🛠️ How-to tutorials

How to build a WhatsApp chatbot flow by typing one sentence

Updated 2026-10-08 · 4 min read · By the Convo360 team

In short

Open Copilot in Convo360 with Ctrl + J, type or speak the bot you want, such as “ask for name and phone, then offer Gold or Silver”, and check the plan it shows. When you confirm, the flow is created and opens in the Flow Builder. It answers customers only after you choose it on an agent.

Key takeaways

One clear sentence that names the questions and the choices is enough for a first draft.
Copilot shows the full flow before it creates anything, and waits for your go-ahead.
The flow it builds is an ordinary flow: every message, question and button can be edited by hand.
A new flow is not live until you choose it on an agent, so nothing reaches customers by accident.
You can type or speak, in English, Hindi or Hinglish.

What you need before you start

You need a Convo360 workspace, and nothing else. Copilot is on for every workspace: look for the Copilot button in the top bar, or press Ctrl + J. There is nothing to install and nothing to request from us.

You do not need an AI key to use Copilot. Everything else in Convo360 runs on your own provider key, but Copilot runs on ours, so it works on the first day, before you have connected anything. It has its own token balance, shown at the top of the panel, and you start with 100,000 free tokens, about 80 requests.

You also do not need WhatsApp connected yet. You can build and preview the flow first and connect your number afterwards.

How to describe the bot so the first draft is right

Copilot builds a flow from a few kinds of step. If your sentence names them, the draft will match what you had in mind.

You say	Copilot adds
“Say welcome to Mehta Jewellers”	A message
“Ask for name and phone number”	Two questions, each saved to its own variable
“Offer Gold, Silver or Diamond”	A menu with three buttons, and a branch for each
“Then let the AI answer from my knowledge base”	An AI answer step
“Save it to my Google Sheet” or “save it as a lead”	A step that writes the answers to your sheet or the CRM

Three habits make a noticeable difference:

Name the channel. Say “WhatsApp flow” or “website chat flow”. If you leave it out, Copilot assumes WhatsApp.
Say what happens after each choice. “If Gold, ask for budget. If Silver, share the catalogue link.”
Keep button names short. WhatsApp allows 20 characters on a reply button, so “Book a visit” works and “I would like to book a store visit” does not.

Building the flow on Convo360, step by step

Press Ctrl + J (Cmd + J on a Mac), or click the Copilot button. The panel opens at the side, on any page.
Type your sentence, or press the microphone and say it. For example: “Build a WhatsApp flow that welcomes the customer, asks for name and city, then offers New order, Track order or Talk to us.”
Copilot replies with a plan: the flow name, the channel, and every step in order with its buttons. Nothing has been created yet.
Read it. If something is wrong, say so in the same panel: “make the second button Repairs” or “ask for phone before city”.
Click Create. The flow is saved and opens in the Flow Builder.
Use the builder’s preview to walk through it as a customer would.
Open your agent and choose this flow. From then on it answers real customers.

If Copilot is not sure what you meant, it asks one short question instead of guessing. Answer it and it carries on.

What to check before you make it live

A first draft is a starting point. Before you choose the flow on an agent, spend five minutes on these:

Wording. Copilot writes sensible messages, but your shop has its own voice. Edit the welcome line and the closing line.
Every branch ends somewhere. Tap each button in the preview. A branch that stops with no reply feels broken to a customer.
Variables. Each question saves its answer, for example name or city. Use them later in the flow, in a CRM lead or in a Google Sheet row.
What happens off script. When a customer types something the menu did not expect, Convo360 asks again and then offers Main menu or Talk to a person. You do not need to build that yourself.

For conditions, API calls, payments or waits, add those blocks by hand in the builder. Copilot gives you the skeleton; the builder has the rest. The guide to conditions and variables covers the next step.

Other things you can ask in the same panel

Copilot is not only for flows. The same box handles three other jobs:

Finding your way. “Take me to where I connect WhatsApp” opens the Channels page. “Where do I add teammates?” opens Team.
How-to questions. “How do I stop the AI making things up?” gets a short, direct answer.
Bookings. “Book Priya Shah for Friday 4 pm, bridal trial” prepares an appointment, shows it to you, and saves it when you confirm.

Team roles still apply. A teammate who is not allowed to build flows by hand cannot have Copilot build one for them.

When to build by hand instead

Use Copilot when you are starting from nothing, or when you want a second flow quickly: a festive offer menu, a feedback flow, a lead form for a new product.

Copilot can also change a flow you already have: say “add a Diamond option to the menu”. The change is saved as a draft, so your live flow keeps running until you publish. Build by hand when the flow has conditions, waits, payments or API calls, because Copilot leaves those flows alone.

If you would rather start from a finished example for your trade, the Template Store has ready-made agents by industry, and the no-code chatbot guide walks through building one block at a time.

Step by step

Open CopilotPress Ctrl + J (Cmd + J on a Mac) or click the Copilot button. The panel opens beside whatever page you are on.
Describe the bot in one sentenceType or speak the channel, the questions to ask and the choices to offer, for example: a WhatsApp flow that asks for name and phone, then offers Gold or Silver.
Read the planCopilot lists the flow name, channel and every step with its buttons. Nothing is created at this point.
Correct anything that is wrongReply in the same panel with the change you want, such as renaming a button or moving a question earlier.
Click CreateThe flow is saved and opens in the Flow Builder, where every step can be edited by hand.
Preview it as a customerUse the builder's preview to tap through each button and check that every branch ends with a reply.
Choose the flow on your agentOpen the agent and select the new flow. Until you do this, the flow does not answer customers.

Example conversation

Build a WhatsApp flow for my Surat saree shop: welcome them, ask name and city, then offer New arrivals, Track my order or Talk to us.

Here is the plan: “Saree shop welcome” on WhatsApp. 1) Welcome message. 2) Ask name. 3) Ask city. 4) Menu: New arrivals, Track my order, Talk to us, each with its own reply. Shall I create it? It will not answer customers until you choose it on an agent.

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Frequently asked questions

Do I need my own OpenAI or Gemini key to use Copilot?

No. Copilot runs on Convo360’s own AI key and has a separate token balance, so it works before you have connected any provider, and it starts with 100,000 free tokens. Your bots still run on your own key, and Copilot’s tokens are never taken from your bots or your wallet balance without you buying a pack.

Will the flow start replying to my customers as soon as it is created?

No. A flow built by Copilot is saved and opened in the Flow Builder, but it answers customers only after you choose it on an agent. That gives you time to preview it, fix the wording and check every branch first.

Can I edit a flow after Copilot builds it?

Yes. It is an ordinary Convo360 flow. You can change any message, rename buttons, add conditions, API calls, payments or waits, and rearrange steps in the Flow Builder exactly as you would with a flow you built yourself.

Can I speak instead of typing?

Yes. Press the microphone in the Copilot panel and say what you want. It uses your browser’s speech recognition, so it works in browsers that support it, such as Chrome. You can speak in English, Hindi or Hinglish.

What happens if Copilot misunderstands me?

You see the full plan before anything is created, so a misunderstanding costs you nothing but a correction. Tell it what to change in the same panel. If your request is unclear, it asks a short question instead of guessing.

Which channels can Copilot build flows for?

WhatsApp, website chat, Instagram, Messenger and Telegram. Say the channel in your sentence. If you do not mention one, it builds the flow for WhatsApp, and you can change the channel later in the Flow Builder.