Business Problem:
Many businesses rely on customers initiating conversations with specific keywords—such as from ad campaigns, promotional messages, or opt-out instructions—to trigger automated actions. However, the current system does not support triggering workflows based on keywords or phrases in inbound messages, especially when conversations are already open. This limits the platform’s automation capabilities and creates friction for both the customer and support team.
Desired Outcome:
Introduce the ability to trigger workflows when inbound messages contain or match specific keywords or phrases—regardless of whether the conversation is new or already open. This feature should support:
  • Exact match, starts with, or contains conditions.
  • Routing to specific workflows, teams, or messages based on detected keywords.
  • Multiple keyword matches per trigger, similar to query logic or filters.
Use Cases:
  • A fitness center routes inquiries starting with “pricing” directly to a pricing workflow.
  • A logistics company automates responses to the keyword “track” or “order status.”
  • A broadcast campaign encourages users to reply with “YES” to get a free consultation and triggers a lead capture flow.
  • Businesses comply with WhatsApp’s best practices by allowing “STOP” or “unsubscribe” messages to trigger opt-out automation.
Workaround:
The only available workaround is using the Branch step in a workflow to filter by incoming message content. This requires the conversation to already be routed to the correct workflow, and it does not work if the conversation is already open. Refer here: https://help.respond.io/l/en/broadcasts/workflow-based-on-broadcast-response
Note:
This use case could also be addressed by integrating AI Agent, allowing workflows to route based on interpreted user intent - even beyond exact keywords.