Interactive Menus in Automations
Create WhatsApp interactive menus with selectable options for your customers. Configure headers, menu items with auto-tagging, and combine with conditions for smart routing.
What Are Interactive Menus?
Interactive menus are structured WhatsApp messages with selectable options that customers can tap. Instead of asking customers to type a response, you present a clean menu with buttons — making the experience faster and reducing errors.
Interactive menus are a Pro plan feature. Upgrade to Pro to use them.
When to Use Interactive Menus
- Customer service routing — "What can we help you with?" → Order status / Returns / General question
- Product selection — "Which product line are you interested in?"
- Satisfaction surveys — "How was your experience?" → Great / Good / Could be better
- Appointment scheduling — "Which time slot works for you?"
- Language selection — "Choose your language" → English / Dutch / German
Adding an Interactive Menu
- Open the Visual Builder
- Click the "+" button on any edge between nodes
- Select 📋 Interactive Menu from the action list
- The menu configuration panel opens on the right
Configuration
Menu Structure
An interactive menu message consists of three text areas and a list of selectable items:
| Field | Required | Character Limit | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Header text | Yes | 60 characters | Title at the top of the menu — keep it short and clear |
| Body text | Yes | 1024 characters | Main message explaining the options |
| Footer text | No | 60 characters | Small text at the bottom (e.g., "Powered by Bugalou") |
Menu Items
Each menu item represents a tappable option for the customer. You can add multiple items, each with:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | The button label the customer sees (max 24 characters) |
| Description | Extra context shown below the title (max 72 characters) |
| Auto-tag | Automatically tag the conversation when this option is selected |
| Priority | Set the conversation priority when selected (Low / Normal / High / Urgent) |
| Requires agent | Flag the conversation for human handoff when selected |
Best Practices for Menu Items
- Keep titles short and clear — customers make quick decisions
- Use descriptions to add context without cluttering the title
- Use auto-tagging to automatically categorize conversations for reporting
- Mark service-critical options with "Requires agent" for immediate escalation
- Limit to 3-5 items for the best customer experience — too many options cause decision fatigue
Combining with Conditions
Interactive menus become even more powerful when combined with Check Condition nodes. After a menu, add a condition that checks which option the customer selected:
- Add an Interactive Menu action
- Add a Check Condition node after the menu
- Set the condition to check the menu option ID
- The Yes branch handles matched selections, the No branch handles everything else
This lets you build sophisticated routing: different menu choices lead to different teams, different messages, or different follow-up menus.
Platform Support
Interactive menus are sent natively on all supported platforms:
- WhatsApp — renders as a native interactive list message
- Instagram — sent as a structured message
- Messenger — sent as a structured message
The automation engine sends the menu to whichever platform the conversation originated from.
Testing Interactive Menus
Use the Playground to preview your interactive menu before activating the automation. The Playground renders the full menu structure with numbered items so you can verify the content.
Plan Requirement
⚠️ Pro plan required: Interactive menus are exclusively available on the Pro plan and higher. On the Starter plan, the automation engine will block interactive menu actions.