Chat App Message Service:Work with Chat Flow

Overview

You can use Chat Flow in the following steps:

1. Create a chat flow: Create a chat flow or upload a JSON file to import a chat flow.

2. Orchestrate the chat flow: Drag and drop required nodes to the canvas and configure the nodes based on your business requirements.

3. Publish the chat flow: Publish the chat flow that is orchestrated.

Prerequisites

The nodes provided by Chat Flow include nodes for sending WhatsApp messages and Viber messages. Make sure that the following operations are complete:

• An Alibaba Cloud account is created and enterprise verification is complete for the Alibaba Cloud account.

• Chat App Message Service is activated.

• If you need to use WhatsApp, make sure that the following requirements are met:

  • A WhatsApp channel is created. For more information, see Create a WhatsApp channel.

  • A WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) is created and associated with the channel. For more information, see WABA onboarding.

• If you need to use Viber, make sure that the following requirements are met:

  • A Viber channel is created. For more information, see Create a Viber channel.

  • A Viber service account is applied for and the application is approved. For more information, see Manage Viber service accounts.

Create a chat flow

You can create a chat flow in different ways based on your business requirements. To create a chat flow, perform the following steps:

1. Go to the Chat Flow page: Log on to the Chat App Message Service console. In the left-side navigation pane, click Chat Flow. On the page that appears, click the Flow Management tab. Then, click Create Flow.

2. Select a creation method: Select Build your own or Use a template based on your business requirements.

   1. Build your own: creates a chat flow with a blank canvas.

      Basic Setting	Description
      Create Flow - TriggeredManually	If you select Create Flow and TriggeredManually, the chat flow is triggered by API operations or the associated marketing campaign.
      Create Flow - TriggeredByWhatsApp	If you select Create Flow and TriggeredByWhatsApp, the chat flow is triggered by WhatsApp mobile originated (MO) messages.
      Import Flow	If you select Import Flow, you can upload a JSON file to import a chat flow.

   2. Use a template: creates a chat flow by using a built-in chat flow template. Click the Template View tab and select a template to go to the chat flow orchestration page. You can modify the nodes in the template based on your business requirements. After modification, you can save and publish the modified template.

3. Specify the information about the chat flow: Configure the Flow Name and Remark parameters and click OK.

   Note

   You need to configure the Flow Name and Remark parameters only when you select Build your own.

Orchestrate the chat flow

The following section describes how to design and orchestrate a chat flow based on your business requirements.

1. Go to the orchestration page: Log on to the Chat App Message Service console. In the left-side navigation pane, click Chat Flow. On the page that appears, click the Flow Management tab. Then, click the name of the chat flow that you want to manage.

2. Orchestrate the chat flow: Drag and drop required nodes to the canvas for orchestration based on your business requirements. The nodes must be placed between the start and end nodes.

3. Configure the nodes: Configure the nodes based on your business requirements. For more information, see Chat Flow nodes.

4. Save the chat flow: After the chat flow is orchestrated, click Save to save the chat flow.

   Note

   To prevent accidental data loss, we recommend that you click the Save button to save data in a timely manner during chat flow orchestration.

Publish the chat flow

The following section describes how to publish a chat flow that is orchestrated. When you associate a chat flow with a marketing campaign, the chat flow can be triggered only if the chat flow is in the ONLINE state.

1. Go to the orchestration page: Log on to the Chat App Message Service console. In the left-side navigation pane, click Chat Flow. On the page that appears, click the Flow Management tab. Then, click the name of the chat flow that you want to manage.

2. Publish the chat flow: Click Online to publish the chat flow. After the chat flow is published, a success message appears.

3. View the state of the chat flow: Log on to the Chat App Message Service console. In the left-side navigation pane, click Chat Flow. On the page that appears, click the Flow Management tab. Then, check whether the chat flow is in the ONLINE state.

References

For more information about the canvas and node configurations of Chat Flow, see the following topics:

• Chat Flow canvas

• Chat Flow nodes