Guided Conversations in WhatsApp

Guided Conversations in WhatsApp

What is Guided Conversations? 

Guided Conversations is a comprehensive conversation builder platform that easily integrates with other applications. GC has ready-to-use components that allow you to build a predefined flow for any use case that you have in mind.

What are the benefits of using GC?

  1. Establishing adaptable self-service workflows.
  2. Constructing automated conversations to assist prospects and customers.
  3. Developing in-app guidance to support sales and service calls.
  4. Minimizing the need for developer intervention.

What are blocks?

Blocks are the fundamental units of the Zoho Desk's Guided Conversations flow Builder. The GC flow builder offers blocks that cater to various business scenarios. Whether you need to display images or add emojis to create a welcoming message for your customers, you can achieve it all by using the appropriate blocks in the flow you are building.

Why use GC in WhatsApp?

  1. Wide user base: WhatsApp has a large and growing user base, making it an excellent platform to reach a broad audience.
  2. Ease of use: WhatsApp's interface is user-friendly, making it easy for users to interact with the GC chatbot.
  3. 24/7 availability: GC chatbot on WhatsApp can provide round-the-clock customer support, ensuring that users can get assistance at any time. The bot can easily scale to handle increasing numbers of users without compromising performance.
  4. Instant responses: You can handle multiple queries simultaneously, providing instant responses to users and reducing wait times.
  5. Automate processes: Routine tasks, such as answering FAQs, processing orders, and scheduling appointments, can be automated, freeing up human resources for more complex tasks.
  6. User-friendly interface: WhatsApp offers a familiar and convenient platform for customers to interact with the business, as it's widely used globally. 
  7. Improved customer retention: Increases customer loyalty by providing quick and efficient service, making it easier for customers to resolve their issues.
  8. Brand image enhancement: Demonstrates a commitment to innovation and customer service excellence, enhancing the brand's reputation.

Types of blocks and their compatibility

Easily create your bot in just a few minutes using the Guided Conversations (GC) builder. This will help you address simple customer questions and issues on your configured WhatsApp channel. To fully leverage the Blended Conversations feature in Zoho Desk, start by noting which blocks are supported in WhatsApp.
  1. Response blocks
  2. Action blocks
  3. Response cards
The response blocks can receive input or display a message to the user.

1. Message cards

Type

WhatsApp Channel

Text


Yes. Max message length = 4096 characters (only text)

Info Card

✗ No


2. Question cards

Type

WhatsApp Channel

Text

✓ Yes

Image

✓ Yes (only jpg, jpeg, png)

Video

✓ Yes (only mp4, 3gpp)

Audio

✓ Yes

File

✓ Yes

Slider

✗ No

Email

✓ Yes

URL

✓ Yes

Currency

✓ Yes

Calendar

✓ Yes

Number

✓ Yes

Location

✓ Yes


3. Choice cards

A) Text button
Button selection type: Only the single select option is supported in WhatsApp.

Type

WhatsApp Channel

Text

✓ Yes - A total of 10 buttons with a max of 20 characters each

URL

✗ No

Image

✗ No

Video

✗ No

Audio

✗ No

Smiley

✗ No

Feedback

✗ No



B) Dynamic button
Button selection type:  Only the single select option is supported in WhatsApp.

Type

WhatsApp Channel

Text

✗ No



C) Choice block

Type

WhatsApp Channel

Static card

✗ No

Dynamic card

✗ No


4. Action blocks

The action blocks help perform a range of actions in the back-end, generally altering the course of a conversation.

Type

WhatsApp Channel

Jump

✓ Yes

Fork

✓ Yes

Operation

✓ Yes

Webhook

✓ Yes


Info
One of the essential integration blocks is the Chat Transfer block, which allows seamless handoff from the bot to live agents. Learn more about Chat Transfer.

Steps to create a new flow for WhatsApp channel

1. Navigate to Setup > Self Service > Guided Conversations.
2. Select the department where  you want to build the conversation flow and click Create Flow.


3. In the Create Flow form, enter the Name and Description, choose the WhatsApp channel for the conversation flow, and click Next.  



1. Navigate to Setup > Self Service > Guided Conversations.
2. Select the department where you have built the conversation flow.
3. Click the ellipsis next to the flow you want to edit and select Edit.



4. Select Edit.



5. In the Edit Flow form, select WhatsApp and Save.



Note
The blocks that are not supported via WhatsApp are displayed in the flow builder with a visual indicator when WhatsApp is selected as the channel.



Adding a chatbot to your WhatsApp channel

 

Related Article

For the complete guide on associating a bot with your WhatsApp channel, refer to the official Zoho Desk help article:  How to add a Chatbot to your WhatsApp channel

 

Getting started
To create your first bot and associate it with your WhatsApp channel:

1. Go to Setup (  ) in the top bar.
2. Select the Instant Messaging channel.
3. Navigate to the Preferences section.
4. Click on the Bots sub-tab.
5. Under the Associate a Bot section, click Let's Get Started.
6. Select Guided Conversations under the Configure Bot accordion.
7. Click Next.
 8. Select the respective bot or click Create Bot.
9. Click Next.
10. The next step is to associate a WhatsApp channel where you can leverage your conversational bot for better customer support. Associate a channel by selecting it from the drop down list. Then, click Save.
11. Continue bot configuration by checking that the default selection, All Visitors, is highlighted, ensuring the bot attends to all visitor conversations.
12. The final step is to ensure the availability of the configured bot is set to Always.

Note
Assign the bot to a unique audience. This will help you prevent the same customers from receiving answers from the same bot.