A good bot flow doesn't try to replace your team — it filters and qualifies so your team only spends time on conversations that need a human. Here's how to build one from scratch.
1. Start with the questions you get most
Before opening the flow builder, list the five questions your team answers most often — pricing, hours, order status, and so on. These become your first automated replies.
2. Map the greeting and menu
Your first node is usually a greeting with a simple menu: "What can I help with today?" with quick-reply buttons for Sales, Support, or Order Status. This alone deflects a large share of repetitive traffic.
3. Add qualifying questions for leads
For a sales path, ask 2-3 short questions (company size, budget range, timeline) before routing to a rep — so your sales team opens the conversation with context instead of starting from zero.
4. Always build an escape hatch
Every flow should have a "talk to a human" option at every step. Nothing frustrates a customer more than being stuck in a bot loop with no way out.
5. Hand off with context, not just a ping
When a bot flow hands a conversation to an agent, it should carry the answers already collected — so the agent doesn't re-ask what the customer just told the bot.
6. Test it like a customer would
Run through your own flow end-to-end before publishing, including the escape hatch and edge cases like typos or unexpected replies.
Once live, watch where customers drop off or keep hitting "talk to a human" — that's your signal for what to automate next.