How to create a WhatsApp automation

See how to build a WhatsApp automation, which allows you to ask questions and send personalized recommendations.

For instance, you can run quizzes, surveys, and buying guides all through WhatsApp messages. Not only is this a quick and easy way to engage your audience, it is a great way to gather more data and inform your marketing strategies.

This article focuses on the steps to create an automation. For details on how automations work, their settings, etc., see getting started with automations, although note that it currently does not mention WhatsApp specifically.

Before you begin

Please note the following:

• You must already have WhatsApp set up.
• Your outbound messages are "service" messages and free.
• Automations require an inbound channel match. If a customer messages a brand through an automation, their message must be sent through the same channel in order for the automation to work.
  • For example, there's an automation configured via WhatsApp and a message is sent to them. A customer must reply to that automation in WhatsApp in order for it to work. They can't reply via SMS.
    

Create an automation

1. Navigate to Content > Automations.
2. Click Create, or Create an automation if this is your first automation.
3. Click the gear icon in the upper right, then select Session settings.
4. If you have both WhatsApp and text messaging set up, turn on Limit sending to specific channels. Select WhatsApp and clear Text messaging to run this automation only on WhatsApp. If WhatsApp is your only configured channel, it is already selected.
5. Click Save.

Set up the trigger and trigger keywords

The trigger defines what inbound message kicks off the automation.

1. In your new automation, click on the Trigger.
2. Select a trigger type: Always on (evergreen entry points like buying guides) or Message response (replies to a specific campaign or flow).
3. For Message response, select Campaign or Flow under Profile replied to. Choose the Campaign name, or choose both the Flow name and Flow message. The customer must have received that message on WhatsApp within the last 48 hours.
4. Type in the word or phrase you want as the trigger keyword. Trigger keywords:
   • Must be 3–25 characters for Always on, or 1–25 characters for Message response. An emoji-only keyword can be as short as 1 emoji.
   • Must be unique across your automations
   • Cannot contain tabs, line breaks, or consecutive spaces, or be a subscribe/compliance keyword (STOP, JOIN).
   • Can contain spaces (e.g., "I love pets")
   • Are not case-sensitive
5. Click Save. To add more keywords, click the trigger again and select Add keyword.
6. Recommended: reopen the trigger, turn on Assign response as a profile property, enter a property name, and click Save. For example, “Linen,” “Apple Cider,” and “Pumpkin” can all map to a “Favorite scent” property, giving you a segmentation signal you can use across email, SMS, and WhatsApp.

WhatsApp recognizes trigger keywords as follows:

• Always on recognizes the configured keyword without regard to capitalization and can also recognize similar wording or misspellings. For example, “Pets” matches “pets” or “PETS.” Use distinct, easy-to-spell keywords rather than relying on approximate matches.
• Message response recognizes an exact keyword or a keyword within a longer reply, and can also recognize similar wording or misspellings. For example, “Outdoor furniture” can match “I want outdoor furniture.” A reply containing only part of the phrase is not guaranteed to match.

Branching from the trigger: When you add multiple trigger keywords, each keyword can route customers down a different path. Click the connector dot under a specific keyword; it becomes a plus (+) button when you hover over it. Select Add question or Add message to create the response for that keyword. Add recommendations after a Choices question.

Build the automation

WhatsApp automations are built from 3 block types: Questions, Messages, and Recommendations. Click the connector dot under a trigger keyword or a previous question’s choice to add the next step. The dot becomes a plus (+) button when you hover over it.

Add a Question

Use a Question to collect a response from the subscriber that you can branch off of or save to a profile property.

1. Click the plus (+) button and select Add question.
2. Add your question text in the Question box.
3. Choose a Reply type:
   • Choices (2–5 choices): the customer picks from preset options. Use this when you want to branch the automation or send a personalized recommendation. WhatsApp displays up to 3 choices as quick reply buttons, or 4–5 choices in a list. Customers can also reply with the choice text or number. A longer reply can match when it contains just 1 choice. Keep each choice to 20 characters or fewer, and avoid single letters or numbers.
   • Free text accepts an open-ended reply, which you can save to a profile property. Use it for questions like “What’s your name?” It cannot branch based on the reply.
   • Email accepts and validates an email address. If it matches an existing profile, Klaviyo may merge the profiles so you have a unified view across email and WhatsApp. Collecting an email address here does not collect email marketing consent.
   • Date accepts and validates a date, useful for birthdays, anniversaries, or event dates. Select a Date format and include the expected format in your question.
4. For Choices, enter at least 2 choices. To add more, click Add choice.
5. Recommended: for Choices, Free text, or Date, turn on Assign response as profile property and choose or create the property that will store the answer. If your editor has a Settings tab, use Assign response as a profile property there and enter the property name. Email saves an email address instead of a custom property.
6. Optional: update the Card name to make the question easier to reference later. If your editor has a Settings tab, find Card name there.
7. Click Save.

To send different follow-up questions or messages for each answer, click the connector under that choice and select Add question or Add message. Repeat for the other choices, or use Add recommendation to end a path with a personalized recommendation.

Add a Message

Use a Message to send a reply. Messages can stand alone as a single-step automation or close out a longer automation.

1. Click the plus (+) button and select Add message.
2. Add your text and optionally name the message in the Internal name field.
3. Optional: use Add media to attach an image or video, or Add URL button to add a Visit website button. For a button, enter its Label and a valid URL beginning with http:// or https://.
4. Click Save.

Add a Recommendation

Recommendations send a personalized response based on which choices a subscriber selected earlier. Recommendations only branch off Choice-type questions.

1. After your questions, click the plus (+) button and select Add recommendation.
2. Name your recommendation something descriptive (e.g., "Chocolate strawberry lovers").
3. Add your message text.
4. Optional: use Add media to attach an image or video, or Add URL button to add a Visit website button. Enter its Label and URL.
5. Select which choice combination this recommendation applies to. You can select multiple combinations per recommendation.
6. Click Save and repeat for each combination you want to personalize.

Cover every path: assign each remaining choice combination to a recommendation, or end that path with a Message. You can use a general recommendation, such as a best seller or new product, for several combinations. New automations do not automatically include a default recommendation. If an existing automation has one, click the cube icon labeled Recommendations, find Default recommendation, and select its 3-dot menu > Edit to update it, then click Save.

Optional: adjust your settings

Optional: adjust any session settings for your automation. To do so:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right.
2. Select Session settings.

3. You can update the following settings:
   • Channel Scoping
   • Reprompt response
   • Fallback response
   • Maximum number of reprompts
   • Maximum timeout (in hours)
4. Click Save to apply your changes.

Preview and turn on an automation

Once you're happy with your automation:

1. Click the play icon labeled Preview in the upper right. Enter a trigger keyword and click Send, then reply to each question to follow the conversation through its final message or recommendation. Once the conversation ends, select Reset Preview to test another path.
   • The preview differs from the live experience. Shortened links are placeholders, and answers entered in the preview do not update profile properties. Proofread your messages and choices, and test the live automation before promoting it. Learn more about previewing an automation.
2. Double-check your trigger keywords, messages and choices, and recommendations.
   • Once the automation is on, you must turn it off to edit it, which causes it to immediately drop everyone currently in the automation.
3. Click Turn on in the upper right.

Once you turn on an automation, customers can enter by sending a matching trigger keyword on WhatsApp. For Message response, they must also have received the selected campaign or flow message on WhatsApp within the last 48 hours.

Coupons, personalization, and links

You can include either static coupons or dynamic coupons in your message. Static coupons use one shared code for all recipients. Dynamic coupons generate a unique code for each recipient.

You can also personalize your message with profile and custom properties. Add these directly to your content using the appropriate variable syntax. Profile properties created within the automation will not populate in the message. Make sure the property already exists on the profile before the message sends.

All links in your message are automatically shortened.

Additional resources