How to Create a WhatsApp Chatbot [Free No-Code Guide 2024]

Struggling to catch up with your leads on WhatsApp? Or having challenges determining which leads are worth pursuing in the first place? You need to start building and deploying WhatsApp chatbots, period.

With a chatbot, you can automate certain aspects of your customer communications, enabling you to get rid of redundant work and focus on conversations that require your attention.

This guide will help you learn about the different types of chatbots on WhatsApp, their benefits, and how to best use them to support your sales efforts.

What is a WhatsApp chatbot? #

You might have seen bots on many websites you have visited. They appear at the corner of the page with a message like “Hi there, how can I help you?”. Once you click on it, it could provide you with a list of questions to choose from, or you can type your own.

A WhatsApp chatbot operates on a similar principle but is integrated within the WhatsApp messaging platform. It uses a predetermined flow of questions and answers or AI to communicate with users through the WhatsApp interface.

WhatsApp chatbots can perform various tasks ranging from answering frequently asked questions, providing customer support, processing orders, or even conducting surveys. Chatbots can link up with your CRM to give personalized answers and do things like booking appointments or qualifying leads.

How to create a WhatsApp bot #

To build a WhatsApp bot that matches your specific use cases and business needs, follow these steps:

1. Meet the pre-requisites #

Whether you choose to create a WhatsApp chatbot from scratch or use a chatbot builder, you must have:

• a Facebook Business account
• a phone number that meets Meta’s criteria
• Access to the WhatsApp Business API

However, this approach means that you need to have coding skills to be able to create WhatsApp chatbots. The alternative is to use a solution built on top of the WhatsApp Business API with an interactive chatbot builder. It lets you build as many WA chatbots as you want with a simple drag-and-drop interface that doesn’t require any coding skills.

2. Pick the right WhatsApp platform #

Choose a WhatsApp platform that offers chatbot-building capabilities, like Rasayel. Rasayel is a WhatsApp communications platform that enables you to easily create chatbots with a no-code WhatsApp chatbot builder.

3. Set up and connect your WhatsApp business account #

After choosing and setting up your platform, connect your WhatsApp Business account to the platform and activate your phone number. It may take some time for your phone number to be approved, but most of the time, the process takes a few minutes.

4. Map out the bot flow #

Next, you need to design the chatbot’s flow—from initial contact to resolution. Think of it as an interactive drag-and-drop flowchart for WhatsApp bot building.

Start by defining triggers, like a customer asking about pricing. For example, the bot can activate when it detects keywords like “pricing” or “plans.”

Once you define the trigger, you can then add a mix of simple and interactive messages. For instance, if the trigger is a customer asking about pricing, you can create an interactive message that asks for their team size and suggests the most suitable plan.

Finally, ensure the bot can either guide the customer to complete their purchase or hand off the conversation to a sales rep if needed at the end.

5. Test and optimize your WhatsApp chatbot #

After creating your WhatsApp chatbot, the next step is to test and refine it. Sometimes, even if you create a spectacular bot flow, it may not perform as you intended it to in practice.

And since you don’t want to frustrate your customers, you need to test the chatbot internally before using it to interact with your customers. Ask your team for help on this and collect feedback on potential hiccups and areas of improvement.

How to use AI to build a more advanced chatbot for WhatsApp #

AI can turn your WhatsApp chatbot into a sales powerhouse, capable of handling inquiries, driving conversions, and automating repetitive tasks.

Here’s how you can integrate AI into your chatbot:

Build an internal knowledge base #

Think of your WhatsApp AI chatbot as a sales rep who knows everything. Training it on your company’s FAQs, product details, past conversations, and sales playbooks enables it to deliver accurate, instant responses. Customers get what they need without waiting, and your team saves valuable time.

Configure your chatbot to analyze intents with AI #

Customers rarely spell out exactly what they want, but AI doesn’t need them to. It analyzes messages to pick up on what users are really asking, like pricing inquiries, demo requests, or support issues. The chatbot can then respond in a way that feels personal and relevant.

Automate information capture and CRM logging #

With AI, you can set up your chatbot to automatically capture key information about your prospect, like business size, location, and current tech stack, as well as update your company’s CRM. Eliminating manual information collection can help you work more efficiently and focus on closing deals.

Reactive vs proactive WhatsApp bots #

There are 2 types of WA bots: reactive and proactive chatbots. Depending on your use case, one may be more suitable than the other.

Here’s a simple comparison between the 2 types of WhatsApp bot flows:

Reactive WhatsApp bot #

A reactive chatbot is triggered in inbound conversations—i.e: only when the customer initiates a conversation with your business. The most common use case for reactive chatbots is to handle common questions and issues, which can reduce the load on your team and help them be more productive. They can also be set up to escalate issues to human agents if they can’t resolve certain queries on their own or are unable to figure out the customer’s intent.

Proactive WhatsApp bot #

Unlike reactive bots, proactive chatbots on WhatsApp are outbound. They can start with one of your reps reaching out to a lead who filled the signup form on your website, for example. Proactive bots can send promotional messages, reminders, or updates based on customer behavior or preferences, thus enhancing the customer experience.

They are also great for nurturing and qualifying leads based on their behavior and historical interactions with your business.

Benefits of using a WhatsApp chatbot #

Here’s how chatbots can support your sales efforts on WhatsApp:

Improve sales cycle efficiency #

Many customer communications entail repetitive tasks. For example, order confirmation, payment, and new product announcements require standardized steps you can leave to a bot. This way, your agents save time for more complicated tasks requiring human interaction.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say that every time someone fills the lead magnet form on your website, you want to see if they qualify as a lead and help them make a purchase based on their needs. You can automate a WhatsApp chatbot to do this for you by setting it to collect information about the business to see if it matches your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile).

After the lead answers a few questions, the bot could give them a list of products and services or ask a rep to talk to the customer.

Offer personalized customer experiences to increase sales #

You can design your chatbot according to your customer preferences and for different customer segments to create a more personalized experience.

A prospect might message your WhatsApp chatbot asking, “Hi, can you recommend a solution for managing my sales pipeline?” The bot could respond with a carousel of relevant product features or packages, complete with brief descriptions and pricing. From there, it could guide the prospect through selecting a plan, booking a demo, or even starting a free trial—all without needing human assistance.

If you’d like to learn about WhatsApp’s various message types, please read our one-stop guide for interactive messages.

Instantly support and engage with customers #

A small business can make do with using auto-replies like “Thanks for your message. We will respond shortly.” to customers’ first messages. If they contacted you outside of your working hours, you might use “away messages” to let them know you’re not available.

However, customers expect quick answers, regardless of when they contact you. A study by HubSpot found that close to 90% of customers expect a 10-minute response time to their queries.

With a WhatsApp chatbot, it doesn’t matter what time, on which day, or at which time zone your customers message you—your chatbot is available 24/7 to respond to their queries.

Reduce conversation costs #

WhatsApp’s billing model is based on a 24-hour conversation window, beginning with the first message delivered to a customer. During this period, all messages exchanged, including those from the chatbot, are counted as part of a single conversation, falling under a singular charge.

The billing model encourages you to handle customer queries more efficiently. A well-designed chatbot can help you resolve customer queries faster within the customer service window.

Increase customer satisfaction #

According to a recent survey, 31% of customers said that the most frustrating thing for them when they contact a business is having to repeat themselves multiple times.

With a WhatsApp bot, all information that the bot collects is stored in the chat, and all sales reps have the same context.

This not only makes customers less frustrated but also helps you and your team free up your time to focus on more important things, such as resolving complex issues and customer queries.

Final thoughts #

Let’s recap! If your business is growing and WhatsApp is your primary sales channel, you can automate lots of redundant tasks with a WhatsApp chatbot. These can include sending product updates, collecting customer information, and qualifying leads.

Frequently Asked Questions #

About the author

Hania Elmessiry

Hania is a content writer with four years of experience, driven by deep passion for writing and reading. She helps B2B companies market their products and boost their sales using one of the most powerful tools of mankind: words. Writing has always been her way of connecting with people, sharing her ideas, and leaving an impact.

@Hania Elmessiry on LinkedIn