External Request

Hello Fabio!
Thank you for your reply.

I found External Request, I wanted to start paying the $15, but in the meantime I tried AI, now they ask me for $45 per month. I've already sent an email to the platform, let's see.

Thank you again.

If you're willing to use Manychat's AI... there's an additional fee:

Also… Manychat's PRO Plan is priced per number of contacts you have: https://manychat.com/pricing

$15 is the “first layer” and goes up to 500 contacts. After that, it increases.

You can always delete old and unnecessary contacts to keep the subscription fee under control. 😉

Hi Fabio,

I have already managed to upgrade the subscription to $15.

Thank you again! 

​@Fabio Gaulke is it possible to set an external request as the trigger of the automation? I have a pro account and don’t see the option.

​@PaulaV could you finally achieve what you were looking for?

Thanks!

Hi Juliandev,

If you have a Facebook profile it won't work, if it's a page it will work.
I'm managing to do a lot of automation that I thought I wouldn't be able to do.
Unfortunately, I won't be able to do it via WhatsApp because Meta blocked me. I solved it with Telegram using AI automation.

​@juliandev, it depends on what you're trying to do… but take a look at Manychat's API. There you find documentation to create subscribers and send flows via from external sources (via API): https://api.manychat.com/swagger#/Sending/28f1abbb07b0d4773b846dbeb3880e3c

Hi ​@PaulaV  and ​@Fabio Gaulke , thanks for your responses!

​@PaulaV  – when you say "if it’s a page it will work," do you mean it only works if the WhatsApp account is connected to a Facebook Page, or are you referring specifically to Messenger/Facebook channel automations? Just want to clarify what exactly needs to be a Page for the external request to trigger a flow.

​@Fabio Gaulke  – what I’m trying to do is trigger a WhatsApp automation (flow) via an external request (e.g. webhook or API call from my backend). I’ve checked the docs you linked, and I see the /fb/sending/sendFlow endpoint, which accepts subscriber_id and flow_ns.

Do you know if that works with WhatsApp subscribers as well?

Also, when you say "flow", is that the same as an "automation" in ManyChat's visual builder?

Thanks a lot!

I've noticed that on several platforms profiles don't work, in the case of Facebook and Messenger, it doesn't make much sense, but that's how it works, not only for automations but for other platforms with other features. Previously, it was possible to convert the profile into a page, but unfortunately not anymore.

​@juliandev I think this will answer all your questions:

• Paula was mentioning that if you wish to connect Manychat to Facebook, it only works with a FB Page, not a Profile. But there's no need to connect a FB Page to use WhatsApp automations. 
• To be able to use WhatsApp automations, just follow Manychat's guide. This will also "bind” the number to your Meta Business Manager.

Now for the API: This will do exactly what you are looking for! 😉

PS: Yes, "flow” is the same as "automation”.

Now some tips to issues you WILL face… 😅

• In order to use sendFlow , you'll need to get the subscriber ID. 
  • This ID you get as response for new subscriber creation using createSubscriber  OR, if the contact already exists in Manychat, using one of the “findBy...” requests.
  • The “intuitive” thing should be using findBySystemField to get the ID, but it only works with email and phone as parameter… AND phone isn't the same as WhatsApp ID 😅. 

    

     

  • The workaround is creating a Custom User Field + Automation that copies the WhatsApp ID to it and you use findByCustomField to find existing contacts.
    • You can create an automation that does it every time a new contact is created 😉
    • And for existing contacts with WhatsApp ID, you can create a Broadcast just with an action step that copies WhatsApp ID to the custom field and run it to all your existing contacts.
  • And if you're using another automation tool to send your external requests, it will look something like this:

    

    

     

Sure, you can develop your own integration, but the logic behind using findByCustomField is the same.

Hope this helps!

🙌 

Thank you both!

Hey ​@Fabio Gaulke, thanks so much for the detailed explanation!

Just to make sure I’m understanding everything correctly:
With the sendFlow endpoint, you can indeed trigger a ManyChat automation (flow) via an external API call.

Now, my follow-up question is:
🔹 What should be the actual trigger inside ManyChat for that automation?
Because when creating a new automation, I only see WhatsApp-based events (like "message received") and contact-based triggers — but nothing that directly listens for an external API call.

Thanks again!

You can leave it empty. No trigger is necessary if you’re only calling it via API. ;-)

I apologize for the confusion in my previous answer. I am constantly learning every day and I didn't read the question properly.

Thank you Fabio for the explanation. I will try to learn this sequence.

Sorry to both of you once again. Sometimes it would be better to keep quiet…

Nothing to apologize, ​@PaulaV! Two questions were made, and your answer was pertinent. 😉

Hey ​@Fabio Gaulke, I find that the trigger node in the automation is mandatory and it doesn’t allow me to leave it empty. Is that right? 

No, it should let you save it without any issue:

Ah… an important detail: in order to send a WhatsApp message via API, you MUST use an approved Message Template for the “first step”:

There you can add buttons that allows you to continue the automation with other message steps (these don't need to be templates) after the user interacts with your sent message template (via buttons or sending some free text to open a 24h message window)

To create a Message Template, go to Settings/ WhatsApp/ Message Templates:

IMPORTANT: sending message templates isn't free. You can check the cost per country and template type here: https://help.manychat.com/hc/en-us/articles/14281380243740-WhatsApp-pricing-guide

​@Fabio Gaulke I’ll try this out. Thank you so much for your help!