The Ultimate Guide to ManyChat Extensions That Simplify Your Workflow
introduction
Know About ManyChat – The Fastest Growing Conversation
In the fast and furious digital world, attention spans are low while expectations run high. That’s where ManyChat comes in- much more than a mere chatbot is full-fledged conversation marketing muscle. Operating almost like a heart and mind, it automates the customer experience by personalizing interactions seamlessly across Facebook Messenger, Instagram DMs, WhatsApp, and even SMS. And, surely, no line of code is needed to set it all in motion.
ManyChat’s backbone is its simple visual flow builder. Think of drag, drop, and you’re done! With this tool, brands can create interactive, conversational experiences that feel more human than machine. Whether you want to qualify leads, nurture prospects, or take less techy routes and close sales, ManyChat is doing all this behind the scenes with surprising grace.
But it had not always been this powerful. Completely revamped, ManyChat was initially simply designed for Facebook Messenger alone. It has now grown into a multichannel behemoth serving over one million businesses and counting. From small eCommerce startups and cool service providers to influencers and content creators-well-known and highly trusted, if you have an audience, ManyChat provides you with the tools to connect with them instantly and at scale.
And what are marketers raving about? Easy-Automated-Real Time-Personal Communication. Imagine speaking to just the right person at just the right time with just the right message-who wouldn’t want that? Technology like this saves time while increasing conversions and retention and incentivizing growth.
So, if smarter and scalable relationship building is on your agenda, selling, or being front-of-mind, ManyChat isn’t just an option-it’s a strategy.
ManyChat’s Key Features
ManyChat is one of the strongest tools to create automating messaging experiences on social media, SMS and email, with many great tools to engage customers faster and smarter, or if you’re running a big business like an agency or have e-commerce online stores, ManyChat lets you connect fast.
What makes the app the best available right now is ManyChat’s ability to breakdown the confusion of marketing workflows with visual automation features. With a couple of clicks, you can create chatbots that walk users through your sales funnel, answer FAQs, capture leads, process orders – all 24/7 and without human involvement.
Let’s dissect some of ManyChat’s key features that have made it the go-to app by marketers and companies globally:
Visual Flow Builder: Build flow-based chatbots with a drag-and-drop design interface. No technical background necessary.
Multi-Channel Messaging: Automate messages on Messenger, Instagram DM, WhatsApp, SMS, and email all from the same platform.
Customer Segmentation: Tag and group users based on their behaviors; send targeted messages to segments of users based on their group.
Growth Tools: Utilize built-in growth tools such as pop-ups, landing pages, and QR codes to grow a contact list at lightning speed.
E-commerce Integrations: Use ManyChat integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, and other tools to help fuel your e-commerce sales.
AI and Chat GPT Integration: Use natural language tools to develop dynamic content and automated smart responses for your flows.
The only thing left is performance analytics; review how many opens, clicks and conversions, what works from an analytical point of view, and where to make improvements to your flow.
Ultimately, ManyChat allows organizations to save hours of time, create engagement and results through a technology-enabled solution that does not require a full tech team to implement.
Advantages of Utilizing ManyChat for Companies
ManyChat isn’t just a chatbot platform—it’s a complete messaging automation tool that can help businesses develop deeper relationships with their customers across multiple channels, including Facebook Messenger, Instagram DM, WhatsApp, and SMS. Here are the top advantages of using ManyChat for businesses:
- Automate Conversations to Save Time
ManyChat can help businesses create automated responses for frequently asked questions, schedule messages, and direct users through custom flows, without the need for employees to be online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Ultimately, this gives your team the ability to help you scale, and focus on higher-value actions, while they need to respond to routine conversations. - Improve Engagement and Conversion Rates
ManyChat makes it easy for businesses to set up personalized, interactive messaging experiences, thereby increasing user experience and engagement. ManyChat contains buttons, quick replies, and smart delays that keep users happy and engaged to lead them toward a conversion (purchase, sign up, booking, etc.). - Increase Customer Support
In today’s world, everyone expects instant replies to your frequently asked questions or asking about products, etc. ManyChat enables businesses to provide quick support and consistence on what customers receive, thus lowering response times, and when the issue is complex, ManyChat can funnel the customer to a live agent. - Automatically Capture and Qualify Leads
With ManyChat’s Growth Tools (pop-ups, landing pages, and embedded widgets) you can generate leads from your website or social media directly, and add another layer of segmentation and qualification on leads based on user feedback which helps to follow-up faster and with greater impact! - Generate Sales using Automated Campaigns
ManyChat messages can be set to promote wherever the customers are in your customer journey. You can create automated promotional messages for reasons that are bespoke to the nature of the customer’s interests (i.e. target potential customers who Add to Cart but do not complete the checkout). - Engage Audiences Where They’re At
Through ManyChat you can engage customers via many higher engagement platforms apart from email: Messenger, SMS, and WhatsApp to name a few. This means you can have real access to customers where they are already present. - Track Performance and Optimize
ManyChat gives you performance metrics to analyse open rates, clickbacks, and what users do after they click. Tracking these metrics enables you to ensure constant refinement of your flows with endless possibilities and ideas to optimize your marketing plans. - Summarized, if you are seeking an accessible marketing automation that can provide leads and customer engagement in an ultimately personalized way; ManyChat is a component worth pursuing.
How to Create a ManyChat Account (Step-By-Step Parenting)
Once you are able to navigate ManyChat, it will be easy. This step-by-step tutorial will help you create your account and design your first chatbot flow.
Step 1: Create a ManyChat Account
Visit ManyChat.com
Click “Get Started Free”
Sign Up for your ManyChat account using your Facebook, Instagram, or Google account, depending on your needs.
🔹 Keep in mind, ManyChat works on other tangible social media platforms such as Facebook Messenger, Instagram DM, WhatsApp etc. Be sure to connect to the platform your audience is most active on.
Step 2: Connect To Your Social Media Page
Once you login, ManyChat will prompt you to connect your business page:
Choose your Facebook Page, Instagram Business Account, or WhatsApp Business number.
Allow ManyChat the permissions it needs to send messages and access messages.
Step 3: Create Your First Flow
Go to “Automation”
Click “+ New Flow”
In the Visual Flow Builder, you will be able to drag and drop message blocks.
You can add:
Text
Images
Quick replies
Buttons (linked buttons, actions)
Delays to mimic human conversation
✅Tip: Make sure your messages are brief and conversational. You will be able to preview the chat bot while you are on the build, a🔹 Keep in mind that ManyChat works across all social media platforms like Facebook Messenger, Instagram DM, WhatsApp, etc. You should connect to the platform where there is the most audience for your business.
Step 4: Add a Trigger (Growth Tool)
Setting up the trigger to run your chatbot could be a:
Keyword (for example, user types “hello”).
Website pop-up.
Facebook Comment tool.
QR code.
Go to Grab your Growth Tools to select a trigger and customize it.
Step 5: Publish and Test
Before publishing:
Click “Preview” to run through the flow from your connected account.
Make necessary adjustments.
Click “Publish” when ready.
You should also test the bot by engaging with it as your potential customer would, to ensure functionality.
Step 6: Monitor and Improve
Go to the “Analytics” tab, to see how your bot is performing:
Message open rates,
Click-through rates,
Conversion goals.
You also can make improvements based on the data received, so that you can get the performance you want from your ManyChat flows.
Use Cases (with Examples) for ManyChat
ManyChat is an automation platform that enables businesses to engage with customers through messaging applications like Facebook Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, and SMS. ManyChat is a flexible platform that can be used across many industries. Below are some best practices for uses of ManyChat, along with examples of usage in the wild.
- E-commerce Product Launches
Use Case: When you have new products to announce, special offers for your existing customers, or abandoned cart recovery opportunities.
Example: An online clothing retailer uses ManyChat for early access announcements and uses Instagram DMs rather than email. The customers can ask specific questions, see sizing charts, and purchase directly in the chat with the chatbot. - Local Business Promotions
Use Case: Deliver exclusive promotions to help businesses drive more foot traffic, or appointment reminders to help reduce no shows.
Example: A salon uses ManyChat to send SMS reminders to loyal customers, along with Facebook Messenger coupons notes to try and boost rebooking. - Lead Generation for Online Services
Use Case: Automatically generated leads, as well as qualifying leads via chat.
Example: A real estate agent uses a ManyChat flow on Facebook Messenger to conduct pre-qualification questions with chat users. If a user qualified, the user will be tagged as a qualified lead and passed instantly to the sales team. - Optimising Customer Support
Use Case: Provide Answers to Routine Questions, Update Order Status and Classify Support Tickets.
Example: Electronics shop installed ManyChat in their support centre and customers were able to receive instant replies to their queries relating to shipping and returns through WhatsApp thus increasing their level of happiness and reducing the volume of support queries. - Simplifying Course Enrollments and Webinar Registrations
Use Case: Handle signups automatically, deliver reminders, and conduct follow-ups after an event.
Example: A coach leveraged ManyChat to sign up participants for a complimentary webinar via Instagram Direct Messages. The chatbot sent out reminders and a follow-up with the replay link, which enhanced attendance and improved conversion rates. - Event RSVPs and Reminders
Use Case: Simplify the process of gathering RSVPs (through Messenger) and distribute event information.
Example: A fitness studio advertised a special event using ManyChat’s Facebook chatbot. Users RSVPed via Messenger and subsequently received automatic updates and directions.
Best Practices for ManyChat Campaigns
Running effective campaigns in ManyChat is much more than building automated flows. If you want to truly engage your audience and get results, you must follow best practices that have proven themselves time and time again. Below are the best ways to maximize your ManyChat campaigns.
- Personalize Your Messages
Generic messages are perceived as spam! Use the dynamic fields in ManyChat (e.g. first name or user tags) in every message, so that each message you send is personalized. Personalized messages will drive up your open rates and establish a stronger connection with your audience.
Tip: In flows, use conditional logic to send a variation of the same message based on user behavior or preferences.
- Write Brief and Clear Messages
We all scan in chat, we don’t read. Make chat messages concisely, conversationally, and easy to understand. Don’t write huge paragraphs in a single message. Rather than writing a long paragraph, it’s best to send brief and easy-to-read messages, or break the information up by quick replies or buttons to keep the user engaged. - Use Visual Flow Builder to Plan Out Campaigns
ManyChat Visual Flow Builder will allow you to get a good idea of the whole campaign and how each step fits into the larger context. Use the flow builder every time before you publish your flows, which will help you avoid mistakes and ensure the user experience is optimized. - Observe Facebook & Instagram Messaging Rules
If you are leveraging ManyChat on Meta platforms, you must abide by their 24-hour messaging policy. After 24 hours of a user being active and engaging with you, you can only send them specific types of messages (order updates, post-purchase follow-ups, etc.) - Pro tip: use One-Time Notifications (OTN) and sponsored messages to re-engage users after the 24 hours explodes.
- Segment Your Audience
Not every user is the same. You can use ManyChat tags and custom fields to segment your audience and group them in terms of interests, activity, or location. This will allow you to provide messages that are relevant to users, and conversions become much better. - Take Time to Test and Optimize
A/B test your flows – different messages, images, calls to actions (CTAs) and times. Utilize ManyChat’s analytics to understand what is working and optimize. - Don’t Over-Automate
Automation can be a big-time saver, but too much automation can feel robotic. You have to supplement automated messages with humans (or live chat) when it makes sense and let users know they can also talk to a real person. - Provide Value Before You Sell
Every successful ManyChat still has a good focus on value – whether that is helpful tips, links to free resources, ‘an exclusive update’, etc., they are empowering users before they think of clicking buy now. This builds trust and reduces unsubscribe rates.
Common Mistakes to Avoid in ManyChat
ManyChat is a powerful way to automate conversations and increase engagement, however, it is fairly common to make mistakes that can decrease performance and user experience. Here are the top mistakes that you want to avoid with ManyChat:
- Automating Conversations Too Much
ManyChat allows for complex chatbot flows that are optimized for automation, but trying to automate every conversation may not be the best. Customers will always want to feel like they are talking to a real person at some point. Use automation for routine actions, and let users have a live chat handoff when applicable. - Not Considering Where to Segment Users
ManyChat’s true power lies in its ability to segment users based on behaviors, interests, and patterns they’ve had. If you are simply sending the same message to your audience, then you are leaving engagement on the table. Always tag or segment your users to best deliver relevant and personalized content. - Not Testing flows
When creating any chatbot flow in ManyChat, be sure to test it first! Issues like broken links, inadequate conditions and confusing messaging may frustrate users and decrease conversion rates. Be sure to preview the flow using the Many Chat tools, along with test it in live mode to ensure the best experience for each user. - Sending too many messages
Enticing your subscribers to the point of feeling bombarded with constant messages, or ridiculous messages will make them unsubscribe and violate platforms’ policies. Sending messages to your subscribers early in a campaign is great, then settle into a routine that you respect. You want to provide value, not just pure promotions. - Not considering mobile optimization
Since nearly every user that will access your ManyChat bot will be using a mobile device, you should totally consider creating flows that are mobile-friendly. Sending short messages, utilizing quick replies will keep things easy and rapid. Nothing bugs users more than waiting for oversized visuals to load. - Violating Facebook’s messaging practices
If you are using ManyChat with Facebook messenger, you need to understand and be sure to follow Meta’s messaging tags and rules of engagement which 24 hr messaging windows. Failure to follow will result in account restrictions or having your account deleted. - Not monitoring performance
ManyChat has built-in analytics that will allow you to monitor your message open rates, click-throughs and flow completion. If you never look at these stats than you are losing opportunities to improve and optimize your campaigns.
ManyChat vs. Competitors: How It Compares in 2025
ManyChat is one of the first names when mentioning chatbot platforms. But how does it hold up against the other tools in the ecosystem, such as Chatfuel, MobileMonkey, and Tidio? Here’s a side-by-side to help you see where ManyChat shines—and where it doesn’t.
- ManyChat vs. Chatfuel
Chatfuel is another well-known chatbot builder that, like ManyChat, focuses predominantly on Facebook Messenger. While both platforms offer drag-and-drop builders, ManyChat has a more user-friendly interface and additionally supports more messaging channels, like Instagram, WhatsApp, and SMS.
Noteable Distinctions:
ManyChat can message through various channels whereas Chatfuel is limited to Messenger and Telegram.
ManyChat has built in SMS and Email marketing.
Chatfuel is the better platform for larger enterprises that need Kopy customization, but it is not as user friendly for beginners.
Overall winner for more users: ManyChat due to their better multi-channel support and more user-friendly app.
ManyChat vs. MobileMonkey
MobileMonkey positions itself as an “omnichat” platform and has far more lead generation capabilities than ManyChat. However, ManyChat has far superior capabilities for flow design, and just more automation features, out of the box.
The Key Differences
MobileMonkey primarily focuses on unified inboxes and web chat tools.
ManyChat is superior in terms of automation, chatbot sequences, and segmentation of users.
MobileMonkey is slightly confusing when compared to ManyChat’s visual flow builder.
The best option if you want superior automation and e-commerce capabilities: ManyChat
- ManyChat vs. Tidio
Tidio is more of a live chat tool that has some chatbot capabilities. It’s primarily used by e-commerce stores. While Tidio is a great solution for customer support, they can’t compete with ManyChat’s marketing and automation features.
The Key Differences
If you want real-time chat, Tidio is a great option. If you want to create automated marketing flows, ManyChat is a better option.
Tidio is heavily targeted toward Shopify users, whereas ManyChat supports a number of platforms.
ManyChat has superior campaign management and audience segmentation.
The best option if you want the best marketing automation capabilities: ManyChat
Why ManyChat is better than the competition
These are just some reasons why marketers and businesses prefer ManyChat compared to their competition:
Support for multi-channel (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, SMS, Email)
Modern automation tools with easy to set up infrastructure
Rich integrations with Shopify, Zapier, Google Sheets, and more.
Fast chatbot creation using an easy-to-use visual builder
If you are trying to automate communication, increase sales, or drive leads on multiple platforms, ManyChat is a robust, all-in-one solution.
Pricing Plans and What You Get – ManyChat
Different plans for pricing are available for businesses of all sorts, ranging from a small start-up to a large-scale eCommerce brand. The two main plans offered by the platform are Free and Pro.
🔹 Free Plan
The Free plan is perfect for any beginner interested in getting a feel for chatbot marketing. You can enjoy:
Upto 1,000 contacts
Basic chatbot features
Integration with Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp
Simple automation flows, templates
Email support
It’s a good place to start with ManyChat, free of charge.
The Pro Plan Pro charges you $15 per month, and that price increases according to contact lists growth. The Pro Plan offers access as well as some really good features from ManyChat, such as:
Unlimited flow creation of chatbot and its advanced automation.
Unlimited contacts
SMS and email marketing abilities
A/B tests and reports
When it comes to client support, hence, preference is given to priority client support.
Access to all these integrations, from Shopify, Stripe, and so on.
ManyChat’s integrations and extensions
make your work even more powerful. Among the different capabilities of the platform, integrations and extensions allow marketing, customer support, and sales to be easily automated.
Native Integrations
ManyChat itself can integrate with:
Shopify – syncs customer data, automates order notifications, and recovers abandoned carts.
Facebook and Instagram – use Messenger and DM automation to grab leads and stay in touch with customers.
Google Sheets – logs form submissions, quiz results or user data automatically into a shared spreadsheet.
HubSpot and Mailchimp – pass user data easily to email marketing CRMs for nurturing.
Third-Party Apps via Zapier
Zapier-based integrations connect ManyChat to thousands of other apps, including Slack, Trello, Calendly, or Zoom. This way, automation workflows can move across your business without code.
Custom Extensions
ManyChat, for more advanced users, allows some custom functions:
API calls – fetch or send data from external platforms in real-time.
Webhooks – trigger workflows or send updates based on user actions inside the bot.
External Requests – bringing dynamic information into your bot conversations directly (like weather updates, delivery tracking, etc.).
E-Commerce & Payments
PayPal and Stripe integrations are also supported in ManyChat, allowing businesses to sell directly through chatbots with secure payment flows.
ManyChat gives smart and customizable experiences using various integrations and extensions in e-commerce, lead generation, and customer support.