5: Parent Bot/Linked Bot (WhatsApp) 🤖

Introduction

Once your WhatsApp integration is complete and your account is available on Landbot you will be able to link a bot to the number you integrated. We call it the parent bot.

In this article we will explain how to link the bot to your WhatsApp channel, when this bot will answer and different ways to link a bot to a specific action.

How to build a WhatsApp bot

Before you can link a bot to your WhatsApp number you'll have to create it.

On your dashboard click the bot icon on the left and start from scratch or click the "Build a chatbot" button on the top right corner

This will allow you to create a Hybrid bot which will work for either WhatsApp or FB Messenger.

This will take you to the Landbot builder where will be able to start building your bot.

Linking a "Parent bot" to your number

Once you have completed your bot and would like to make it available to all your users you can link it to the WhatsApp number you have integrated with Landbot.

1. Click on Channels in the left of your dashboard (The small antenna)

2. Click on WhatsApp Pro or WhatsApp Business (this will vary depending on your plan)

3. Select the account

4. Find the Linked Bot area and click on the small drop down menu

If you see your bot on the list, select it and click Link Bot.

If your bot is not on the list, you can search for it in the search bar. Make sure you press "ENTER" to complete the search.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: once a hybrid bot is linked to your WhatsApp number it will go from Hybrid to only WhatsApp bot.

Hybrid Bot:

WhatsApp Bot:

Once you have linked the bot to your number, anyone who sends a message to your number will get a response from your "Parent" bot.

What is a parent bot?

The parent bot is the bot linked to your WhatsApp channel as shown in the previous section. You will find it here:

How do I change the parent bot?

Repeat the same process as in the Linking a "Parent bot" to your number section

What happens if i don't link a parent bot?

If you don't link a bot to your WhatsApp number all the conversation will go directly to the Landbot chats section for an agent to respond to.

For more information about the Chats Section, click here.

Other ways to link a bot

There are a few different situations in which you can link a bot that is different to the "parent" bot.

Get Opt Ins

When one of your customers opts in or subscribes to your service you can assign an HSM template to thank them for subscribing. You can also link a bot to this template in case the user responds to it.

If the user finishes the conversation with the bot linked to the HSM template or you have not linked a bot to the template, the conversation will go to the "Parent bot"

For more information about the Get Opt Ins section, please click here

Campaigns

When sending an HSM template for a campaign/notification you can link a bot for each specific campaign in the Campaigns Section.

If the user finishes the conversation with the bot linked to the campaign or you have not linked a bot to it, the conversation will go to the "Parent bot".

If you send a campaign with a variable, this variable will be available to use in the parent bot (if variable name and format are the same)

For more information about the Campaigns section, please click here

Where is the data saved?

The data collected by your your WhatsApp bot is saved in that channel and can be found in the Users section of the linked bot.

You can find it by opening the builder section of the bot linked to your number:

Then click on Analyze > Users

Here you'll be able to see the full list of users that have interacted with your bot! 🙌

What happens when the chat ends?

When the chat ends, it closes the channel until next interaction.

The next interaction will start the chat from the first block of the parent bot, keeping the users variable values from the previous conversation. These can be used to your advantage when building your bot.

Click here for an example of this situation.

What happens with users who are in the middle of conversation if we change the parent bot?

If one of your users is in the middle of a conversation with a bot and you change the linked bot, don't worry, the user will first have to finish the conversation with the bot that is currently linked before the new one takes over!