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Best Practices

Design effective, customer-friendly WhatsApp assistant flows by following these best practices.

Flow Design

Keep It Simple

  • ✅ Limit menu depth to 2–3 levels — customers shouldn't need more than 3 taps to reach an answer.
  • ✅ Offer 3–5 menu options per menu — even though menus support up to 10, fewer choices reduce decision fatigue.
  • ✅ Plan your flow on paper first — sketch the conversation paths before building.

Provide Escape Routes

  • ✅ Always include "Talk to Agent" in every menu — customers should never feel trapped.
  • ✅ Add "Back" options in sub-menus — let customers navigate up.
  • ✅ Set up interrupt keywords in Assistant Settings — menu, hi, agent, stop should always work.

Handle Edge Cases

  • ✅ Add a Human Handoff somewhere in every flow — some questions need a person.
  • ✅ Configure a good fallback message — "Sorry, I didn't understand. Type 'menu' to see options."
  • ✅ Avoid dead ends — every non-terminal node should connect to a next step.

Message Content

Writing WhatsApp Messages

  • ✅ Keep messages short — aim for 2–3 short paragraphs. No one reads walls of text on a phone.
  • ✅ Use emoji sparingly — one or two per message adds personality, more looks unprofessional.
  • ✅ Stay within 1,024 characters — that's the WhatsApp limit. The Inspector warns you.
  • ✅ Use line breaks — break content into scannable chunks.
  • ✅ Be conversational — write like you're texting a customer, not writing an email.

Personalisation

  • ✅ Use variables — Hi {{name}}! is warmer than Hi!
  • ✅ Capture variables early — name and email in the first interaction.
  • ✅ Use Contact scope for permanent data — the customer won't be asked again.

Choosing Menu Types

Scenario Recommended Type
2–3 simple choices (Yes/No, Continue/Cancel) Quick Reply Buttons
4–10 standard options List Message
Options needing longer descriptions Numbered Menu

Option Labels

  • ✅ Keep labels descriptive but short — "Our Services" not "Click here to learn about our services"
  • ✅ Start with action verbs when possible — "Book Appointment", "Get Quote", "View Products"
  • ✅ Use consistent casing — either Title Case or sentence case, not both
  • ✅ Check character limits — 20 for Buttons, 24 for List, 60 for Numbered

Variables

Naming Conventions

✅ Good ❌ Bad Why
customer_name name1 Descriptive
email_address e Clear purpose
selected_product x Self-documenting
phone_number Phone Number No spaces/caps allowed

Scope Guidelines

Data Type Recommended Scope Reason
Name, email, phone Contact Persists — don't ask again
Menu selections Conversation Temporary — reset each chat
Product interest Conversation Changes each time
Customer preferences Contact Remember across chats

AI Chat

  • ✅ Start with a 70% confidence threshold — adjust based on results.
  • ✅ Write a helpful fallback — include navigation hints.
  • ✅ Keep your Knowledge Base current — outdated docs = wrong answers.
  • ✅ Use Prompt Override for focused AI — "Only answer questions about billing. Be concise."
  • ✅ Always add a follow-up — "Was that helpful?" → Agent escalation if not.

Testing

Before Publishing

  • ✅ Check the Readiness Score — aim for 100%.
  • ✅ Fix all errors — they block publishing.
  • ✅ Walk through every path in the emulator.
  • ✅ Test edge cases — what if the customer types random text? What if they skip a question?
  • ✅ Check variable substitution — make sure {{name}} shows the real value, not the raw placeholder.

After Publishing

  • ✅ Test with a real phone — the emulator is helpful but doesn't replicate all WhatsApp behaviours.
  • ✅ Have a colleague test — fresh eyes catch issues you've overlooked.
  • ✅ Monitor the first few days — watch for unexpected fallbacks or dead ends.

Performance

  • ✅ Keep flows under 30 nodes — very large flows are harder to maintain.
  • ✅ Break large flows into clear sections — use sub-menus to organise.
  • ✅ Optimise images and documents — smaller files load faster on mobile.
  • ✅ Use My Documents for media — signed URLs are more reliable than external links.

Common Anti-Patterns

❌ Don't ✅ Do Instead
One giant menu with 10+ options Break into category sub-menus
Long messages (500+ characters) Split into multiple shorter messages
Dead ends after every response Loop back to a menu
Only AI-powered responses Offer human handoff as a fallback
Asking for too much info upfront Capture essential data first, details later
Same variable name in multiple nodes Use unique, descriptive variable names