Run WhatsApp workflows in the background. An automation starts from an event, a webhook from another app, a CRM change, a new order, a missed call, or a schedule, then sends messages, updates records, and calls other systems on its own. This is where WhatsApp stops being just a chat tool and becomes part of how your business runs.
Published 23 June 2026 · 10 min read · Platform Feature
The automation builder is the workflow engine inside WA.Expert. Like the bot builder, you join steps on a canvas. The difference is what sets it off and where it runs.
Automation builder vs bot builder
These two tools look similar and share many steps, but they solve different problems. Knowing which to reach for saves a lot of rework.
Bot builder
Automation builder
Starts from
A customer message in a chat
An event, webhook, field change, or schedule
Needs a chat first
Yes, the customer opens it
No, it can message first via a template
Best for
Menus, FAQs, bookings, lead capture in chat
Order alerts, reminders, drip sequences, app-to-WhatsApp
Typical trigger
Hot keyword, click-to-WhatsApp ad
Inbound webhook, CRM field change, new order
They work together
A bot can hand data to an automation to run a larger workflow, and an automation can start a bot flow. Most mature setups use both: the bot handles the live conversation, the automation handles everything that happens around it.
What can start a workflow
A workflow waits for one of these, then runs. The inbound webhook is the most flexible, since almost any tool can post to a URL.
Inbound webhook — any external app posts data to a URL the builder gives you.
CRM field change — a custom field such as lead stage is updated, useful for drip campaigns.
E-commerce events — a new Shopify order, an order status update, an abandoned cart, or a tracking update.
Form submission — a Google Form is submitted.
Missed call — a missed-call webhook starts a follow-up.
New lead — an enquiry arrives from IndiaMART or TradeIndia.
Schedule — date-based runs such as birthday and anniversary greetings.
Build a webhook automation, step by step
This is the core pattern: another app posts data, your workflow catches it and sends a WhatsApp template. Once you have built this once, every integration follows the same shape.
1
In the automation builder, click Create Workflow and name it.
2
Add a step: Webhook → Custom Webhook. Give it a title and click Generate Hook.
3
Copy the webhook URL and paste it into the other app (for example a Shopify order-creation webhook, or a form tool).
4
Click Capture Incoming Webhook and send a sample from the other app. The fields you sent now appear in the builder, ready to map.
5
Add a CRM → Send Template Message step. Pick the channel and an approved template.
6
Map the number to the phone field from the webhook, and map each template variable to the matching captured value.
7
Click Run & Save, then Enable the workflow. It now fires automatically on every webhook call.
Templates outside the 24-hour window
An automation usually messages a customer who has not just written to you, so the outgoing message must be an approved template. Keep your order, reminder, and alert templates approved in advance so workflows have something to send.
Drip campaigns
A drip campaign sends a planned sequence of messages over time. The pattern uses a CRM field to decide who is in the sequence, a router to branch, and delays to space the messages out.
1
Create a CRM custom field such as lead stage.
2
Create a workflow triggered by a change to that field.
3
Add a router to split hot leads from cold leads based on the field value.
4
In each branch, send a template message with personalised variables and buttons.
5
Add delay steps between messages to set the drip timing.
6
Save and enable. Contacts now move through the sequence on their own.
The datastore
The datastore is a database that lives inside the automation builder, backed by MongoDB. A workflow can add a record, find or get a record by its ID, search records, and update them. Use it when a workflow needs to remember something between runs, for example a booking, a running total, or a lookup table the flow reads from before deciding what to do.
Set up a datastore
Create a MongoDB database and connect it as a datastore in the dashboard.
Between a trigger and a message, you often need to shape data. The automation apps are small utility blocks for exactly that: format a date, do a calculation, generate a unique ID, split or find text, loop over a list, or wait. They keep logic inside the workflow so you rarely need an outside script.
Text blocks
Find, replace, split, change case, URL encode or decode, and parse text.
What is the difference between the bot builder and the automation builder?
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The bot builder runs conversation flows that start inside a chat, for example a customer sends a keyword and the bot replies. The automation builder runs background workflows that start from an event: a webhook from another app, a CRM field change, a new order, a missed call, or a schedule. An automation often sends a message without any chat happening first, such as an order alert or a payment reminder.
Do I need code to use the automation builder?
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No. You add steps on a canvas and join them, the same as the bot builder. The webhook steps give you a URL to paste into another tool, and the field mapping is done by picking values from a list, not by writing code. An External API step is available if you want to call an outside service, and that is optional.
What can trigger a workflow?
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An inbound webhook from any app, a CRM custom-field change, a new or updated e-commerce order, a Shopify cart or tracking event, a Google Form submission, a missed call, a new lead from IndiaMART or TradeIndia, or a schedule for things like birthday and anniversary greetings.
What is the datastore?
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The datastore is a database inside the automation builder, backed by MongoDB, where a workflow can add, find, search, and update records. It is useful when you need to remember data between runs, for example a counter, a booking record, or a lookup table the workflow reads from.
How do I build a drip campaign?
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Trigger a workflow on a CRM field such as lead stage, add a router to branch on the value, send a template message in each branch, and place delay steps between messages. Enable the workflow and contacts move through the sequence automatically.
Does sending a template from an automation cost anything?
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The message itself is charged at Meta's per-message rate, the same as any template you send. Inside the workflow there is no extra platform charge except for an External API or automation-app action step. Steps that stay inside the platform are not metered.
Keep building
Bot Builder
Conversation flows that start inside a chat, the companion to automations.