Flowella integrates directly into HubSpot’s workflow engine, giving you custom triggers that fire on WhatsApp events and actions that send messages or hand conversations to an AI agent. This guide covers every trigger, every action, and the most effective patterns for combining them.
Before you start
Make sure you have:
- A Flowella account connected to your HubSpot portal
- At least one WhatsApp template created in the Flowella app (required for sending messages)
- Access to HubSpot’s workflow tool. Contact-based workflows require a Professional or Enterprise plan
All phone number properties used in Flowella workflow actions must be stored in international E.164 format, starting with + followed by the country code and national number (for example, +447700900123). See Phone Number Format for details.
Triggers
When you create a new contact-based workflow in HubSpot, search for Flowella in the trigger selection panel to see all available triggers. These fire whenever a specific WhatsApp event occurs and enrol the associated contact into the workflow automatically.
| Trigger | Direction | Fires when | Typical use | Key filterable properties |
|---|
| Form Completed | Inbound | A contact submits a WhatsApp Flow form sent via Flowella | Process structured responses after a feedback, booking, or KYC flow | Form Name, Source, hs_email, Occurred at |
| Text Reply | Inbound | A contact sends a free-text reply in a Flowella-managed conversation | Route on keywords, capture opt-in, detect intent | Message |
| Message Read | Outbound | A contact opens a WhatsApp message you sent | Follow up only once the message has been seen | Phone |
| Message Sent | Outbound | A WhatsApp message is dispatched to a contact via Flowella | Log outbound activity, start a follow-up timer | Phone |
- Form Name: filter by a specific form so only completions of that form trigger the workflow
- hs_email: the contact’s email address at the time of the event
- Occurred at: the date and time the form was completed
- Source: the source of the form submission
Typical use: trigger a follow-up workflow after a customer completes a feedback form, a booking confirmation, a KYC questionnaire, or any other structured data collection flow.
Text Reply (inbound)
This trigger fires when a contact sends a free-text reply to a WhatsApp conversation managed by Flowella.
What makes this trigger particularly powerful is the ability to filter on message content. When configuring the trigger criteria, add a condition on the Message property using operators such as “contains any of” to match specific keywords or phrases. This lets you build workflows that respond differently depending on what a contact says.
Typical use: route contacts based on keyword responses. For example, if a contact replies “yes” to a confirmation message, enrol them in one workflow; if they reply “cancel” or “help”, enrol them in another. You can also use this to capture opt-in consent, trigger escalation paths, or detect intent from unstructured replies.
Message Read (outbound)
This trigger fires when a contact reads (opens) a WhatsApp message sent through Flowella. It is useful for tracking engagement and building conditional logic around message delivery.
Typical use: start a follow-up sequence only after confirming the contact has seen your initial message, or flag contacts who have not read a message within a certain timeframe.
Message Sent (outbound)
This trigger fires when a WhatsApp message is successfully sent to a contact via Flowella. It confirms dispatch from the Flowella platform rather than receipt by the contact. It is most useful as a trigger for sends that originate outside a HubSpot workflow, such as a reply sent by an agent from the Flowella inbox or an automated Flow response, since a workflow already knows about messages it sent itself.
Typical use: log outbound messaging activity, update CRM properties to record that a message has been dispatched, or start a timer for follow-up actions.
Using “Delay until event” with Flowella triggers
One of the most powerful features of combining Flowella with HubSpot is the Delay until event occurs action. This allows a workflow to pause and wait for any Flowella event before continuing.
For example, you can build a workflow that:
- Sends a WhatsApp Flow form to a contact
- Pauses using Delay until event set to the Flowella event (these appear in the picker as Flowella: WhatsApp Forms Integration: Form Completed and so on)
- Branches based on whether the event criteria were met within your chosen time window
This creates a true request-and-response pattern inside your automation. If the event does not occur within the delay period, the workflow branches down an alternative path, such as sending a reminder or escalating to a team member.
You can use this pattern with any Flowella event:
- Wait for Form Completed: pause until the contact finishes a WhatsApp Flow, then process their answers
- Wait for Text Reply: pause until the contact responds, then branch on the message content
- Wait for Message Read: pause until the contact opens the message, then decide whether to follow up or wait longer
Actions
In addition to triggers, Flowella provides three custom workflow actions. These appear in the action panel when you add a step to any HubSpot contact-based workflow.
Send WhatsApp Template
This action sends a pre-approved WhatsApp template message to a contact. Templates are created and managed in the Flowella app and include both standard message templates and interactive WhatsApp Flow templates (forms).
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Contact Phone Number*(required)* | Select the HubSpot contact property that holds the recipient’s WhatsApp phone number. Must be in international format (e.g. +447700900000). |
| Template Name*(required)* | Choose from a dropdown of templates created in the Flowella app. This includes both standard message templates and Flow templates (interactive forms). |
| Contact Email | Optionally map the contact’s email address. Flowella can use this for matching, enrichment, and analytics. |
| Template Variable 1 to 5 | Map HubSpot contact or company properties to the personalisation variables defined in your template. For example, if your template includes {{1}} for first name, map Template Variable 1 to the First Name property. |
- Flow templates (interactive forms) are selected exactly the same way as standard message templates, and Flowella handles the conversion automatically.
- You can map up to five template variables using any HubSpot data token, including enrolled contact properties, company properties, and data from earlier workflow actions.
- If a required template variable is left unmapped, the send may fail for that contact.
- This action is ideal for booking confirmations, feedback requests, renewal reminders, appointment notifications, and any other structured or templated message.
Send WhatsApp Message
This action sends a direct WhatsApp message to a contact. Unlike the template action, this lets you compose a message on the fly within the workflow and supports multiple media types.
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Message Type*(required)* | Choose from: Text Message, Document, Image, Video, or Audio. |
| Recipient Phone Number*(required)* | Select the HubSpot contact property that holds the recipient’s WhatsApp phone number. |
| Message Text | For text messages, enter the message content. Personalise it using any HubSpot data token by clicking the data token panel. Available tokens include enrolled contact properties, associated records, trigger and event data, and outputs from previous workflow actions. |
- Text messages can be fully personalised with dynamic content such as the contact’s first name, a deal amount, or a ticket reference number.
- Media messages (image, video, audio, document) let you send rich content directly through WhatsApp as part of an automated workflow.
- This action is particularly useful for follow-up messages that do not require a pre-approved template, such as personalised thank-you messages or contextual responses triggered by earlier workflow logic.
Assign to Customer Agent
This action assigns a conversation to a HubSpot Breeze Customer Agent, initiating an AI-powered conversation directly within the Flowella WhatsApp channel.
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Agent to assign*(required)* | Select which Breeze Customer Agent should handle the conversation. |
| Record to assign | Choose the record type to assign, such as “Conversations: All associated”. |
- Post-form support: after a customer submits an enquiry form, the AI agent can answer follow-up questions immediately
- Out-of-hours handling: route WhatsApp conversations to an AI agent when your team is unavailable
- Triage and escalation: let the AI agent handle initial questions and only escalate to a human when needed
- Product and service enquiries: provide instant answers from your knowledge base without requiring a live agent
Workflow patterns
Here are four common patterns that combine Flowella triggers, delays, and actions effectively.
Pattern 1: Send and wait
The core pattern for any form-based interaction.
Send the form
Add a Send WhatsApp Template action with a Flow form template.
Wait for completion
Add a Delay until event action: Flowella: Form Completed.
Branch on outcome
Add a Branch action: whether or not the event criteria were met.
Happy path
If criteria met: process the form data, update CRM properties, and trigger next steps.
Fallback path
If criteria not met: send a reminder or escalate to a team member.
Pattern 2: Keyword-based routing
Route contacts into the right workflow based on what they reply.
Set the trigger
Use Flowella: Text Reply where the Message property contains keywords such as “book” or “reserve”.
Send the relevant form
Add a Send WhatsApp Template action with your booking Flow template.
Wait and branch
Add a Delay until event set to Flowella: Form Completed, then branch and process responses.
Pattern 3: Feedback with smart follow-up
Collect feedback and take different actions depending on the score.
Send the feedback form
Add a Send WhatsApp Template action with your feedback Flow template.
Wait for the response
Add a Delay until event set to Flowella: Form Completed.
Branch on score
Use an If/then branch based on the score property:
- High score: send a thank-you message with a review link
- Low score: create a ticket and assign to a Customer Agent for AI-assisted recovery
Pattern 4: Conversational AI handoff
Hand off inbound replies directly to an AI agent.
Set the trigger
Use Flowella: Text Reply to catch any inbound message.
Acknowledge receipt
Add a Send WhatsApp Message action to confirm you’ve received their message.
Assign to the AI agent
Add an Assign to Customer Agent action. The Breeze Customer Agent then handles the conversation natively in WhatsApp.
Tips and best practices
Use international phone number format. Always store WhatsApp phone numbers in E.164 format (e.g. +44 for UK, +1 for US). Flowella requires this to deliver messages successfully.
Name your templates clearly. When creating templates in the Flowella app, use descriptive names that are easy to identify in HubSpot’s dropdown. “Booking Confirmation Restaurant” is clearer than “Template 1”.
Combine triggers with delays for reliability. The “send then wait” pattern ensures your workflow handles both responsive and non-responsive contacts gracefully, rather than relying solely on triggers.
Use the Text Reply trigger for conversational routing. By filtering on message content, you can build lightweight conversational interfaces without a full chatbot. Simple keyword matching can route contacts to the right workflow with minimal friction.
Test with small audiences first. When building new workflows, start by enrolling a small test group before rolling out to your full contact list. This helps you catch issues with template variables, phone number formatting, or branching logic early.
