Keyword replies

Keyword replies (Manual ChatBot) send a fixed answer automatically whenever a customer's message contains a certain word — for example, any message containing "price" gets your price list — without using AI credit and with exactly the same answer every time.

They're ideal for questions whose answer never changes: price lists, store address, opening hours, bank details, or a catalog link. For varied questions, use an AI Agent — or combine both with the Keywords first, then AI mode.

Three auto-reply modes

Keyword replies only work when the channel uses one of these modes. You set the mode in each channel's settings (see About channels).

Channel mode	Behavior
Keyword replies	Messages matching a keyword get your fixed answer. Everything else is answered manually by CS
AI Agent	Every chat is answered by the AI. Keywords aren't used
Keywords first, then AI	Keyword matches get your fixed answer; everything else is answered by the AI Agent

Opening Manual Chatbot

In the sidebar, open the Automation group → Auto-Reply → Manual Chatbot.

The "Manual ChatBot" page with the subtitle "Manage keywords & automatic replies for incoming messages.", a "Search keyword…" box, a total of 0 chatbots, "Import XLSX" and "Add ChatBot" buttons, and the empty state "No ChatBot yet" with an "Add First ChatBot" button.

Once you have entries, the list shows these columns:

Column	Contents
Keyword	The trigger keywords
Method	Reply type: Text Message, WhatsApp Template, or Image
Template	The template used, when the method is WhatsApp Template
Linked	Channels where this reply is active
Actions	Edit or Delete

Tick several rows and click Delete Selected to remove them in one go. A deleted ChatBot no longer replies to incoming messages.

Creating a keyword reply

Click Add ChatBot.

The "Add ChatBot" form: a Basic Info section with the Keyword field holding three comma-separated price-related keywords plus the matching explanation; a Reply Content section with Reply Method "Text Message" and a filled-in Message; an "Active on channels" section with target pickers for WhatsApp Device, Livechat, Telegram, Instagram, and Messenger; and Cancel and Add ChatBot buttons.

1. Basic Info — keywords

Fill in Keyword. Separate several keywords with commas, e.g. price, pricelist, price list.

How matching works:

• The reply is sent when the customer's message contains any of the keywords — it doesn't have to match exactly. The keyword price matches "hi, what's the price?".
• Upper and lower case are treated the same.
• If the channel uses Keywords first, then AI, unmatched messages are answered by the AI Agent.

Choose specific keywords

Because matching is "contains", very short or common words — like ok or yes — can trigger replies on unrelated messages. Use words that are distinctive for the topic.

2. Reply Content

Choose the Reply Method:

The Reply Method list open on the Add ChatBot form, showing three options: Text Message, WhatsApp Template, and Image.

Method	What to fill in
Text Message	Message — the reply text. You can use dynamic placeholders such as the contact name
WhatsApp Template	Pick a template you've already created. It must be ready before it can be used. Create templates in Data & templates
Image	Upload at least 1 image (up to 5 images, 2 MB each; JPG, PNG, or WebP) and an optional Caption

3. Active on channels

Choose the channels where this keyword reply is active. Each channel type has its own picker:

Picker	Contains
WhatsApp Device	WhatsApp numbers connected by scanning a QR
Livechat	Your website live chat widgets
Telegram	Your Telegram bots
Instagram	Your Instagram accounts
Messenger	Your Messenger pages

If a picker says No channels connected yet, connect that channel first from the Connect WhatsApp menu.

Click Add ChatBot to save.

The WhatsApp Business API has its own chatbot

Keyword replies for official WhatsApp Business API numbers are created on the WABA account page. See WABA chatbots.

Importing many at once from Excel

Click Import XLSX on the ChatBot list.

The "Import ChatBot from XLSX" dialog over the Manual ChatBot page: a note about importing many ChatBots at once, an XLSX File box with a 5 MB maximum and a "Pick file" button, and Cancel and Upload buttons.

Prepare an Excel file with column headings in the first row, then one chatbot per row:

Column	Contents
A — keyword	Keywords (required). Several are fine, separated by commas
B — reply_method	text for a text message, or template. Empty = text
C — message	The message text. Required when the method is text
D — template_id	The template's ID. Required when the method is template

The file can be up to 5 MB. After uploading, cshub shows how many rows succeeded and lists errors for rows that failed — successful rows are kept.

Set channels after importing

Import can only create text and template replies. After importing, open each chatbot with Edit and check Active on channels so it runs on the right channels. Create image replies through the form.

Editing & deleting

• Click Edit on a chatbot row to change the keywords, reply, or channels, then Save Changes.
• Click Delete to remove one chatbot, or tick several and click Delete Selected.

Tips

• One topic, one chatbot. Put synonyms in one keyword list (price, pricelist, price list) instead of creating several chatbots with the same answer.
• Avoid overlapping keywords across chatbots — like price in one and wholesale price in another — so it's clear which reply gets sent.
• Combine with AI: use keywords for answers that must be exact (prices, bank details), and let the AI Agent answer the rest via Keywords first, then AI.
• For ready-made replies your CS team types into a chat themselves, use Quick replies.

Related

• AI Agent
• Quick replies
• Data & templates
• About channels