Plan Your Button-Based Chatbot

A button-based chatbot guides visitors through a structured conversation using clickable options. Unlike an AI chatbot that answers freely, a button-based bot follows a predetermined flow that you design. This guide helps you plan your flow before building it.

How Button-Based Bots Work

A button-based bot is built in the Flow Builder using drag-and-drop blocks. The conversation follows a set path: you show a message, offer choices (buttons), and each choice leads to the next step. Think of it like a decision tree.

Planning Your Flow

1. Define Your Goal

What should the chatbot achieve? Common goals include: collecting leads (name, email, phone), answering FAQs, booking appointments, or guiding visitors to the right page. Pick one main goal — you can always expand later.

2. Map Out the Conversation

Sketch your flow on paper or in your head. A simple lead generation flow might look like:

1. Welcome message → “Hi! How can I help you today?”
2. Multi Choice → Pricing / Our Services / Contact Us
3. Each option → A short answer + follow-up question
4. Email block → Ask for their email
5. Thank you message → “Thanks! We’ll be in touch.”

3. Keep It Short

Visitors lose interest after 4–5 steps. Get to the point quickly. Every step should have a clear purpose — if it doesn’t add value, remove it.

4. Write Your Messages

Draft the text for each message block. Keep messages short (1–2 sentences), friendly, and action-oriented. Use the button labels to make choices clear — “See Pricing” is better than “Option 1”.

Available Block Types

• Message — display a text message
• Question — ask for free-text input
• Email — ask for and validate an email address
• Multi Choice — show multiple buttons for the user to choose from
• Option — define what happens when a specific button is clicked
• Image / Video — show media content
• Loop — repeat a section of the flow
• Redirect — send the user to a URL

Quick Planning Checklist

• Main goal defined (lead gen, FAQ, booking, etc.)
• Conversation flow mapped out (max 4–5 steps)
• Messages written for each step
• Button labels decided
• What data to collect decided (email, name, phone)

Ready to build? See “Creating Your First Bot” for the step-by-step building guide, or “Create a Lead Generation Chatbot” for a complete tutorial.