# How to Build a WhatsApp Chatbot Without Code (With a Kenyan Example)

> To build a WhatsApp chatbot without code, use a flow builder on the WhatsApp Business API. Pick one goal, sketch the conversation on paper, create a welcome message with buttons or a list, add question steps that save the customer's answers, finish with a hand-over to a person, and test it on your own phone before connecting it to a keyword, welcome menu or Click-to-WhatsApp ad.

Source: https://chat.or.ke/blog/how-to-build-whatsapp-chatbot-without-code
Published: 2026-10-20 | Updated: 2026-10-20 | Publisher: chat.or.ke

You do not need a developer to give your WhatsApp number a working chatbot. Modern flow builders let you drag together menus, questions and replies the way you would sketch them on paper, and the hard part is not the software. It is deciding what the bot should do and when it should step aside.

This guide walks through building one from scratch, using a realistic example: a small bakery in Nairobi that takes custom cake orders on WhatsApp. By the end you will have a menu with buttons and a list, a short flow that captures the customer's name and order details, and a clean hand-over to a person who confirms the price and M-Pesa payment.

## Key takeaways

- Give your first chatbot one clear job, such as taking order requests or booking appointments.
- Sketch the conversation on paper before you open any builder.
- Use buttons (up to three) and lists (up to ten options) so customers tap instead of type.
- Save answers such as the customer's name as variables, then use them to personalise later messages.
- End every path with a useful answer or a hand-over to a person, and test on your own phone first.

## Before you start

Have these ready before you build:

- **A number on the WhatsApp Business API** connected through a provider. The free WhatsApp Business app cannot run flows. On chat.or.ke the number is connected for you, with no Meta tokens or webhooks to set up.
- **One goal** for the bot, written in a sentence.
- **Your facts**: prices or price ranges, delivery areas and fees, hours, location and how customers pay.
- **The name of the person or team** who will receive handed-over chats.
- **A test phone** that is not the business number.

If buttons and lists are new to you, skim [interactive WhatsApp messages explained](https://chat.or.ke/blog/interactive-whatsapp-messages-explained) first.

## Step 1: Choose one job for the chatbot

Write down the single outcome the bot should produce. For our example bakery, call it Sweet Crumbs in Kilimani, the goal is: "Collect a complete cake order request so a person can confirm the price and payment in one message."

One job keeps the flow short. Bots that try to do everything at once end up with long menus and confused customers. You can add more jobs later.

## Step 2: Sketch the conversation on paper

Draw boxes and arrows before you build. For Sweet Crumbs the sketch looks like this:

1. **Welcome list**: Order a cake · Prices · Delivery · Location & hours · Talk to us
2. **Order a cake** → ask name → ask occasion (buttons) → ask size (list) → ask date → summary → hand over
3. **Prices** → short price guide → buttons: Order a cake · Talk to us
4. **Delivery** → areas and fees → buttons: Order a cake · Talk to us
5. **Location & hours** → address and hours → button: Order a cake
6. **Talk to us** → hand over immediately

Notice that every branch either ends in a hand-over or offers a way back to ordering. No path dead-ends.

## Step 3: Create the welcome message and main menu

Start with the first thing customers see. Because the bakery has five options, it uses a list message, which can hold up to ten rows; with three or fewer options a set of reply buttons is faster.

> Karibu Sweet Crumbs! 🎂 We bake custom cakes in Kilimani and deliver across Nairobi.
> Tap **Menu** to choose how we can help.

List rows:

| Row title | Description |
|---|---|
| Order a cake | Birthdays, weddings, graduations |
| Prices | Price guide by size |
| Delivery | Areas, fees and timing |
| Location & hours | Find us in Kilimani |
| Talk to us | Chat with our team |

Keep row titles short: WhatsApp limits list row titles to 24 characters and button labels to 20. In chat.or.ke's [Automation & Flows](https://chat.or.ke/features/automation) you add this as an interactive menu step and link each row to the next step.

## Step 4: Add question steps that capture the customer's details

Now build the "Order a cake" branch. Each question is a step that waits for the customer's answer and saves it as a variable.

1. **Ask the name**: "Great choice! What name should we put on the order?" Save the answer as **name**.
2. **Ask the occasion** with three reply buttons: Birthday · Wedding · Other. Save as **occasion**.
3. **Ask the size** with a list: 1 kg, 2 kg, 3 kg, Tiered (wedding). Save as **size**.
4. **Ask the date**: "Which date do you need it? For example, Saturday 14th." Save as **date**.

Typed answers like dates vary ("sato", "14/11", "next Saturday"), which is fine here because a person confirms before anything is baked. Where a precise answer matters, prefer buttons or a list.

## Step 5: Personalise the summary

Use the saved variables to play the order back, so the customer can spot mistakes before a person picks it up:

> Thanks, [name]! Here is your request:
> 🎉 Occasion: [occasion]
> 🎂 Size: [size]
> 📅 Date: [date]
> One of our team will confirm the price and M-Pesa details shortly.

In the builder, insert each saved variable where the square brackets are. chat.or.ke flows save answers as variables and can personalise the next message with them. If you have a developer later, a flow can also call a webhook to send the order to another system, but that is optional.

## Step 6: Hand the chat over to a person

End the order branch, and the "Talk to us" option, with a hand-over. The chat should land in your team's shared inbox with everything the customer said, and the automation should pause so it does not interrupt.

At Sweet Crumbs, the person on orders sees the summary, replies with the price and Till number, and confirms once the M-Pesa message arrives. Because a person replies within 24 hours of the customer's last message, this is a normal customer reply, charged at KES 0.75 per message on chat.or.ke.

Agents can also pause automation on any single chat by hand. Read [how to hand over from a chatbot to a human](https://chat.or.ke/blog/how-to-hand-over-from-chatbot-to-human) for when to trigger hand-overs and what to say.

## Step 7: Test the chatbot on your own phone

Message the business number from a personal phone and go through every branch. Try to break it:

- Tap every list row and every button.
- Type an answer instead of tapping a button.
- Type "agent" or "nataka mtu" in the middle of the flow.
- Leave the flow halfway and come back an hour later.
- Check the hand-over arrives in the inbox with the summary visible.

Fix anything that feels slow or confusing, and ask a colleague who has never seen the flow to try it too.

## Step 8: Connect a trigger and go live

A flow only runs when something starts it. In chat.or.ke a flow can start from a keyword, from the welcome menu or from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad, which also lets you see which ad each lead came from.

For Sweet Crumbs, the welcome menu greets new chats, and the keyword "cake" or "order" jumps straight into the order branch. Switch it on, then watch the first day's chats closely.

## Step 9: Review the results every week

Read a sample of real conversations each week. Look for where customers drop off, which answers lead to repeated questions and which branches nobody uses.

Common improvements after the first fortnight:

- Shortening a question that customers misunderstand.
- Replacing a typed question with buttons.
- Adding a new branch for a frequent question, such as "Do you do eggless cakes?"
- Turning on the [AI assistant](https://chat.or.ke/features/ai-assistant) to answer open questions that do not fit any branch, starting in suggestion mode.

## What does the finished chatbot cost to run?

Building flows is included in chat.or.ke at no extra charge. You pay per message sent: bot and agent replies within the 24-hour window cost KES 0.75 each, customer messages are free, and there is no monthly fee. If the chat started from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad, messages in the free entry point window that follows are charged at KES 0.30. See [pricing](https://chat.or.ke/pricing) for the full list.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I build a WhatsApp chatbot for free?

You can set up a greeting and away message for free in the WhatsApp Business app, but it cannot run menus or multi-step flows. A real chatbot needs the WhatsApp Business API, which is paid per message, usually through a provider that includes a no-code flow builder.

### Do I need the WhatsApp Business API to build a chatbot?

Yes. Interactive buttons, list menus and automated multi-step flows run on the WhatsApp Business API. The free app only offers greeting and away messages and quick replies that staff send by hand.

### How many buttons can a WhatsApp chatbot show?

A reply-button message can show up to three buttons, each with a title of up to 20 characters. For more choices, use a list message, which can hold up to ten rows grouped into sections.

### How long does it take to build a simple WhatsApp chatbot?

A focused chatbot with a welcome menu, one order or booking flow and a hand-over can be built and tested in an afternoon. Allow more time for writing good answers and for testing with real customers in the first week.

### Can a no-code chatbot take M-Pesa payments?

A chatbot can share your Paybill or Till number and collect order details, and a person can confirm once the M-Pesa message arrives. Taking payment automatically inside the chat needs an integration with your payment system.

### What if a customer types instead of tapping a button?

Plan for it. Good flows accept typed answers where possible, repeat the options once if the reply is unclear, and offer a way to reach a person. Never loop the same question endlessly.