The Start step is the first step of a bot’s flow.
It shows how the bot can be launched and allows you to configure these launch methods.
The Start step is available for the following messengers: Telegram, Instagram*, VK, Viber, and Facebook*.
Supported launch functions and triggers
You can configure launches from the Start step using:
- Automations:
- Welcome message
- Keywords
- Payment processing (except Instagram)
- Growth Tools:
- Mini landing pages / VK landing pages
- Button widget
- Subscription widget
- Instagram additional triggers:
- Story reaction
- Comment under a post
- Story mention
Limitations
- In Instagram:
- Payment processing launch is not available.
- The Start toggle is not available, so the Welcome message launch cannot be configured from the Start step.
- VK and Instagram do not support direct links (deep links) for launching a bot.
- Launch methods cannot be deleted from the Start step.
Welcome message toggle behavior
When you create the first bot for a new channel, the toggle is enabled by default.
- When disabled:
- The Welcome message is deactivated.
- The bot remains linked to the deactivated Welcome message.
- When enabled:
- A new Welcome message is created.
- The new Welcome message is linked to the bot.
- The old Welcome message is deactivated.
- If the old Welcome message was used in an auto-mailing, the auto-mailing is disabled.
- Interface behavior:
- Automation settings open in a neighboring tab.
- Changes are applied only after clicking Save and close at the bottom of the step panel.
Keywords
- Keywords can be created, edited, and deleted directly from the Start step.
- In the keyword trigger condition window, you can enable Ignore repeated launch and specify the ignore period by entering a number and selecting Minutes or Hours.
During this period, entering the same keyword again by the same subscriber will not launch the flow again. The flow that has already started continues without interruption. This prevents a keyword entered during an ongoing conversation from restarting the funnel from the beginning. By default, the option is disabled.
The minimum value is 1. The maximum is 180 when Minutes is selected and 99,999 when Hours is selected. If you enter a higher value, the condition cannot be saved and an error will be displayed in the field.
This setting is shared with the Keywords automation: changes are synchronized in both directions, along with other keyword parameters. For more information about how the ignore period works, see the Keywords article.
- Two trigger conditions are supported: Contain and Match.
- Duplicate keywords cannot be created within the same trigger condition type.
- Each keyword created in the Start step automatically creates a linked automation.
- Changes are synchronized in both directions:
- If the filter type is changed, or the keyword is edited or deleted in Automations, the changes are reflected in the Start step.
- If a keyword is deleted from the Start step, the corresponding automation is also deleted.
- If an automation contains additional actions (text, buttons, etc.), it is displayed as a separate non-editable block.
Start step behavior
- If an automation or Growth Tool is deactivated, it disappears from the Start step.
- If a launch is configured from a specific step, it is not displayed in the Start step.
- When you change the bot’s channel, the Start step settings are automatically updated according to the capabilities of the new channel. A warning is displayed.
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