How to Set Up the Kommo Salesbot Step by Step to Automate Your Sales

Your sales team just got another 15 leads from your Facebook campaign, but it's 9 PM and nobody's at their desk. By the time you follow up tomorrow morning, half those leads will have moved on to a competitor who responded first. This is where Kommo's Salesbot becomes your 24/7 sales assistant—qualifying leads, booking appointments, and moving deals forward while you're asleep. In this guide, I'll walk you through exactly how to set up your first Kommo CRM chatbot from scratch.

What Is the Kommo Salesbot and Why Your Business Needs It

The Kommo Salesbot is a visual chatbot builder built directly into Kommo CRM. Unlike standalone chatbot platforms that require expensive integrations, Salesbot lives inside your CRM and has direct access to all your lead data, pipeline stages, and conversation history. This means your bot can do things like check if a lead has purchased before, move them to a different pipeline stage based on their answers, or automatically assign them to a specific rep based on their location.

For US small businesses running lean sales teams, the math is compelling. A single sales rep handling inbound leads typically costs you $50,000-$70,000/year fully loaded. But most of their time goes to repetitive tasks: asking the same qualification questions, scheduling calls, and chasing unresponsive leads. The Salesbot handles all of that automatically, letting your reps focus on actually closing deals. If you're already evaluating Kommo CRM for your US small business, adding the Salesbot is a natural next step once you've got your pipeline organized.

Salesbot Pricing and What You Need to Get Started

Before diving into setup, let's clarify what you'll need. The Salesbot feature is included in Kommo's Advanced plan at $28/user/month (billed annually) or $35/user/month (billed monthly). The Base plan at $15/user/month does not include Salesbot—you'll just see a grayed-out menu option. For teams needing unlimited bots with custom code execution, the Enterprise plan runs $48/user/month.

Beyond the plan, you'll need at least one connected messaging channel. This could be the free Kommo webchat widget, a Facebook Messenger integration, Instagram DMs, or a WhatsApp Business API connection. For US businesses, WhatsApp is increasingly popular for service-based industries (home services, healthcare, real estate) where customers prefer texting over email. Connecting WhatsApp requires a separate provider account—Twilio charges roughly $0.005-$0.02 per message depending on conversation type, while 360dialog offers a flat-rate model starting around $50/month per number.

Step-by-Step Salesbot Configuration

Here's the exact process to build your first Kommo Salesbot. I'm assuming you already have Kommo set up with leads coming in from at least one channel.

Step 1: Access the Salesbot Builder. Click the gear icon for Settings, then navigate to Communication Tools > Salesbot. You'll see any existing bots listed here. Click "Create New Bot" in the top right corner. Name it something descriptive like "After-Hours Lead Qualifier" or "WhatsApp Welcome Flow."

Step 2: Choose Your Trigger. Every bot needs a trigger—the event that activates it. Common triggers include: new lead created, incoming message from a specific channel, lead enters a pipeline stage, or time-based (no response after X hours). For a first bot, choose "Incoming Message" and select your webchat or WhatsApp channel.

Step 3: Build Your Flow. The visual builder uses a drag-and-drop canvas. Start with a "Send Message" node containing your greeting. Add "Quick Reply" buttons so leads can tap instead of typing. For example: "Hi! I'm the virtual assistant for [Company]. What brings you here today?" with buttons for "Pricing info," "Book a call," and "Speak to a human."

Step 4: Add Conditional Logic. Click the plus icon after each quick-reply button to create different paths. If someone clicks "Book a call," send them a Calendly link or Kommo's built-in meeting scheduler. If they click "Pricing," send your rate sheet or ask qualifying questions first (budget, timeline, team size) before forwarding to a rep.

Step 5: Configure CRM Actions. This is where Salesbot shines over generic chatbots. Add "Change Pipeline Stage" nodes to move qualified leads forward automatically. Use "Update Custom Field" to store their answers (budget, industry, location) directly in the lead record. Add "Assign to User" nodes to route leads based on criteria—maybe Texas leads go to Rep A while California leads go to Rep B.

Step 6: Test and Activate. Click "Test Bot" to simulate a conversation. Kommo will create a dummy lead so you can walk through every path. Check that CRM fields update correctly, stages change as expected, and your messages don't sound robotic. Once satisfied, toggle the bot to Active.

"The biggest mistake we see is over-engineering the first bot. Start with a 3-question flow that identifies hot leads versus tire-kickers. You can always add complexity after you've got real conversation data to work with."
— The Solve IT LLC Team

Configuring Salesbot for WhatsApp Automation

WhatsApp presents unique considerations for US businesses. First, you need a WhatsApp Business API account—this isn't the regular WhatsApp Business app, but the API version that allows automated messaging. Connect through a provider like Twilio, 360dialog, or MessageBird by adding the integration in Kommo's Settings > Integrations > WhatsApp.

WhatsApp has strict rules: you can only send automated messages within 24 hours of the customer's last message (the "customer service window"), or by using pre-approved message templates for outbound messages. This means your Salesbot works perfectly for responding to inbound WhatsApp inquiries but requires template approval for proactive follow-ups. Template approval usually takes 24-48 hours and costs nothing extra.

Inside your Salesbot flow, handling WhatsApp is nearly identical to webchat. The main difference is testing—send a real WhatsApp message to your connected number to verify everything works. Also, WhatsApp supports richer media: you can have your bot send PDFs, images, or location pins that wouldn't work in basic webchat.

Connecting Salesbot to ChatGPT or Claude for Smarter Responses

For complex queries that simple decision trees can't handle, you can connect Salesbot to AI models via webhooks. Here's the practical approach we use with US clients:

In your Salesbot flow, add a "Webhook" action node at the point where you want AI involvement—typically after a lead asks a question that doesn't match any quick-reply button. Configure the webhook to POST the message text and relevant lead data to an external endpoint. We typically use n8n or Make.com for this middleware layer, though any serverless function (AWS Lambda, Cloudflare Workers) works.

The middleware calls the OpenAI API (GPT-4 costs about $0.03/1K input tokens and $0.06/1K output tokens) or Anthropic's Claude API with a system prompt that includes your company's FAQ, pricing, and sales guidelines. The AI generates a response, which the middleware POSTs back to Kommo via the Kommo API to continue the conversation.

This hybrid approach—structured flows for common paths, AI for edge cases—gives you the reliability of scripted bots with the flexibility of AI, without racking up huge API costs. Most conversations follow the scripted path; AI only kicks in for genuine freeform questions.

Real-World Salesbot Use Cases for US Teams

Home Services (HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical): Bot asks for service type, zip code, and urgency level. Urgent requests (no AC in July) immediately page the on-call tech via SMS. Non-urgent leads get automatically scheduled for next-day callback. One Phoenix HVAC client reduced their average response time from 4 hours to 45 seconds.

Real Estate Agencies: Bot qualifies buyers by asking pre-approval status, budget range, and preferred neighborhoods. Pre-approved buyers above $500K budget get routed directly to senior agents. Others receive automated drip content while staying in the nurture pipeline.

B2B SaaS Sales: Bot asks company size, current tools, and timeline for purchase. Enterprise prospects (500+ employees, buying within 90 days) trigger instant Slack notifications to the sales director. Smaller prospects get a self-service demo link and enter an automated email sequence.

Healthcare Practices: Bot handles appointment requests by asking for insurance provider, preferred date/time, and reason for visit. It checks provider availability via a Calendly or Acuity integration and books directly, reducing front-desk phone volume by 40-60%.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you set up a chatbot in Kommo CRM step by step?

Navigate to Settings > Communication Tools > Salesbot and click "Create New Bot." Choose your trigger (incoming message, new lead, etc.), then use the visual builder to add message nodes, quick-reply buttons, and conditional branches. Connect your messaging channel, test with a sample lead, then toggle to Active. A basic qualification bot takes 30-60 minutes to build.

Can the Kommo Salesbot reply on WhatsApp automatically?

Yes, once you've connected a WhatsApp Business API provider (Twilio, 360dialog, etc.) to Kommo, any Salesbot can send automated WhatsApp replies. The bot responds to incoming messages within WhatsApp's 24-hour window automatically. For proactive outreach, you'll need pre-approved message templates, which take 24-48 hours to get approved.

Which Kommo plan includes the Salesbot?

The Advanced plan at $28/user/month (annual billing) includes Salesbot. The Base plan at $15/user/month does not include it. Enterprise at $48/user/month adds unlimited bots and custom code execution. For a typical US small business with 3-5 sales reps, the Advanced plan offers the best balance of features and cost.

Can I connect the Kommo Salesbot to ChatGPT or Claude?

Yes, using Salesbot's webhook action node. Configure the webhook to send conversation context to a middleware service (n8n, Make.com, or a custom endpoint) that calls the OpenAI or Anthropic API. The AI response is then posted back to Kommo via API. This lets you handle freeform questions while keeping costs manageable.

How long does it take to configure the Kommo Salesbot?

A basic lead qualification bot takes 30-60 minutes using the visual builder. More sophisticated bots with AI integrations, multiple conditional branches, and complex CRM automations typically require 2-4 hours of initial setup plus iterative testing. We recommend starting simple, collecting two weeks of conversation data, then refining based on actual user behavior.

Getting Started with Your First Salesbot

The fastest path to Salesbot ROI is to start with a single, focused use case: responding to after-hours inquiries. This alone can capture 20-30% more qualified leads for US businesses running EST hours but receiving leads from Pacific Time prospects after 6 PM Eastern. Build that bot, run it for two weeks, review the conversation logs, then expand.

If you're not yet on Kommo's Advanced plan, the upgrade from Base to Advanced pays for itself quickly once your bot is handling even 5-10 lead qualification conversations per day. That's hours of rep time redirected from repetitive questions to actual sales conversations.

Need hands-on help? As an Official Kommo Partner, we configure Salesbots for US businesses every week. Whether you need a straightforward qualification flow or a complex AI-powered assistant, schedule a free consultation and we'll map out exactly what your first bot should do.