Automating conversations is no longer reserved for large companies.
Today, any business that receives messages through Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, or even TikTok can use tools like Manychat to answer frequently asked questions, capture leads, send resources, start sales funnels, or hand over conversations to a team member when necessary.
The idea is simple: if many users write to you asking the same thing, comment a specific word on your posts, or abandon conversations before buying, you can create automations that do that initial work for you.
However, Manychat should not be seen as a substitute for human interaction. Its greatest value lies in automating repetitive tasks so your team can focus on the most important conversations.
In this article we will see what Manychat is, what it is used for, how it works, which channels it allows you to automate, what its prices are, and how you can connect it with Mailrelay using Make to bring those contacts to your email marketing campaigns as well.
What is Manychat?
Manychat is a conversation automation platform that allows you to create automated flows for channels like Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, SMS, and email. According to Manychat’s own website, its value proposition focuses on automating conversations to sell more, improve engagement, and grow audiences on Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, and Messenger.
Simply put: Manychat allows you to create a chatbot without the need to code.
For example, you can set up an automation so that when someone comments ‘GUIDE’ on an Instagram post, they automatically receive a private message with the download link. You can also create a flow to answer frequently asked questions on WhatsApp, ask for contact details, segment the user based on their answers, or forward a conversation to the sales team.
The key to Manychat lies in the flows. Instead of manually replying to every message, you design a conversation with different steps, buttons, conditions, and answers.
This way you can automate actions for:
- Answering frequent messages.
- Sending links or resources.
- Capturing emails or phone numbers.
- Tagging contacts based on their interests.
- Triggering follow-up sequences.
- Forwarding conversations to a person.
- Connecting Manychat with other external tools.
Therefore, Manychat is widely used in businesses that work with social media, ecommerce, infoproducts, services, bookings, training, events, or customer service.
What is Manychat used for?
Manychat is used to automate conversations that you would otherwise have to manage manually.
Its usefulness is not just in replying quickly, but in better organizing the process of capturing, serving, and selling. Properly configured, it can help you convert comments, messages, and clicks into real contacts within your marketing strategy.
24/7 automated responses
One of the most relevant advantages of Manychat is the option to respond automatically when someone writes outside business hours or when the team can’t reply to all messages right away.
This is especially useful on Instagram and WhatsApp, where the user expects fast replies. If a person asks about prices, availability, schedules, or conditions, an automatic reply can prevent their interest from cooling down.
It’s not about pretending there is a person answering. It is about offering a useful, clear, and fast first response. Afterwards, if the user needs more specific help, the conversation can be handed over to a team member.
Lead generation
Manychat also serves to capture leads in a more natural way than a traditional form.
Instead of asking the user to fill out several fields right from the start, you can initiate a simple conversation. For example, the user comments a keyword on Instagram, receives a private message, answers a couple of questions, and leaves their email or phone number to receive more information.
This format usually works well because it reduces friction. The user doesn’t feel like they are just filling out a form, but rather answering a conversation.
Afterwards, that data can be sent to other tools. In the case of Mailrelay, the connection can be made through Make, creating a scenario that collects the contact from Manychat and creates or updates them as a subscriber in Mailrelay. Make allows you to integrate Manychat with automation flows and, in the case of Mailrelay, create or update subscribers, manage groups, and maintain segmented lists.
Comment automation
One of the most popular features of Manychat is comment automation, especially on Instagram.
Surely you have seen posts that say: ‘Comment GUIDE and I’ll send it to you privately’.
That process can be automated with Manychat. When the user comments a specific word, the tool can send them a direct message with the resource, a question, a link, or the start of a flow.
This allows you to turn public interaction into a private conversation. And that is where real lead generation begins.
For example, you can use it to deliver:
- Downloadable guides.
- Discount codes.
- Webinar access.
- Catalogs.
- Booking links.
- Product information.
- Contact forms.
Comment automation is very useful because it leverages the user’s interest right at the moment they interact with your content.
Sales funnels
Manychat can also be used to create conversational sales funnels.
Instead of sending the user directly to a checkout page, you can guide them step by step. First you ask them a question, then you detect their need, then you show them an option, and finally you send them to an offer, a call, a demo, or a checkout.
For example, an ecommerce could ask what type of product the user is looking for. Based on their answer, Manychat can recommend a category, send a link, or apply a tag to send them a more personalized promotion later.
In services, the flow can be used to qualify the lead before forwarding it to the sales team.
This way the bot doesn’t just reply. It helps to organize the purchase intent.
Artificial Intelligence
Manychat also incorporates features related to artificial intelligence, especially in its paid plans. On the official pricing page, Manychat mentions features like intent recognition, AI steps, text improvement, and assistance to build automations.
This allows you to create less rigid conversations than automations based solely on buttons or keywords.
Even so, you should be careful. AI can help a lot, but it doesn’t mean you should leave the entire conversation uncontrolled. The ideal approach is to combine automated responses, well-thought-out flows, and hand-off points to a person when the user needs more specific attention.
The best automation is not the one that seems the most complex, but the one that best resolves the customer’s doubt.
CRM Integration
Manychat can be integrated with external tools so that the conversation doesn’t stop after the first contact in the chat.
Here is where Make comes in as a bridge between applications.
Make allows you to use Manychat as a trigger when lead information is captured or a new subscriber is added, and it also allows you to set up actions in Manychat such as tagging contacts, sending messages, or triggering flows.
This is important because many companies don’t want the contact to stay only on Instagram or WhatsApp. They want to send it to a CRM, a spreadsheet, an email marketing tool, or a sales platform.
In the case of integrating Make with Mailrelay, this can also be done, managing lists, creating or updating subscribers, and segmenting contacts into groups.
A practical example would be:
- A user comments ‘HELP’ on Instagram.
- Manychat sends them an automated message.
- The user leaves their email.
- Make collects that data.
- Make creates or updates the contact in Mailrelay.
- Mailrelay adds them to the correct group.
- The user receives an email campaign or automation.
This is how you connect chat marketing with email marketing.
Audience segmentation
Manychat also allows you to segment users based on their responses, actions, or interests.
This is very useful because not all contacts have the same intent.
A user asking for prices shouldn’t receive the same thing as someone who just wants to download a guide. A customer who has already purchased doesn’t need the same flow as a person who has just discovered the brand.
With tags, custom fields, and conditions, you can better organize your audience.
For example:
- Users interested in a specific product.
- Leads who have asked for prices.
- People who have downloaded a resource.
- Customers who need support.
- Contacts who want to receive promotions.
- Users who must be forwarded to the sales team.
The better you segment, the more relevant your subsequent messages will be.
How does Manychat work? Step by step
Manychat works through visual automations. You don’t need to code, but you do need to carefully think through the journey you want the user to follow.
The basic process would be this:
- The user triggers an entry: they can write to you on Instagram, comment a keyword, reply to a story, click a link, come from an ad, or start a conversation on WhatsApp.
- Manychat launches an automated response: the bot sends a previously configured message. It can be a text, a question, a button, an image, a link, or the start of a flow.
- The user replies or chooses an option: depending on their answer, the flow continues down one path or another. For example, they can choose between ‘I want prices’, ‘I want a demo’, or ‘I want to download the guide’.
- Manychat saves information: you can save responses, add tags, update fields, or identify the user’s interest.
- The next action is triggered: the flow can send more information, forward the conversation to a person, trigger another flow, or connect with an external tool.
- Make connects Manychat with other platforms: if you want to send that lead to Mailrelay, a CRM, Google Sheets, or another tool, Make can act as an intermediary.
- Mailrelay continues the relationship via email: once the contact arrives in Mailrelay, you can send newsletters, segmented campaigns, or email marketing automations.
This last point is important. Manychat can be very useful for capturing initial attention, but email marketing allows you to nurture the relationship in the medium and long term without depending solely on the social network or messaging app.
Advantages and disadvantages of using Manychat in your business
Manychat can be a very powerful tool, but it doesn’t fit equally in all businesses, nor should it be configured haphazardly.
Its main advantage is time savings. If you receive many repeated questions, comments with keywords, or messages about the same topics, automating that first reply can free up many hours of work.
It also improves response speed. The user receives an immediate reply, even if they write at night, on the weekend, or when the team is busy.
Another advantage is that it helps convert interactions into leads. A comment on Instagram can become a private conversation. That conversation can become an email. And that email can end up in a Mailrelay campaign.
In addition, Manychat allows you to create more dynamic experiences than a classic form. The user answers within a conversation, with buttons and guided steps.
Among its main advantages are:
- Time savings on repetitive responses.
- Immediate attention.
- Lead generation from social networks and chats.
- Automation of comments and direct messages.
- Segmentation based on interests.
- Integration with other tools through Make.
- Possibility of combining chat marketing and email marketing.
- Improvement of sales follow-up.
But it also has disadvantages.
A poor automation can seem cold or annoying. If the flow is poorly designed, the user might feel they are talking to a machine that understands nothing.
It requires strategy. Manychat doesn’t fix an unclear message, a weak offer, or a bad shopping experience. It only automates the process.
Some advanced features are tied to paid plans, contact limits, or additional costs depending on the channel, especially if we talk about WhatsApp, SMS, or advanced options.
You must also consider the regulatory and permissions aspect. You shouldn’t send messages without consent or use invasive automations.
Therefore, Manychat works best when used with a clear idea: automate the repetitive, capture data with permission, and continue the relationship on proprietary channels like email.
Available channels to use Manychat and how to use it
Manychat allows you to work with several conversational channels. Manychat’s own documentation includes channels such as Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, email, and SMS. (help.manychat.com)
The key is not to activate all of them, but to choose those where your audience actually is.
Instagram is one of the most interesting channels to use Manychat.
It allows you to automate replies to direct messages, comments, story mentions, or keywords. It is especially useful for personal brands, ecommerce, visual businesses, infoproducts, training, events, and services that capture demand from content.
A typical use would be to publish a reel and ask the user to comment a specific word to receive a resource. Manychat detects the comment and automatically sends a private message.
You can also use Instagram to:
- Deliver lead magnets.
- Answer frequently asked questions.
- Capture emails.
- Send booking links.
- Automate giveaways or campaigns.
- Forward conversations to the sales team.
Used well, Instagram stops being just a visibility channel and becomes a source of leads.
Facebook Messenger is still useful for certain businesses, especially those working with communities, Meta ads, or audiences that still interact heavily on Facebook.
Manychat allows you to create automations in Messenger, answer frequently asked questions, send information, trigger flows from ads, or run evergreen campaigns.
Although Instagram and WhatsApp usually take the spotlight in many sectors, Facebook can still be interesting for local businesses, training, events, ecommerce, or brands with active communities.
The advantage is that it can be integrated within the Meta ecosystem alongside Instagram and advertising campaigns.
WhatsApp is one of the most powerful channels because the user perceives it as close, fast, and direct.
Manychat can be used to automate conversations in WhatsApp Business, especially in customer service, sales, bookings, follow-up, or support processes.
For example, you can set up flows to answer frequent doubts, send product information, confirm details, forward to an agent, or follow up after a purchase.
However, WhatsApp requires taking great care with user consent and experience. It is not a channel to saturate with messages. It is a channel for useful and expected conversations.
That is why a good strategy usually combines WhatsApp for immediate conversation and Mailrelay for broader communications, newsletters, or email marketing campaigns.
TikTok
TikTok is also part of the Manychat ecosystem. Manychat’s official website mentions TikTok automation among its main channels.
This channel is interesting for creators, personal brands, ecommerce, and businesses that generate a lot of reach with short-form video.
The logic is similar to Instagram: converting a content interaction into an automated conversation.
For example, if a video generates many questions about a product, a guide, or a service, you can create a flow to direct the user to the next step.
TikTok can help you generate discovery, but automation allows you to better capitalize on that peak of attention.
Telegram
Telegram can be useful for communities, training courses, private channels, launches, or businesses that already work with an audience accustomed to this platform.
Manychat includes Telegram among its available channels, according to its help documentation.
Its main advantage is that it allows you to maintain conversations and organize communities more directly than other channels. It can work well for educational projects, paid communities, support groups, or recurring communication.
Even so, not all businesses need Telegram. It would only make sense if your audience is already there or if you have a clear strategy to bring them to that channel.
SMS
SMS might seem like an older channel, but it is still useful for specific, fast, and highly visible communications.
Manychat includes SMS as a channel within its documentation.
It can be used for reminders, notices, confirmations, codes, appointments, or urgent messages. The problem is that it usually has associated costs and requires very careful use so as not to be invasive.
It is not the ideal channel to send long-form content. For that, email is usually better.
But it can be useful as support at specific moments in the customer journey.
Manychat also includes the email channel, but if your email marketing strategy is going to carry weight, the logical thing is to connect it with a specialized service like Mailrelay.
Why?
Because an email marketing platform allows you to manage lists, segment, send newsletters, run campaigns, review statistics, and better scale communication with your database.
This is where Make plays an important role. Make allows you to connect Manychat with Mailrelay so that contacts captured from conversations can be automatically added to your email marketing groups or lists.
This way you can use Manychat to capture the lead at the moment of the conversation and Mailrelay to nurture the relationship later.
Current Manychat pricing
Manychat has different plans and its prices can change over time, so it is always advisable to check the official page before signing up.
According to Manychat’s official pricing information, there is a free plan and a Pro plan that starts at a monthly cost, in addition to a customized Elite plan.
On the pricing page it is indicated that the free plan allows you to start with basic features and that the Pro plan unlocks advanced features, integrations, analytics, and the removal of Manychat branding, with a price that scales according to contacts.
You also have to take into account that Manychat’s most recent help documentation may show different specific limits depending on the current model.
For example, their help center indicates that the Free plan includes up to 25 active contacts per month, while the Pro plan includes a 14-day trial and monthly or annual payment options for a larger volume of active contacts.
In practice, this means you should review three things before choosing a plan:
- How many active contacts you will have.
- Which channels you need to connect.
- What advanced features you need, such as integrations, AI, analytics, or more comprehensive automations.
For initial testing, the free plan can serve to understand the tool. For real business use, especially if you are going to automate Instagram, WhatsApp, and connect with Mailrelay via Make, you will probably need a paid plan.
In addition, some channels may have additional costs or specific conditions. WhatsApp, SMS, and certain advanced features usually require a more careful review before calculating the final cost.
Other articles that may interest you:
- Mailchimp: What is it? Alternatives
- Brevo (Sendinblue): What is it? Features and Alternatives
- Bulk email tools comparison: Mailrelay vs Acumbamail vs Mailjet
- Email Marketing Platforms: Analysis and Selection Guide
- 20 email marketing tools to boost your mailings
Manychat + Artificial Intelligence: The best tandem
The combination of Manychat with artificial intelligence can greatly improve the user experience, as long as it is configured sensibly.
Until recently, many chatbots worked almost exclusively with buttons, keywords, and closed answers. That worked for simple cases, but could fall short when the user wrote more naturally.
With AI features, Manychat can help better recognize message intent, improve texts, or create more flexible conversational steps.
Manychat mentions features like intent recognition, AI Step, text improvement, and assistance in building automations within its advanced plans.
This allows for creating less rigid experiences.
For example, if a user writes ‘I want to know how much it costs’, ‘send me prices’, or ‘what is the price’, the AI can help interpret that the intent is the same: inquiring about price.
Even so, AI should not be used without control. The recommendation is to combine it with clear flows, reviewed messages, and well-defined limits.
A good configuration should decide:
- What the AI can answer automatically.
- When it should follow a closed flow.
- When it should ask for more data.
- When it should forward to a person.
- What information it should never invent.
The best tandem is not Manychat + AI without supervision. It is Manychat + AI + strategy + human review.
That is where automation truly helps to sell, serve, and capture better.
Mailrelay: Up to 80,000 free emails for your Manychat automations
Manychat can help you capture attention at the exact moment: when someone comments, writes on Instagram, replies to a story, or starts a conversation on WhatsApp.
But afterwards you need to maintain that relationship.
And that is where Mailrelay comes in.
With Mailrelay you can convert the contacts captured from Manychat into your own database to send newsletters, commercial campaigns, educational content, promotions, or automated email marketing sequences.
The connection between Manychat and Mailrelay can be made using Make.
You can do it in a few easy steps:
- The user interacts with Manychat on Instagram, WhatsApp, or another channel.
- Manychat collects their data, such as name, email, phone number, or interest.
- Make receives that information from Manychat.
- Make creates or updates the subscriber in Mailrelay.
- Mailrelay adds them to the corresponding group.
- From there, you can send email campaigns or automations.
Make allows you to integrate Manychat into workflows to capture lead information and trigger actions, while its integration with Mailrelay allows you to automate subscriber and group management.
This is especially useful because you don’t rely solely on Instagram, WhatsApp, or any other external platform.
You build your own database.
With Mailrelay you have:
- Up to 80,000 free emails per month.
- Up to 20,000 contacts.
- No credit card required.
- No advertising in your emails.
- Contact segmentation.
- Campaign statistics.
- Automations.
- Specialized technical support.
This way you can use Manychat to start conversations and Mailrelay to continue the relationship via email.
Because capturing a lead is good.
But working it later with a good email marketing strategy is what can turn that conversation into a real sale.