Welcome to our comprehensive guide on building automations in Manychat!
This article covers all the essential concepts and fundamental skills required to create effective and efficient automations for your business. Whether you’re starting from scratch or enhancing your current workflows, we’ll take you through the necessary steps, from understanding the Flow Builder to deploying your automation seamlessly.
By the end of this guide, you will have a solid foundation in creating impactful automations, ensuring a smooth and streamlined experience for both you and your users.
Let’s dive into the core principles of automation with Manychat! This article will cover:
- How to begin building your first automation in Manychat
- How to navigate the Flow Builder
- How to create an automation using the Flow Builder
- How to add triggers to your automation
- Tips and tricks
- FAQ
How to begin building your first automation in Manychat
The primary way to create automation in Manychat is by building a custom automation from scratch. To do this, go to Automations > My Automations, click the + New Automation button.
This will open a pop-up window featuring ready-to-go templates designed to simplify the process of creating automations. These templates can save time and provide a great starting point for common use cases. However, if you prefer complete customization, you can click the Start From Scratch button in the upper right corner of the window.
This option allows you to begin with a blank automation canvas, where you can design every aspect of your automation — from messages and actions to advanced conditions — tailored entirely to your business needs and objectives.
In addition to custom automations, Manychat provides a Basic section within the Automations tab. This section allows you to set up essential automations quickly, such as a Default Reply, Conversation Starters, and other fundamental features tailored to your business needs.
By combining custom automations with the essential setups provided in the Basic section, you can create a powerful and efficient system to engage your audience and meet your business objectives.
Last but not least, Manychat has recently introduced the Quick Automations feature, which is currently available exclusively for the Instagram post and reel comments trigger. This feature provides a simpler, more streamlined alternative for building automations that integrates seamlessly with other established tools, such as the Basic Builder and Flow Builder.
To learn more about how Quick Automations can enhance your workflow, click here.
How to navigate the Flow Builder
When building automations in Manychat, you have two powerful tools at your disposal: Flow Builder and Basic Builder. Each serves a unique purpose and is suited for different use cases.
Flow Builder is a highly intuitive visual editor that provides a comprehensive, bird's-eye view of your entire automation. It displays all messages, actions, and transitions in a visual map, enabling you to easily follow the user's journey without switching between individual messages. This makes it ideal for creating and managing complex automations.
While diving into Flow Builder, we recommend also checking out this article about the block types in Manychat to better understand the fundamental building blocks you'll be working with and how they connect to create seamless automations.
Basic Builder provides a linear, message-by-message view, making it an excellent option for simpler automations. While it is straightforward to use, its linear structure can be limiting for creating or managing complex automations.
For more advanced needs, Flow Builder offers a faster and more efficient way to visualize your entire sequence and manage transitions at a glance. Let’s now take a closer look at the Flow Builder!
In the header section, you’ll find the following options:
- Click the editing icon to name or rename your automation.
- Use the undo and redo buttons to quickly revert or reapply your recent actions.
- Click the respective buttons to preview your automation or make it live.
- Tap the three dots in the right corner of the header to open the menu with more available settings
The right sidebar in Flow Builder contains the next options to enhance your automation-building experience:
- Select this button to toggle between the Flow Builder and Basic Builder. Switching back and forth allows you to choose the most suitable view for your workflow.
- Tap the + icon to reveal the instrument bar, where you’ll find all the available blocks for creating your automation.
- Use the auto-arrange button to neatly organize your automation. This feature ensures that your automation looks clean and visually structured, making it easier to follow.
- Adjust the zoom levels with these buttons to navigate complex automations with multiple steps effortlessly.
The footer section provides quick access to the following features:
- Use this button to access detailed information about zooming and panning within Flow Builder. This is especially useful for navigating large or complex automations efficiently.
- Select this option to activate the Manychat AI Flow Builder Assistant. This powerful tool helps you build your automation with intelligent suggestions and guidance. For a deeper dive into this feature, you can read more about it here.
Finally, in the central section, or main workspace, where all the magic happens in Flow Builder, you will find the following options:
- Click the +New Trigger button to define the triggers that will start your automationю
- Select the first block of your automation. This could be a message, action, or condition that sets the tone for the rest of the automation process.
Once you add any block to your automation and hover over it, two icons will appear on top:
- This option allows you to duplicate the exact step.
- The red recycle bin icon lets you delete this step from your automation.
With all these components in place, you're now equipped to navigate the Flow Builder and start creating powerful automations!
How to create an automation using the Flow Builder
In this section, we’ll walk you through creating your first automation with the Flow Builder. You’ll learn how to design your automation, customize messages, and test everything, while exploring each key block that brings your automation to life. Let’s get started!
Message block
The main step in building your automation is adding a message block. Message blocks are essential for sending text, images, buttons, and other types of content to your users. These blocks are available for all the channels connected to your Manychat account, whether it's Instagram, Facebook Messenger, or another platform.
When building your automation, be sure to choose the message block that corresponds to the channel you're focusing on. For example, if you’re creating an automation for Facebook, select the Messenger-specific message block. This ensures that your messages are optimized for the platform and appear exactly as you intend.
Now, we will build a custom automation for a travel agency to demonstrate how the main blocks can be used to create an effective interaction with users for your business. This automation will showcase how you can recommend destinations, offer tailored travel packages, and guide your customers through their booking journey, all while using the essential building blocks in Manychat.
First, we'll add message blocks with buttons to make the automation more interactive and encourage users to actively engage.
Action block
Since we offer two destination options, we'll use the Action block to tag users according to the option they select.
The Actions step enables the bot to perform a variety of tasks, not just tagging contacts. It also allows for actions like subscribing users to a sequence, notifying an admin, opening a conversation, and more. Each Actions step can include multiple tasks. You can review the available button types and actions here.
Data Collection block
In the next message nodes, we used the Data Collection block to gather and store user data, making our interactions more efficient. This block helps us collect valuable information that can be used to personalize the user experience or segment audiences for more targeted messaging. By selecting the "multiple options" reply type, we can easily capture specific responses from users. You can read more about this feature here.
Condition block
Based on their answers, we can set conditions to determine the automation's next steps, allowing us to tailor the interaction more effectively. This is where the Condition block will come in handy.
It allows you to guide your subscribed contacts down different paths based on specific criteria. Simply choose a condition and define different outcomes for contacts who meet or don't meet these conditions.
Randomizer block
Next, the Randomizer block adds variety to your automation by randomly directing contacts down different paths. This can be useful for testing different message variations to improve conversions or experimenting with call-to-actions.
You can create up to six variations and adjust the split percentages to control how frequently each path is triggered. This allows for strategic experimentation and optimization within your automations.
In our example, the Start Automation and Smart Delay blocks serve as the final components, each playing a crucial role in enhancing the functionality of your automation.
Start Automation block
The Start Automation block allows you to connect the current automation to another one. This is especially useful for creating modular automations, where a specific automation can be reused in multiple places. By triggering a separate automation, you streamline your automation-building process, reduce redundancy, and ensure consistency across different interactions.
For instance, if you have a dedicated automation for follow-up messages, such as in this case, the Start automation node can seamlessly redirect users to it after completing the current automation.
Smart Delay block
The Smart Delay block adds a pause before the next action in the automation. You can set the delay duration in minutes, hours, or even days, depending on your needs. This block is particularly useful for timing your interactions strategically, ensuring messages are sent at the right moment without overwhelming users.
Once you’ve fully completed your automation, you can preview it and publish your automation using the buttons in the upper-right corner of the Flow Builder.
For a detailed guide on using the preview function in Manychat, refer to this article.
How to add triggers to your automation
Triggers act as the starting point for your automation. They listen for specific user actions or events and activate your automation in response. For example, if a user sends a specific keyword, scans a QR code, or interacts with your content, the corresponding trigger activates the automation. This makes it vital to choose the right trigger to ensure a seamless user experience.
To add a trigger to your automation, go to the Starting Step in the Flow Builder, click + New Trigger, and choose the trigger that fits your goal.
Customize its settings, save your changes, and the trigger will activate your automation whenever its conditions are met.
Each channel comes with default features designed to handle basic user interactions, such as Default Reply, Welcome Message, Conversation Starters, Main Menu, and Story Mention Reply.
If your automation is linked to any of these features, this will be indicated in the Starting Step. These built-in tools create a solid foundation for engaging with users and can complement your custom triggers for a more comprehensive setup.
⚠️ Note: When setting up a trigger for your automation, it's essential to ensure it aligns with the channel you're working with, as triggers and message nodes are channel-specific. Selecting a trigger that doesn’t match the automation’s channel — for instance, if you’re using a Facebook trigger for an Instagram automation, it will never trigger. Always double-check that your chosen trigger corresponds to the correct channel to ensure smooth functionality.
Tips and tricks
- Create steps on the canvas by double-clicking and selecting a step type.
- Connect steps on the canvas by clicking on the connection dot and choosing another step.
- Select multiple steps by holding the Shift key and clicking on them.
- Select multiple steps by holding the Shift key and dragging to create a selection frame.
- Copy and paste steps between accounts, though some actions may be disabled if the target Manychat account doesn’t have the necessary Tags, Sequences, etc.
- Copy and paste steps inside the same or between different automations using Cmd+C (Mac) or Ctrl+C (Windows) to copy, and Cmd+V (Mac) or Ctrl+V (Windows) to paste.
- Hold the Alt key and drag a step to create a copy.
- Undo and redo actions with Cmd+Z (Mac) or Ctrl+Z (Windows) to undo, and Cmd+Shift+Z (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+Z (Windows) to redo.
- Change the step following the Starting Step. Clicking the dark dot its connector is coming from and dragging it to the next first step.
FAQ
How many steps can a single automation have?
A single automation can include up to 30 blocks without a pause for each subscribed contact. If the flow exceeds this limit, it will pause automatically to prevent overloading. Any block without a button or Smart Delay is considered a block without a pause.
Can I view analytics in an automation view?
Yes! The automation view offers a clear overview of your stats, showing you how users interact with each step, where they drop off, and which parts of your flow need improvement. You can also filter analytics by specific triggers to analyze the performance of associated steps.
Can I switch back to Basic Builder?
Yes, you can switch back to the Basic Builder at any time by clicking the Go to Basic Builder button in the upper-right corner of the Flow Builder while in editing mode.
Can I make automation multilingual?
Absolutely! To create a multilingual automation, you can build separate versions for each language and use conditions to display the correct version based on the user's language preference.
Can I duplicate the content in an automation for use in another one?
Yes, you can easily duplicate your automation for other parts of your workflow or adapt it to new use cases as described in the Tips and tricks section.
How do I set up an automation that only triggers once?
To ensure your automation only triggers once, you can set conditions based on user actions or use tags that prevent the automation from running again for the same user.
Is there a limit to how many automations I can create?
There’s no strict limit on the number of automations you can create, but it's important to organize them efficiently, especially as your account grows to avoid confusion and ensure smooth performance.
How can I manage complex automations with multiple steps?
You can use folders and naming conventions to keep your automations organized, and you can break down larger, more complex ones into smaller, reusable automations to make management easier using the Start Automation step.