| ✓ Before You Begin Make sure you have an active BotSailor account, a connected WhatsApp bot, and a clear idea of the data you want to collect. In this guide, the example flow asks the subscriber for anemail address. |
What Is User Input Flow?
User Input Flow in BotSailor helps you collect structured information from subscribers during a chatbot conversation. You can ask questions, choose the input type, save the user’s response, and then continue the conversation with another block. This makes User Input Flow useful for lead collection, surveys, booking requests, onboarding, and customer profiling.
Why Use User Input Flow?
- Ask subscribers questions during a WhatsApp conversation.
- Collect structured replies such as names, emails, phone numbers, or preferences.
- Use the saved responses for follow-up communication and personalization.
- Extend the flow later with more questions, Google Sheets, or webhook-based automation.
Part 1: Open User Input Flows
| Step 1: Go to the Data Collection Section Log in to BotSailor and select the connected WhatsApp bot you want to work with. From the top navigation area, click Data Collection. |
| Step 2: Open User Input Flows Inside the Data Collection section, click User Input Flows. This page displays your existing input flow campaigns. |
| Step 3: Create a New Input Flow Click the Create button to start a new input flow campaign. |
Part 2: Build the WhatsApp Data Collection Flow
| Step 1: Configure the Start Bot Flow Create the trigger that will start the data collection conversation. In the Configure Reference panel, enter thetrigger keywords. In this example, the trigger keywords are "Collection, info". Choose the keyword matching type. The example uses "Exact keyword match". Give the flow a title, such as "Email Collection", and click Save Changes. |
| Step 2: Add a User Input Flow Block Drag the "User Input Flow" block onto the flow builder and connect it to the Start Bot Flow. Create or select the input flow campaign. In the example, the campaign name is "Collecting E-mail". |
| Step 3: Add a New Question Add a "New Question" block after the User Input Flow block. Enter the question you want the bot to ask. In this example, the question is "What is your Email address?" Set the reply type to "Email" so BotSailor collects the response as an email address. |
| Step 4: Add a Thank-You Message Connect a "Text" block after the question block. Write a confirmation message. In this example, the message is "Thanks for sharing your Email address." |
| Step 5: Save the Flow Review the connection order of all blocks. Click the Save button in the upper-right corner of the Flow Block to finalize the setup. |
Part 3: Test the WhatsApp Data Collection Flow
| Step 1: Send the Trigger Keyword Open WhatsApp and send one of the configured trigger keywords, such as "info". |
| Step 2: Submit the Requested Information The bot should ask, "What is your Email address?" Reply with a valid email address. |
| Step 3: Confirm the Thank-You Reply After the email is submitted, the bot should send the confirmation message: "Thanks for sharing your Email address." |
Verification: How to Know It Worked
The setup is working correctly when the subscriber sends the trigger keyword, the WhatsApp bot asks for the email address, the user can submit a valid email reply, and the bot sends the thank-you message after collecting the response.
Use Cases
- Email capture for newsletters or follow-up campaigns.
- Lead generation for product or service inquiries.
- Survey or feedback collection through WhatsApp.
- Customer onboarding and profile-building flows.
- Booking or registration forms that begin with basic user information.
Tips for Better Data Collection
- Ask one question at a time to keep the flow simple.
- Use clear titles for your input flow campaigns so they are easy to manage.
- Choose the correct reply type, such as Email, to improve data accuracy.
- Keep questions short and direct to reduce drop-off.
- Add a short thank-you message so users know their response has been received.
Common Troubleshooting
| The flow does not start when the user sends a message Check the trigger keywords and the keyword matching type in the Start Bot Flow configuration. Make sure the flow is saved after any changes. |
| The bot does not collect the email correctly Confirm that the New Question block is configured with the "Email" reply type. Ask the user to submit a valid email format. |
| The bot does not send the thank-you message Make sure the Text block is connected correctly after the New Question block. Recheck the block connections and save the flow again. |
Next Steps
- Add more questions to collect additional subscriber details.
- Connect the collected data to follow-up sequences or other chatbot flows.
- Extend the setup later with Google Sheets or webhook integration if needed.
