---
title: "How to Build a WhatsApp Chatbot Flow in Karobar | Karobar"
url: https://karobar.io/help/build-a-whatsapp-chatbot-flow
language: en
description: "Build a WhatsApp chatbot menu step by step: add messages, buttons and lists, hand the chat to a person, and choose which conversations it answers."
---

[Help center](https://karobar.io/support) · Inbox and AI

# Build a WhatsApp chatbot flow

Make a tap-through menu for WhatsApp and choose which chats it answers.

Updated 14 October 2026

A chatbot flow is a menu customers tap through on WhatsApp, such as "Track my order / Prices / Talk to a person". You build the flow once, then turn it into a chatbot and choose which chats it answers. What flows can and cannot do is explained in [WhatsApp auto replies and the 24-hour window](https://karobar.io/guides/whatsapp-auto-reply-24-hour-window).

## 1. Build the flow

1. Open **Automations → Chatbot Flow**, go to the **Flows** tab and start a new flow. Give it a name.
2. Add steps from the side panel and fill each one in.
3. Connect the steps: drag from each button or list option to the step it should lead to.
4. Save the flow.

| Step | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Simple message | Sends text. |
| Image, Video, Audio or Document message | Sends a file, with an optional caption. |
| Button message | Text with buttons to tap, plus an optional header and footer. |
| List message | A menu with sections and options, for more choices than buttons allow. |
| Assign chat to agent | Hands the chat to a teammate: the next one in turn, or the person a returning customer spoke to before. |
| Disable chat till | Stops the chatbot in that chat until a date and time you choose. |
| Request API | Calls your own system and lets the next step use its answer, such as an order status. |

## 2. Turn the flow into a chatbot

1. In **Automations → Chatbot Flow**, go to the **Chatbots** tab and click **Create New Chatbot**.
2. **Chatbot Details:** a name, such as "Customer support bot", and an optional description.
3. **Conversation Flow:** pick the flow you built.
4. **Conversation Assignment:** choose **Apply to all conversations** (current and future), or select specific conversations.
5. **Review & Create.**

## How it behaves

- It answers each new customer message in the WhatsApp chats it covers.
- Tapping a button or list option moves the customer to the step you connected it to.
- A message that matches no option starts the flow again from its first step, so make the first step a short menu.
- A chatbot set for specific conversations is used there instead of the one for all conversations.

Always offer a person

Add a "Talk to a person" option that leads to **Assign chat to agent**, then **Disable chat till**, so the chatbot stays quiet while your teammate takes over.

## Background reading

- [WhatsApp auto replies and the 24-hour window, explained](https://karobar.io/guides/whatsapp-auto-reply-24-hour-window)

FAQ

## Questions? Answers.

Any other questions? [Ask support](https://karobar.io/support).

### Can I use chatbot flows on Instagram or Messenger?

No. Flows run on WhatsApp. On Instagram and Messenger, use keyword auto replies, conversation starters and comment to DM.

### Does a chatbot flow use AI or credits?

No. It sends the steps you wrote, in the order you connected them.

## More help: Inbox and AI

- [Reply to customers in the inbox Find the right chat, reply with photos, voice notes or templates, and keep track with labels. Read](https://karobar.io/help/reply-to-customers-in-the-inbox)
- [Turn on AI reply drafts and choose a mode What Karobar AI needs, where to switch it on, and how Smart, Every message and Auto differ. Read](https://karobar.io/help/turn-on-ai-reply-drafts)

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)[One social media inbox for every customer message Instagram, TikTok, Messenger and WhatsApp in one list. Every thread becomes a lead, save a phone number and ad… Learn more](https://karobar.io/features/unified-inbox)