Guide: Start from a template
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-builder/start-from-a-template
Topic: Flow builder
Time: about 3 minutes
Who can do it: Owner, Administrator or Manager
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox
Result when done: A ready flow, one of the nine, opened on the canvas in your language with your link or post filled in, then live.
Context: Templates are finished flows built from the same steps you would drag in yourself. Each card says what the flow does, and the flow it opens carries a short name: Comment LINK, get the link; Follow to get the link; Complaints to private; Price questions to DMs; Giveaway entries; Story mention thank-you; Welcome menu; Guide for an email; AI agent qualifies a lead. An Instagram account sees the Instagram ones, a Facebook Page the Facebook ones. Each opens as an unsaved draft, so you can change any word before it goes live. The only things left for you are what only you know: your link, or the post a giveaway runs on.

Before you start:
1. The flow builder is on Starter and every plan above it (and on the 7-day DM pass on Mini and Lite).
2. Templates belong to the page you open them on: an Instagram account or a Facebook Page.
3. Only one template uses the AI agent step, AI agent qualifies a lead, and it asks you to choose an agent first.

Steps:
Step 1 of 4: Press New automation on the page.
Where: Left sidebar, under Pages, click the page, then the Automation tab. New automation is the green button at the top right (or press N). On a phone: the page, then Automation, then New automation.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox (Open the app)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-home.en.webp (The Automation list, with New automation at the top right.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-home-phone.en.webp (New automation on a phone.)
You should see: New automation opens: the box to describe one, the ready-made recipes, the Build your own flow card, then Start from a template.

Step 2 of 4: Scroll to Start from a template and pick one.
Where: Below the recipes and the Build your own flow card, the heading Start from a template, with one card per template: Send a link to everyone who comments a word, Ask commenters to follow before they get the link, Hide complaints and settle them in private, Answer price questions in DMs, Run a comment giveaway, Thank people who mention you in their story, Greet new chats with a menu, Give a free guide for an email, Let your AI agent qualify a lead. Each card shows the steps it uses as a row of icons, says what it does, and marks what you will fill in (Add your link, Pick the post, Choose your agent) and whether it Uses moderation. For a first try, click Greet new chats with a menu: it opens the flow named Welcome menu.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-templates.en.webp (The card Greet new chats with a menu, under Start from a template.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-templates-more-phone.en.webp (The card Greet new chats with a menu, on a phone.)
You should see: The flow opens on the canvas, laid out tidy, with its steps already written in the language of the app.

Step 3 of 4: Fill in what it asks for.
Where: The pill at the top right of the canvas counts what is left, for example 1 thing to fix; the step it means is outlined in red and marked Fix, with the reason on the card. Press the pill to jump to that step: the link on a message button, or the post a giveaway runs on (in the start, Pick posts). Change any wording in the settings panel on the right while you are there.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-template-open.en.webp (The pill counts what is left; the step it means is marked Fix.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-template-open-phone.en.webp (The same count on a phone.)
You should see: The count goes down as you fill each one, and the pill reads Ready to go live.

Step 4 of 4: Switch it live, or save it as a draft.
Where: The Live switch on the bar at the top, left of Save. Switching it on saves the flow and puts it live in one go. To keep it as a draft instead, leave the switch off and press Save, the green button beside it.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-template-ready.en.webp (The Live switch, with Save beside it, once nothing is left to fix.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-template-ready-phone.en.webp (The Live switch on a phone, once nothing is left to fix.)
You should see: The toast says Saved. It's live on your page, or Saved as a draft. Switch it on when it's ready.

If something is off:
Problem: I cannot find a template I saw before
Fix: The list follows the page: the Instagram-only ones (Follow to get the link, Story mention thank-you) do not show on a Facebook Page. Open the template from the Instagram account.
Problem: Save refuses to go live
Fix: Something is still missing; the pill on the canvas says how many things to fix. Press it to jump to each one. A template never fills in your link or post for you.
Problem: Complaints to private does nothing
Fix: It runs on comments moderation leaves up and reads the moderation label. Keep Hide negative comments off on that page where you want it to help.

Common questions:
Question: How many flow templates are there?
Answer: Nine: Comment LINK, get the link; Follow to get the link; Complaints to private; Price questions to DMs; Giveaway entries; Story mention thank-you; Welcome menu; Guide for an email; AI agent qualifies a lead. Two of them, the follow one and the story mention one, are Instagram only.
Question: Does a template go live as soon as I open it?
Answer: No. It opens on the canvas as an unsaved draft. Nothing runs until you fill in what it asks for and save it with the live switch on.
Question: Can I change a template after I open it?
Answer: Yes, every word and every step. A template is an ordinary flow once it is on the canvas: add, remove and rewire steps as you like.
Question: Do templates use the AI agent?
Answer: Only one. AI agent qualifies a lead uses the AI agent step, so it asks you to choose an agent before it can go live. The other eight work without one, and you can add an agent step to any of them yourself afterwards.

Related guides:
- Build a flow with AI: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-builder/build-a-flow-with-ai
- Test a flow on your phone: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-builder/test-a-flow-on-your-phone
- The Automation list: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/the-automation-list

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-builder/start-from-a-template.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt