Trigger a bot flow from an external system via webhook
The Inbound Webhook Trigger lets an external system — your CRM, your website, a Zapier automation, or any custom code — start a WhatsApp bot flow by sending a POST request. The webhook receives data (such as a customer's phone number and name) and uses it to initiate a personalised bot conversation.
Create the bot with a webhook trigger
1
Go to Chatbot → Create Bot Flow. Give it a name.
2
Click the + icon and select WhatsApp Chatbot.
3
Choose Inbound Webhook Trigger as the trigger type.
4
Select how the channel will be identified (by channel name or dynamically from the payload).
5
Select the WhatsApp channel.
6
Add a Sample Payload (JSON) — this teaches WA.Expert what data to expect.
7
Select the field in the payload that identifies the customer (usually chat_uid, which is the customer's WhatsApp number in international format with no + sign).
8
Click Create Webhook.
9
Copy the generated Webhook URL.
{
"chat_uid": "919867800451",
"name": "Priya"
}
Test the webhook
1
Open Postman (or any API testing tool).
2
Set the method to POST and paste in the webhook URL.
3
Set the body to raw JSON and paste your sample payload.
4
Send the request. Check Run History in the bot builder to confirm it was received.
Build the bot flow
1
Add a Template Message block as the first message. Template messages are required if the customer has not messaged you in the last 24 hours.
2
Map payload variables (such as name) into the template body.
3
Add a Smart Wait block to wait for the customer's reply (set to 100 hours for open-ended waits).
4
Continue the flow with questions, routing, or data collection as needed.
5
Save and enable the workflow.
Phone number format
The chat_uid must be the customer's phone number in international format without the + sign. For example, an Indian number +91 98678 00451 becomes 919867800451.
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