To create your own chatbot, follow these steps:

1. Click on Chatbot > Create Chatbot.

2. Assign a name to the bot.

3. Click Save.
    

Now you will have a blank workspace.

  Platform Selection 

In the initial setup, it is essential to select the platform where the chatbot will be deployed. In this example, we will select WhatsApp Cloud.

To get started, press the blue circle with the + symbol.

The first step is to configure a General Node to define the first message.

1. In Basic Information, enter the node's name.

1. Scroll down to Response and select New Response.
   
   
    

2. Assign a name to the response.
    

3. In the "Text" dropdown, select the type of response you want to configure.

In our example, we will configure a response using buttons.

1.  We can set a title for our response by selecting one of the following options: Text, Image, Video, or File (optional). 

2. We must complete the message body. This field is mandatory and defines the message the customer will receive.
3. We can add a signature or any additional text up to 60 characters.
4. We need to add the buttons.

Button Configuration in the Chatbot

When we add buttons in an automation platform or chatbot, it is essential to configure two key elements:

1. Button Title

●         It is the visible text that the user will see on the interface.

●         It should be clear, concise, and understandable, as it represents the action the user will take when pressed.
Example: If the button is meant to confirm an appointment, the title could be "Confirm Appointment."
 

2. Payload

●         It is the hidden value associated with the button.

●         It acts as an internal "key" or "code" that the platform will use to execute a specific action when the user presses the button.

●         It is not visible to the user, but it is crucial for defining how the conversation or automated flow should progress.

On the left side, we can preview the created message. Once reviewed, we need to press save. Then, close the pop-up and press save again.

Create a New General Node

Next, we will create a new general node to continue with our chatbot flow.
This second response should be triggered based on the button selected by the user. Therefore, in this second node, we need to complete the following:

●         Node Name: Assign an appropriate name.

●         Trigger: Configure the trigger, meaning we specify to the system how this second response should be activated.

Configure the Trigger

We must insert a name for the trigger and, in the Resource Template dropdown, select the appropriate option. Below, we explain the types of triggers we can use:

 

In our case, the trigger we will use is Keyword/Payload, as the user will select a button to activate the next action.
After inserting the name of the payload, press enter to generate the word and then click save.

We scroll down to the response section, program our response, and click save. Then, we close the pop-up and press save again to finalize the creation of our node.

Currently, we are located in the node called "chatbots." If we configure a new general node from here, it will be the next step in the chatbot flow.

However, in our example, we have given the customer three options.

To start branching our chatbot flow, we need to go back to the "First Message" node, and from there, we can create a new general node.

In this new node, we configure the name, trigger, and response again to continue with the flow.

We have already configured the conversation flow that the user will follow. Now we need to configure the global node, meaning we need to tell the system how this chatbot should be activated.

To do this, we click on "+ Global Node" and assign a name to our global node. Regarding priority, we always recommend that global nodes have at least a priority of 5.

Next, we configure the trigger. In our example, we select "Predefined Trigger" and check "Any User Input." This will make the chatbot activate upon any user interaction.

Now, we need to tell the system what it should do once the node is activated. To do this, we scroll to the bottom and enable the "Redirect" option to indicate where the system should redirect the user after activation.

We select the name of the chatbot we are configuring and, in the "Node" field, we select "First Message." This way, we redirect the customer to the start of the flow.