WhatsApp AI chatbot: answer messages, hand over to a person, keep a record
This template covers the WhatsApp channel end to end: an inbound message starts a run, an agent answers from your approved content, a person takes over when asked or needed, and the conversation is stored.
Last reviewed 7 October 2026
Starting point
The status rests on the conversation workflow, one agent node in conversation mode. The catalogue lists a WhatsApp integration with no ready-made workflow behind it, so the channel wiring and the handover are yours to build.
The library has a template, chatflow, MCP server or governed template that covers part of the job. You assemble the rest in Studio.
What this template does
Customers use WhatsApp because it is where they already are. A small business or a service team ends up with a phone full of chats, answered when someone has a minute, with no record of what was promised. The owner is the person running customer contact, and the pressure is to answer quickly without answering wrongly.
The flow keeps WhatsApp as the front door and puts rules behind it. The agent handles questions your content covers, hands over on request, on a complaint and on anything that commits you to something, and writes every exchange to a record. The channel is the point of this page; the general chatbot build is on its own page.
The workflow, step by step
Steps marked as approval gates pause the run until a named person approves. Nothing after a gate runs before that decision, and the decision is recorded.
- 01
Message arrives
An inbound WhatsApp message reaches the flow through the integration and a webhook, and starts or continues a run for that sender. The sender's number, the text and the time are stored. Media is noted but not read in this design. - 02
Recognise the sender
The flow matches the number against your customer records. A known customer brings account context, such as open orders or bookings. An unknown number is treated as new, and the agent asks only for what it needs. - 03
Answer briefly
The agent answers from the content you approved, in short messages suited to a phone, and in the language the customer used. When the content does not cover the question it says so and offers a person. It does not improvise policy. - 04
Watch for handover triggers
The flow checks each message for a request for a person, a complaint, a payment, a sensitive topic or low confidence. Any hit stops the agent from answering further on that point. A request to stop messaging marks the contact accordingly. - 05
Hand over to a person
A named person is alerted in your chat tool with the conversation summarised and the account facts. They reply in the thread, or take the chat in the WhatsApp tool you use. The agent steps back and stays silent until the person hands the thread back. - 06
Approve commitments
If a reply would commit you, such as a refund, a changed booking or a discount, the agent drafts it and the Studio approval step pauses for a named person. Assign someone who is not the person handling the chat when your policy needs two.Approval gate: a named person approves before the next step runs. - 07
Record
Each conversation is kept with its messages, sources used, handover events, approver and decisions, and the contact's opt-out status. You can then answer a dispute about what was said, and see where answers fell short of what the customer needed.
What it can do, cannot do, needs approval for, and records
Can
- Answer from content you approved
- Match the sender to a customer record
- Hand over to a person with a summary
- Store every conversation
Cannot
- Message people who have not contacted you
- Promise refunds, discounts or changes
- Keep replying after a person has taken over
- Read voice notes or images in this design
Requires approval
- Any commitment of money or service
- Returning a thread to the agent after handover
- Sending a message outside a customer-started chat
Records
- Messages in and out
- Sources used for each answer
- Handover time and person
- Approver, decision and time for commitments
- Opt-out status
What the library holds for this job
| Asset | Type | Covers | Role in this flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conversation | Workflow template | Part of the job | One agent node in conversation mode; it gives you the answering step with a fixed test message and no channel, memory or handover. |
| Integration | Used inside the flow | The channel integration listed in the catalogue under communication and human in the loop; it has no workflow behind it. | |
| Twilio | Integration | Used inside the flow | A messaging provider route some teams use to reach WhatsApp and other channels. |
| Customer Service Response Template | Prompt | Used inside the flow | A starting prompt for reply tone and structure. |
Integrations this flow uses
- WhatsApp: The channel messages arrive and leave through.
- Twilio: A messaging provider some teams place in front of WhatsApp.
- Slack: Alerts the person who takes the conversation over.
- HubSpot: Customer records matched to the sender.
The full list of tools Studio connects to is on the integrations page.
What you supply, and what this page does not cover
- Account set-up, business verification, message templates and sending rules come from WhatsApp and your provider. Requirements are <WhatsApp Business account requirements - founder to fill>.
- You supply the approved content, tone and the list of handover triggers.
- The integration is listed without a ready-made workflow, so webhooks, retries and delivery checks are built and tested by you.
- Whether customers have agreed to be contacted on WhatsApp is for you to establish.
Common questions
- Does a person really take over, or does the bot keep talking?
- In this design the agent goes silent once a person takes over, and speaks again only when the person hands the thread back. That removes the awkward case of a bot and a human both replying to the same customer.
- Can the bot start conversations with customers?
- This design only answers messages customers send. Starting a chat, for example with a reminder, falls under the channel's own rules and needs a person's approval here. Read the provider's rules before you build anything outbound.
- Is a WhatsApp template included in the library?
- No. The catalogue lists a WhatsApp integration and a conversation workflow, but nothing that joins them. The conversation workflow is a single agent step with a test message, so the channel wiring is yours to build.
- What happens to the chats afterwards?
- Each run keeps the messages, the sources used and any handover or approval. Where you store the record, how long you keep it and what you tell customers about it are your decisions, in line with your privacy policy.