your own system to look it up. 4. **Prices and sizes:** a size chart image and a link to the price list. 5. **Talk to a person:** hand the chat to a teammate and pause the bot. Write every message as you would say it at the counter. Short, friendly, and in the language your customers use. ## How it works in Karobar In Karobar you build the flow once, then turn it into a chatbot and choose which chats it answers. The full steps are in [Build a WhatsApp chatbot flow](https://karobar.io/help/build-a-whatsapp-chatbot-flow). Points to know: - Steps can send text, images, video, audio, documents, button messages and list messages. - Action steps can **assign the chat to a teammate**, **pause the chatbot** in that chat until a time you choose, or **call your own system** and use its answer in the next step. - A message that matches no option starts the flow again from its first step, so the first step should be the menu. - A chatbot can answer all conversations, or only ones you select. - Flows do not use AI and cost no credits; they send exactly what you wrote. ## Limits to know before you start - **Flows run on WhatsApp.** On Instagram and Messenger, use keyword auto replies, conversation starters and comment to DM instead. - **The window still applies.** After 24 hours from the customer's last message, no bot can send anything but an approved template. - **Coexistence numbers.** If you link a WhatsApp Business app number, Meta says [app tools such as greeting and away messages stay in the app](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/embedded-signup/onboarding-business-app-users/) rather than moving to the platform. - **Opt-out words are handled for you.** Karobar treats words like stop and unsubscribe as an opt-out on WhatsApp, and start or subscribe as opting back in. ## Mistakes to avoid - **No way to reach a person.** Always offer "Talk to a person"; it is also what WhatsApp's policy expects. - **Menus five levels deep.** If it takes more than two taps to get an answer, customers give up. - **Forgetting to pause the bot.** When a teammate takes over, pause the chatbot in that chat so it does not interrupt. - **Out-of-date answers.** Prices and delivery times change; review the flow every month. ## Sources Facts about other companies and platforms come from their own pages, checked on the dates shown. Plans and prices change; check the source before you decide. 1. [WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy](https://business.whatsapp.com/policy) (checked 2026-10-15) 2. [Meta for Developers: Interactive reply buttons messages](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/messages/interactive-reply-buttons-messages) (checked 2026-10-15) 3. [Meta for Developers: Interactive list messages](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/messages/interactive-list-messages) (checked 2026-10-15) 4. [Meta for Developers: Onboard WhatsApp Business app users (coexistence)](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/embedded-signup/onboarding-business-app-users/) (checked 2026-10-15) FAQ ## Questions? Answers. Any other questions? [Ask support](https://karobar.io/support). ### Is a WhatsApp chatbot allowed? Yes, within WhatsApp's policy: message people who agreed to hear from you, reply inside the 24-hour window, and always offer a way to reach a person. ### How many buttons can a WhatsApp message have? Up to three reply buttons. Use a list message when you need more options. ### Can a chatbot hand over to a person? Yes. In Karobar an action step assigns the chat to a teammate, and another pauses the chatbot so it stays quiet while they help. ### Does a WhatsApp chatbot need AI? No. A menu flow sends the messages you wrote. AI reply drafts are a separate option for questions a menu cannot cover. ### Can the chatbot answer in Urdu or Arabic? Yes. The bot sends the messages you write, in any language. Write each step in the language your customers use. Keep going ## What to look at next [WhatsApp chatbot flows Automate the common questions with WhatsApp chatbot flows that scale as message volume grows.… Learn more](https://karobar.io/features/chatbots-flows)[Auto reply for WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and TikTok Set the rules for when a draft is written. Product-aware replies cut customer waiting time during busy hours.… Learn more](https://karobar.io/features/inbox-auto-reply)[AI reply drafts from your catalogue and real stock The AI writes from live inventory, variants and stock: accurate prices, sent when you approve or by Auto withi… Learn more](https://karobar.io/features/ai-reply-drafts) ## More guides - [WhatsApp auto replies and the 24-hour window, explained Set up replies that send themselves without breaking WhatsApp's rules, and know what to do when the 24-hour window closes. Read the guide](https://karobar.io/guides/whatsapp-auto-reply-24-hour-window) - [Instagram auto reply: how to automate Instagram DMs the right way What Instagram offers built in, what needs a tool, the messaging window every reply must respect, and a setup you can copy. Read the guide](https://karobar.io/guides/instagram-auto-reply) - [WhatsApp Business API explained: how it works, what it costs, how to choose a provider A plain guide to the WhatsApp Business API: the accounts behind it, how Meta prices messages, and the questions to ask a provider. Read the guide](https://karobar.io/guides/whatsapp-business-api-explained) - [COD order confirmation on WhatsApp, the Pakistan way COD order confirmation before the parcel leaves: check the details with the customer, record the result on the order, and cut returned parcels. Read the guide](https://karobar.io/guides/cod-order-confirmation-pakistan) ## Try it on your own shop 7 days free, no card needed. 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