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Create your first bot

Objective. Build a working greeting, menu, answer, and handoff flow from a first-party template or a blank canvas.

Prerequisites

  • A workspace where you can create and edit bots.
  • A simple use case to model, such as answering one question before offering a human handoff.
  • No WhatsApp number or Meta setup is needed for this guide.

Choose a starting point

Choose a template when a ready-made shape is close to your use case. Choose a blank bot when you want to assemble the flow yourself from the Start node.

  1. 1For a template, open Browse templates, choose one of the 9 first-party starting points, name the bot, choose a workspace, and select Create bot. The gallery includes Lead Capture & Qualification, Appointment Booking, Customer Support & FAQ, Order Status & Tracking, Feedback & NPS Survey, Customer Management, Movie & Show Ticketing, Inter-city Bus Booking, and Online Store & Checkout.
  2. 2For a blank canvas, select New bot from the workspace overview, enter a bot name, and choose Create bot. After the overview refreshes, open the new bot to use its built-in Start node and empty canvas.

Build a greeting, menu, answer, and handoff flow

  1. 1In the Nodes sidebar, add Message, Buttons, Question, and Handoff nodes. Click a palette item to place it on the canvas, or drag it to the position you want.
  2. 2Select the Message node and write a short greeting. Select Buttons, write a menu prompt, and add two choices such as Ask a question and Talk to a person.
  3. 3Select Question, set its Prompt, and use Save answer as to store the response under a variable such as question. In Handoff, set an Acknowledgement message if you want the customer to receive one as the conversation is escalated.
  4. 4Drag connections from Start to Message, from Message to Buttons, and from each Buttons option to its destination. Connect Ask a question to Question and then Handoff; connect Talk to a person directly to Handoff.

Use the AI flow builder when it fits

The AI flow builder drafts a whole flow from a prompt. It is available on every plan when your workspace has an available credit balance, and generation uses credits.

  1. 1To begin with a prompt, select Create with AI from the workspace overview, describe the bot, then choose Create & build.
  2. 2To draft from an existing canvas, open the circular AI builder control in the editor and describe the flow you want. Review the generated nodes and connections just as you would a hand-built flow.

Expected result

Expected result. The canvas contains a connected greeting, menu, question, and handoff path. Each menu option has an intentional destination, and the Question node saves the customer response under the variable you configured.

Common errors

A menu option does nothing.
Connect that specific Buttons output handle to a destination. Each option needs its own connection when it should follow a different path.
The handoff message is not the message I expected.
Set the Handoff node Acknowledgement message, or leave it empty to use the bot default from Settings → Handoff.
The AI flow builder is unavailable.
Check that your workspace has an available credit balance, then try again.
I cannot create a bot in this workspace.
Use a workspace where your role can create bots and where workspace setup is complete, or ask an owner to update your access.

Related guides

Getting startedWhat Fluenta is, what you need, and the shortest path from empty workspace to a tested flow.Test a flowWalk every branch in the simulator before a real contact ever sees the bot.Human handoffRoute a conversation to a person without losing its context.