If you have sufficient knowledge about WhatsApp chatbot, then here’s all the details you need to get started on Glific: Onboarding toolkit link.If you’re new to WhatsApp chatbot, then it’s recommended to start from here: WhatsApp chatbot basics and then to back to the onboarding toolkit.
It depends on many factors such as
your paperwork for Facebook Business manager verification
scope and complexity of your program whether it can be achieved with the already available features on Glific or needs further customization (we can help you evaluate this)
Here’s a general overview of the steps and tentative days involved for launch: link.
Yes we do. We are happy to help you set up your chatbot in your country through our BSP network or using Meta Cloud API.
As per WhatsApp’s guidelines, the phone number for your business must be a valid phone number which meets the following criteria:
Owned by you
Has a country and area code, such as landline and cell numbers
Able to receive voice calls or SMS
Not a short code
Not previously used with the WhatsApp Business Platform
You can still use this number for everyday purposes, such as calling and receiving messages after registering it on the WhatsApp Business Platform. If you have more questions on phone numbers, please see here: WhatsApp’s guideline for phone number.
Glad you asked, it is really crucial to know the kind of measurements and reporting you want to create for your program when you start. This can differ from one program or one NGO to another. We have built a standard reporting dashboard(here) which may be applicable to most of the cases and we can help you build more which may have been covered.
Glific is an open source platform and so the codebase per say is available for free. This means that to start using it, you need a tech team to help you set it up and run it on servers. If you don’t have a tech team or wouldn’t want to manage operations, you can opt for the SaaS option where we manage it for you at a monthly cost of INR 7500 + taxes. For a full view of the pricing model, please see this pricing page.
Yes, please know that WhatsApp business API is a paid service by WhatsApp where you pay for each conversation with your users. Here’s a list of things you must know about whatsapp chatbots. Other than this, it is very useful to run your pilots and tests using WhatsApp with a few users before beginning with a chatbot. This will give you an insight on how your program may pan out, how your users will respond to your messages. All the best when you do decide to start!
Glific is a great tool for 2-way interaction with your community at scale. You can use it to:
send information to your contacts and collect responses - this could be educational content using text and rich media, or info on availing services
address grievances
streamline processes such as enrollments and registrations
integrate your apps to send nudges on whatsapp
If you have any other creative use case, talk to us to find fitment.
We have been deploying Glific for our NGO partners with Gupshup as the BSP. You may use your preferred BSP but that may require customization only for you and will require you to bear the costs for the same. With the availability of WhatsApp cloud API, we will also soon roll it out for everyone.
You may use WhatsApp on your phones to do small scale trials before making sure if WhatsApp chatbot is the right fit for you. We also have good documentation and a sandbox to experience Glific.We do not offer a free trial program mainly because if you’re committed to using a WhatsApp chatbot you will find our services and product value for your money :) You can run a trial for a month with a paid subscription. You may discontinue the services whenever you want.
You and your teams can create and edit flows using your own Glific accounts, however you don’t have the option to work on it at the same time. But who wants to work together and spoil their team member’s work, no?
If you’re a social impact organization then using Glific is a great package deal for you. You get all the relevant tools to communicate with your community members. As an NGO these might be most valuable to you:
Glific is open source, hooray!
You can learn from the a vibrant community of Glific users who have been through the journey and can help to avoid the mistakes they have made
Incredible support because we understand the pains of using or struggling with a new technology without having the team to help you whenever you need
Yes, you can integrate your apps or database with Glific. We have well documented APIs which can be used by your tech team or you can avail Glific team’s consulting services to integrate other systems. Please share with us your written requirements to help you in the best way possible.
WhatsApp has some limitations when it comes to collecting data. Collecting private information like the Aadhar number is prohibitive. You will need to review and monitor the responses for open ended questions; there’s little to no automation available for that. And in general it is not recommended to ask for a lot of details from the users before delivering really valuable content and services.
Please check out some case studies to know how others are using the chatbot. So far 70+ NGOs have used the chatbot for their programs. Most of the use has been to send content to users and collect their responses.
That’s a great question. Please try to pen down your processes and conversation plan that you need a WhatsApp chatbot for. You may use these examples to create your plan: Example 1, Example 2. You may also check out the Glific documentation and list of features if those match with your use case and can help. In addition to this, you can also share your use case doc with the Glific team to evaluate product fitment for you
Please know, we want to ensure that all your data is always available to you and your organization. By using tools like Google Cloud Storage and Google Big Query we give the control to all your data back to you. We rely on the data security, encryption and privacy enforced by WhatsApp. Glific holds the conversation data for upto 3 months so that you have an easy view of all the conversations on Glific interface. Beyond that we purge the conversations at our end and are only available at your Big Query accounts. Please read the complete Privacy policy here: https://tides.coloredcow.com/privacy-policy
WhatsApp’s policies discourage businesses to initiate a conversation with a contact without prior opt-in from them. You can collect user optins via various methods such as on paper, using an online form, through frontline workers, by advertising your phone number in community forums, or any other creative ways you can reach your audience. You can get your users to directly message you at your chatbot number to collect optins. If you have a database of contacts, please make sure that they have opted in to receive messages on WhatsApp.
If you want to move to Glific from another BSP, then you would need to migrate your number from your current BSP to our BSP Gupshup. The process is straightforward where you need to get 2-factor authentication disabled from your BSP, then create a WABA by migrating your number on Gupshup. If you have Whatsapp waivers, then it will continue to be applicable. Please note that the WABA should not change in the process else you will have to reapply for waivers.
You can apply to WhatsApp for a green tick through the BSP (Gupshup). To get a green tick, your NGO needs to be well-known with news coverage from the media, and you need to be on atleast a Tier 2 messaging level, then you will need to send a bunch of documents about your business for this approval. WhatsApp takes the final decision to allot a green tick or not. A few of our NGO partners have it but please be sure you have sufficient brand reputation to qualify.
Glific is built as two different applications. The frontend and the backend exposing all the functionality via a GraphQL API. The frontend is a React application built using typescript, Apollo data graph platform, and custom design built on Material UI components. The backend is an Elixir + Absinthe + PostgresDB application.
Yes, you can create a collection of users based on their responses and preferences. Then you can start a flow for that collection or even send an individual message. It’s good to categorize contacts and send personalized messages.
WhatsAp’s policies discourage businesses from sending the first message to users if you don’t have a prior optin that was collected on a different channel.
Your team can create an account on Glific using their personal phone numbers. The phone number is only used to link the account and isn’t used to send messages to contacts. Messages will only be sent via the organization chatbot number.
Right now we do not have support for sending SMS from Glific conversational flows however you add support for IVR. If you want to include a functionality to call the user or receive a call from them at some point in the conversation flow on WhatsApp, then you can use Glific's Exotel integration to take relevant action for example based on a call, redirect them to the optin or any other flow or update their contact information.
Please see here: https://glific.github.io/docs/docs/Product%20Features/All%20product%20features
Right now we are using Gupshup as the BSP, but we are soon going to be making Glific available with WhatsApp cloud API.
You can engage in the very early stage to find fitment with your programs or learn how to use the platform for your programs.While using Glific you can reach out to the team for any support anytime. We don’t discourage any queries but we might ask you to read a few docs to find some answers.You can also avail our consulting services to customize the platform as per your requirements. We estimate the costs and timelines for the project and sign contracts only for this portion of the work before we begin. Once you are a user, you can also join us on sponsored offsites with other NGOs where you get to network, learn from other NGOs and get help from the Glific team.