Start a flow from a template

Add a ready-made flow to your workspace instead of building it card by card. At the end, you have a copy of a starter or chatbot template in your Flows list. You can change every step, then publish it when it is ready.

Before you start

• You can see Flows in the WhatsApp panel. To add a flow, your role also needs save access to flows. See Understand flows and the Flows list.
• For a chatbot template, your WhatsApp number is connected. See Connect your WhatsApp number.
• For a Google starter, you know which Google account, spreadsheet or calendar it should use.

Starters and chatbot templates

Start from library has two lists.

• Starters are automation flows. They start on an event, such as a form being submitted.
• Chatbot templates are ready-made WhatsApp conversations. Each one has a topic, such as E-commerce or Support.

Starters

Starter	What it does
Collect a lead on WhatsApp	When someone says hi, asks their name, phone and address, then saves them as a lead in the CRM.
Add form answers to a Google Sheet	When a form is submitted, adds a row to a spreadsheet: who, when, and which form.
Book a Google Meet when someone is free	When a form is submitted, checks the calendar, books a meeting with a Meet link if the slot is free, and sends the link on WhatsApp.
Send an instant Google Meet link	When a form is submitted, creates a Meet room right away and sends the link on WhatsApp. There is no calendar invite.
Turn Google Form responses into CRM leads	When your Google Form gets a response, saves the person as a CRM lead and adds the response to a Google Sheet.
Save Google Form responses to Google Contacts	When your Google Form gets a response, adds the person to Google Contacts, or updates them if they are already there.
Publish everywhere	When a post is ready, sends it to every channel selected on it, then records how it went.
Only promote big posts	When a post is ready, checks a condition first and stops quietly if it does not apply.
Give drafts a breather	When a draft is created, waits a while before doing anything with it.
Ask for a Google review after an appointment	When an appointment is marked completed, waits 2 hours, then sends the customer your Google review link on WhatsApp. Skipped when your review page is not set up. See Ask for a Google review after an appointment.

Chatbot templates

Each template is a working conversation. The last column lists what its three main branches cover.

Template	Topic	Main branches
Order Status Checker	E-commerce, Orders, Tracking	Track Order, Change Address, Cancel Order
FAQ Menu	Support, FAQ, Self-serve	Instant Answers, Topic Menu, Human Handover
Product Catalog	Retail, Catalog, Browse	Browse Range, Best Sellers, Shopping Help
Feedback Collector	Feedback, CSAT, Reviews	Rate Us, Reason Capture, Recover Unhappy
Shipping Update	E-commerce, Delivery, Logistics	Delivery Status, Order Lookup, Urgent Cases
Return & Refund	E-commerce, Returns, Refunds	Start Return, Reason Routing, Policy Steps
Table Reservation	Food, Booking, Dine-in	Pick Slot, Party Size, Confirm Booking
Hotel Check-in	Hospitality, Check-in, Concierge	Early Check-in, Late Check-out, Airport Pickup
Salon Booking	Beauty, Booking, Appointments	Pick Service, Choose Day, Confirm Slot
Gym Membership	Fitness, Membership, Leads	View Plans, Free Trial, Talk to Trainer
Real Estate Inquiry	Real Estate, Property, Leads	Buy or Rent, Budget Band, Preferred Area
Job Application	HR, Recruitment, Hiring	Job Roles, Applicant Details, Screening
Event Registration	Events, RSVP, Registration	Event Details, Attendee Count, Confirm RSVP
Course Enrollment	Education, Courses, Admissions	Course Picker, Batch Details, Counselling
Insurance Quote	Finance, Insurance, Quotes	Policy Type, Key Details, Advisor Handover
Bank Balance FAQ	Finance, Banking, Self-serve	Balance & Timings, Block Card, Other Queries
Tech Support Triage	Technology, Support, Triage	Report Issue, Device Details, Quick Fix
Warranty Claim	Retail, Warranty, Service	Product & Date, Issue Details, Claim Registered
Loyalty Rewards	Retail, Loyalty, Rewards	Points Balance, Redeem Steps, Earning Rules
Abandoned Cart Reminder	E-commerce, Cart, Recovery	Cart Reminder, Recovery Link, Need Help
Payment Reminder	Finance, Payments, Collections	Pay Now, Payment Proof, Promised Date
Welcome New Customer	General, Onboarding, Welcome	Instant Welcome, Start Browsing, Talk to Us
Out of Office	General, After-hours, Auto-reply	After Hours, Take a Message, Emergency Escalation
Language Selector	General, Language, Preference	Pick Language, Confirm Choice, Saved on Contact
Store Locator	Retail, Stores, Locations	Nearest Store, Directions, Call Store
Demo Request	B2B, Demo, Sales	Book a Slot, Work Email, Pricing Questions

The library can hold more templates than this list. Your screen shows the ones available to you.

Steps

Open the library

1. Open WhatsApp in the left rail, then select Flows. The Automation flows screen opens.
2. Click the arrow (⌄) on the right side of New flow.
3. Click Start from library. The Start from library window opens.

Find a template

1. Type in Search templates. The search matches a starter's title and summary. For chatbot templates, it also matches the name, the summary, the topic and the tags.
2. Under Chatbot templates, click a topic chip to show only that topic. Click All to clear it.
3. If nothing matches, the window says No starters match your search. or No chatbot templates match.

Add a starter

1. Under Starters, read the title and the line under it.
2. Click Use. The button reads Creating… while the flow is made.
3. The flow opens in the builder. It is a draft named Untitled followed by a number, for example Untitled 1.
4. Click the name at the top to rename it. The tooltip is Rename flow.
5. Click each step and fill in what is empty. Google starters arrive without a spreadsheet, meeting window or Google account. Publishing is refused until you fill them in. Choose the spreadsheet with Choose from Google Drive in the step. See Set the spreadsheet and its tab.
6. Click Save, then Publish. See Build an automation flow.

Preview a chatbot template

1. Under Chatbot templates, click Preview on a template.
2. Read the steps in order. Each step has a plain label, for example Message, Question with replies, Template message, Product, Product list, Pick from a live list, Ask for a location, Ask for a photo or file, Add a tag, Call an API, Hand over to a person, AI reply, Condition or Continue in another flow.
3. Read the note at the bottom: Every step stays editable once it is yours.
4. Click Use template to add it, or Close to go back.

If the preview cannot load, the message Could not load "…". appears with the template's name.

Add a chatbot template

1. Under Chatbot templates, click Use template. The button reads Adding….
2. Ohanvi copies the template into your workspace and opens it as a flow.
3. Set when the chatbot starts. See Flow Start and triggers.
4. Replace the sample wording, templates and links with your own. See Understand the flow builder.
5. Click Run test or Test to try it. See Test with the chat simulator.
6. Click Publish.

A template is a copy

The copy is yours. Changing it never changes the library. A chatbot template does not answer customers until you publish it.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Fix
The chatbot templates could not be loaded.	The library did not answer.	Click Retry.
No chatbot templates are available yet.	Your workspace has no library templates.	Start from a starter, or build a chatbot from scratch. See Create a WhatsApp chatbot flow.
The flow could not be created.	The copy failed on the server.	Try again. If it fails again, contact support.
Could not load "…".	The preview of that template failed.	Close the preview and try again.
Publishing a Google starter is refused	A spreadsheet, meeting window or Google account is empty.	Open the step and fill it in. See Connect Google Workspace.

Related

• Understand flows and the Flows list
• Build an automation flow
• Create a WhatsApp chatbot flow
• Understand the flow builder