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> Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further.
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# WhatsApp Chatbot Creation Guide

WhatsApp chatbots help you automate conversations, answer common queries, and trigger actions based on user behavior. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the entire process of building a chatbot to support these use cases.

Follow the steps below to build and launch your first chatbot:

### Step 1 - Create a New Bot

* To get started, go to \*\*Automations\*\* in the left sidebar menu and select **Bot** from the dropdown.
* On the **Bots** screen, click the **Add New Bot** button in the top-right corner.

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/6/6/d/6/66d63a5129ae5000/add-new-bot_u1n6gg.png)

### Step 2 - Enter a Bot Name

Once you’re on the bot editor page, enter a name for your bot. This will be used to save and identify the bot.

**Note:** If you already have a bot in another WANotifier account that you'd like to reuse, you can export it from there and import it into the bot builder. For more details, [click here.](https://help.wanotifier.com/en/article/export-import-bots-between-different-wanotifier-accounts-1dgq7wh/) 


![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/6/6/d/6/66d63a5129ae5000/import-and-enter-bot-name_54nam1.png)

### Step 3 - Set Up Your Trigger Node

* Start by connecting a **Trigger node** to the default **Start node**. A **Trigger node** defines the circumstances under which your chatbot will be launched. For example, the New message received trigger node would trigger the chatbot when someone messages you outside an active conversation window. You can learn more about trigger nodes and other chatbot components [here](https://help.wanotifier.com/en/article/whatsapp-chatbot-components-glossary-w45zlh/).

### Step 4 - Configure Your Bot’s Logic

* Start building your bot by adding the necessary **Action nodes** and **Conditional nodes**. We’ve provided a detailed glossary of all the nodes on [this page](https://help.wanotifier.com/en/article/whatsapp-chatbot-components-glossary-w45zlh/).
* Use **Edges** to connect the nodes and use the\*\* Handles \*\*to determine the direction of the flow.

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/6/6/d/6/66d63a5129ae5000/bot-builder_se99u1.png)

### Step 5 - Add End nodes

End the conversation by adding an **End node** and connecting all remaining open handles to it.

### Step 6 - Save and Activate Your Bot

Once your bot is fully configured, click the **Save** button in the top-left corner of the bot builder to save your changes.

To activate the bot, enable the **Toggle bot status** switch in the same tray. This will make your chatbot live and ready to respond to user messages.

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/6/6/d/6/66d63a5129ae5000/activate-chatbot_n4nodh.png)

### Step 7 - Configure Advanced Bot Settings (Optional)

Click on the **Settings** icon located near the **Save** button. This will open the **Bot Settings** menu.

###### Send a message on user inactivity

* Enable this option if you want to send a message to the contacts when they become inactive during a bot session. This will open more options.
* Set the inactivity duration (in minutes). This defines how long the system should wait before sending the message.
* Finally, enter the message in the **Message Text** field. This message will be sent once the specified inactivity period is reached.

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/6/6/d/6/66d63a5129ae5000/send-inactivity-message_hs9idw.png)

###### End the bot session after inactivity

* Enable this option if you want to end the chatbot session automatically after there’s no response from the contact for a set time duration. Enabling this will reveal additional settings.
* Set the number of minutes after which the session should end if there is no response from the user. The bot session will be terminated automatically if there is no response from the user for this set time duration.

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/6/6/d/6/66d63a5129ae5000/bot-session-end_1y347eo.png)

That's all there is to building and launching your own chatbot in WANotifier.

To learn more about how different chatbot nodes work, refer to this glossary:

» [WhatsApp Chatbot components glossary ](https://help.wanotifier.com/en/article/whatsapp-chatbot-components-glossary-w45zlh/)