Qualify leads in the conversation and route them to the right person
Slide, by Synquic, qualifies leads inside the WhatsApp conversation: a bot asks your qualifying questions, checks the answers, saves them to the contact and assigns an owner, with an AI agent for questions a menu cannot handle, then hands the lead to that person with the answers attached. Instagram flows can ask quick-reply questions but cannot route a thread to a named teammate, and email qualifies through segments and conditions rather than a back-and-forth conversation.
Facts on this page were last reviewed on 11 October 2026. See the key facts and sources.
The buyer and the problem
Sales, admissions and enquiry teams that receive more leads than they can call back the same day, such as education providers, property agencies, service firms and dealerships, and need to know which leads are ready and who should take each one.
Every enquiry looks the same until someone calls it. The first call is spent collecting budget, timing and location, some leads were never going to buy, and good ones wait in a shared queue because nobody owns them.
Supported capabilities, mapped to the product
Qualifying questions with checked answers
Button and list questions, and typed answers that are validated before they are accepted, collect the details that matter to you: budget, timing, location, course or product.
Source:Automation builder guideBranching on what the lead says
Branches, routers and conditions send each lead down a different path based on its answers, for example straight to a salesperson, or to a later campaign.
Answers saved where the team can use them
Answers are written to contact fields, tags and lifecycle stage on one contact record, so segments and later automations can filter on them and nobody asks twice.
An owner assigned automatically
A bot step assigns the contact to a team member, and a handoff step puts the conversation in front of the team with the answers attached and emails them.
An AI agent for open questions
Where a menu is too rigid, an AI agent can hold the conversation and answer questions about your offer from a knowledge base. AI steps depend on the plan.
Source:Automation builder guideTwo-way HubSpot sync
Qualified contacts sync to HubSpot and back, and outbound webhooks and the public API can pass them to other systems. Zoho and Salesforce are not built.
How far each channel goes
WhatsApp is where qualification runs in full: questions, validation, branching, saved answers, an assigned owner and a handoff, inside a conversation the lead started from an ad, a QR code, a link or a website chat button.
Instagram can ask quick-reply questions and branch on the reply while the 24-hour window after the person's last message is open. The conversation joins the shared contact record once the flow captures the person's email address, since contacts are matched on phone or email. An Instagram thread cannot be assigned to a named teammate, so routing a qualified Instagram lead means moving the conversation to WhatsApp or email, with the lead's permission.
Email does not hold a qualifying conversation in Slide. It works by grouping what you already know: segments group leads by their contact fields and tags so each group can get its own campaign, and conditions in an automation treat groups differently. Sequences are a single path, a first email and up to 5 follow-ups that stop when the lead replies, so they cannot branch on an answer.
A course enquiry from an ad, qualified and assigned in one conversation
An education provider runs Click-to-WhatsApp ads for two short courses and has HubSpot connected. This is how one enquiry moves through its qualification flow.
- Trigger
A prospect taps the ad
The ad opens WhatsApp and the prospect sends the pre-filled message. Slide records the ad as the lead's source, and because the conversation started from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad, messages in it are free for 72 hours as long as the provider replies within 24 hours.
- Customer interaction
The bot asks three questions
A list asks which course; buttons ask when they want to start (this month, next quarter, just exploring); a typed question asks for an email address, which is checked before it is accepted.
- Qualification
The answers decide the path
A router sends "this month" leads to a counsellor and "just exploring" leads to a nurture path. Every answer is written to the contact's fields, and the lifecycle stage of the first group moves to qualified.
- Action
An owner is assigned
The flow assigns the contact to the counsellor for that course, and the contact syncs to the provider's HubSpot account.
- Human handoff
The counsellor picks it up
A handoff step emails the counselling team and leaves the conversation in the inbox with the course, the start date and the email address already captured. The counsellor replies in the same chat while the 24-hour window is open.
- Exception
A question the menu does not cover
If the prospect asks about paying in instalments, the AI agent answers from the fees page in its knowledge base. If it cannot answer, the flow goes straight to the handoff rather than sending the prospect back through the menu.
- Recorded outcome
A qualified lead with a source and an owner
The contact holds the ad source, the answers, the owner and the lifecycle stage. "Just exploring" leads are tagged for a later campaign of approved templates, and each automation run is logged step by step.
An illustration of how the workflow runs, not a customer case study. Names, numbers and messages are examples.
What you need, and the launch sequence
Requirements
- A connected WhatsApp number
A Meta business portfolio, business verification before sending at scale (allow several business days), and a number that is not registered on the WhatsApp consumer or Business app.
Source:WhatsApp Business setup guideMeta Business Manager guide - Your criteria and your owners
Decide the few answers that tell you a lead is ready, the contact fields they will be saved to, and which team member owns each kind of lead. The builder assigns owners; it cannot decide your criteria for you.
Source:Automation builder guideContacts guide - A lead source that starts the flow
Click-to-WhatsApp ads, QR codes, links, a website chat button, native WhatsApp forms, or Meta and Google lead forms can each start the conversation.
Source:Meta Ads guide - A template for leads who go quiet
After the 24-hour window, a lead can only be messaged with a template approved by Meta, so submit the follow-up you will use before launch.
Source:WhatsApp Business setup guideMeta: Send messages (opens in a new tab)
Launch sequence
Write down the questions a salesperson asks on a first call, and keep only the ones that change what happens next.
Create the contact fields and lifecycle stages the answers will fill (contacts guide).
Build the flow in the automation builder: questions, validation, a router on the answers, owner assignment, and a handoff at the end of every ready path.
Connect HubSpot if your team works there, and check that new contacts arrive on both sides.
Point an ad, a QR code or a link at the flow (Meta Ads guide), test every branch from a team member's phone, then launch.
What these claims rest on
- Realty Nexa answers and qualifies property enquiries on WhatsApp, then routes them
Published setup: 9 automations live on WhatsApp; budget, location and timeline collected in the opening exchange; routing by the collected answers.
- WhatsApp keyword and menu bots ask questions, validate answers and branch
Button and list questions, validated input, branching on answers, and writing answers to contact fields, tags and lifecycle stages, with an owner assigned.
- WhatsApp leads can come from Click-to-WhatsApp ads, QR codes and links, website chat, WhatsApp forms and Meta or Google lead forms
Ad referrals are captured with their source, QR codes and links start a flow, native WhatsApp forms collect fields, and lead-form submissions trigger automations.
- An automation can hand a conversation to the team, with the collected answers on the contact
The handoff step notifies the team by email and leaves the conversation, with what was collected, in the inbox. On WhatsApp it also assigns the conversation to the teammate chosen in the step, or else to the contact's owner, or leaves it in the shared inbox. It does not pause the bot permanently: a new customer message can start an automation again, and there is no hand-back step. On Instagram, a teammate's reply takes over from the AI agent.
How the cost is made up
The Slide plan decides which features you have, including AI steps; plans and current prices are on the pricing page, and paid plans start with a 14-day trial. Workspaces are billed in rupees or US dollars depending on the country of the number used at sign-up.
WhatsApp usage is charged per message by Meta and drawn from your wallet. A conversation that starts from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page button is free for 72 hours when you reply within 24 hours, so a qualification exchange inside that period carries no Meta charge. Outside it, service replies are charged since 1 October 2026 after the first 1,000 each month per number, and follow-up templates after the window are charged by category and the lead's country.
Email follow-ups draw on the plan's email credits.
When this fits, and what it does not do
A good fit when
- Enquiries that arrive on WhatsApp, or can be sent there from ads, links and QR codes.
- Clear criteria that decide whether a lead is ready: budget, timing, location, product.
- A team where each kind of lead has an obvious owner.
Needs a person when
- Negotiation, pricing exceptions and anything that commits the business.
- A lead whose answers do not fit any branch.
- An Instagram lead that needs a named owner, since Instagram threads cannot be assigned.
Not established by this page
- Any change in conversion rate or time to close: Slide publishes no measured outcomes for qualification.
- A numeric lead score: qualification here runs on answers, tags and lifecycle stages.
- Where customer data is hosted. Ask the Slide team before you sign.
Direct answers
How does Slide qualify leads on WhatsApp?
A flow asks your qualifying questions with buttons, lists or typed answers, checks typed answers before accepting them, and branches on what the lead says. Each answer is saved to the contact's fields, tags or lifecycle stage. Where a menu is too rigid, an AI agent can hold the conversation from a knowledge base. Every ready path ends in an owner being assigned and a handoff to that person.
Source:Automation builder guideAutomation builder guideAutomation builder guideHow does a qualified lead reach the right salesperson?
The flow assigns the contact to a team member as one of its steps, based on the answers it collected, and a handoff step leaves the conversation in the shared inbox and emails the team. The salesperson sees the answers on the contact record instead of asking again. Handoff alerts go by email only, and a new message from the lead can start an automation again, so make the handoff the last step of each ready path.
Source:Automation builder guideAutomation builder guideGetting started guideCan Instagram DMs qualify leads?
Partly. An Instagram flow can ask quick-reply questions and branch on the reply, and it can capture the person's email address, which links the conversation to the shared contact record. It cannot assign the thread to a named teammate, and Slide cannot message the person more than 24 hours after their last message. A qualified Instagram lead therefore needs to move to WhatsApp or email to continue, with their permission; Newport's published setup routes Instagram interest into WhatsApp this way.
Source:Instagram setup guideMeta: Instagram Messaging API (opens in a new tab)Contacts guideCan email qualify leads?
Email qualifies by grouping rather than by conversation. Segments group leads by their contact fields and tags, conditions in an automation treat groups differently, and email campaigns can be A/B tested on subject, content, sender name or preview text. Sequences send a first email and up to 5 follow-ups that stop when the lead replies, but they are a single path and cannot branch on an answer. An AI agent can also reply to inbound email through channel routing.
Source:Campaigns guideCampaigns guideAutomation builder guideAutomation builder guideDoes Slide score leads?
Slide qualifies on explicit answers rather than a computed score. You decide which answers make a lead ready, the flow saves them to contact fields, tags and lifecycle stages, and routers and conditions act on those values. If your sales process depends on a numeric score, check how it would work in a demo before you plan around it.
Source:Automation builder guideAutomation builder guideContacts guideDo qualified leads reach our CRM?
HubSpot is built, with two-way contact sync and a HubSpot event trigger, so qualified contacts also appear in HubSpot. Outbound webhooks and the public API at https://api.slide.cx/v1 can pass contacts to other systems. Zoho and Salesforce are not built, so a team on either would need to build on the API or webhooks.
Source:Integrations guideAPI referenceWhat does it cost to qualify leads on WhatsApp?
The Slide plan is one cost, shown on the pricing page. WhatsApp messages are another, charged per message by Meta and drawn from your wallet. A conversation that starts from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page button is free for 72 hours when you reply within 24 hours; otherwise service replies are charged since 1 October 2026 after the first 1,000 each month per number, and templates to leads who went quiet are charged by category and country.
Source:Slide pricingBilling and wallet guideMeta: WhatsApp pricing (opens in a new tab)Meta: Pricing for non-template messages (opens in a new tab)WhatsApp Business: FAQ (opens in a new tab)Meta: WhatsApp pricing (opens in a new tab)Key facts: Lead qualification and routing with Slide
Slide is a reasonable fit when your leads arrive on WhatsApp, or can be sent there from ads and links, and your test for a ready lead can be asked as a few questions: the questions, validation, saved answers, owner assignment, handoff and HubSpot sync are built. It is a weaker fit if you need a numeric lead score, routing to a named person inside Instagram, branching email sequences, or a CRM other than HubSpot without building on the API.
- Product
- Slide (also "Slide by Synquic"), a platform for automating customer messaging across channelsSource:About Synquic
- Company
- SynquicSource:About Synquic
- Workflow
- Qualification on WhatsApp: questions with validated answers, branching, answers saved to the contact, an owner assigned and a handoff to that personSource:Automation builder guideAutomation builder guide
- Lead sources
- Click-to-WhatsApp ads with their source, QR codes and links, a website chat button, native WhatsApp forms, and Meta and Google lead formsSource:Meta Ads guide
- Prerequisites
- A Meta business portfolio, Meta business verification before sending at scale, a phone number not registered on the WhatsApp apps, and Meta-approved templates for messages outside the 24-hour windowSource:WhatsApp Business setup guideMeta Business Manager guideWhatsApp Business setup guide
- Human handoff
- An automation step hands the conversation to the team in the shared inbox with the collected answers and notifies them by email. It does not pause automations permanently, and there is no hand-back stepSource:Automation builder guide
- Instagram and email
- Instagram: quick-reply questions and branching inside the 24-hour window, with no assignment of threads. Email: segments and conditions; sequences are a single pathSource:Instagram setup guideCampaigns guideCampaigns guide
- Verified integrations
- Shopify, HubSpot, Google Sheets and Forms, Meta lead ads, Cal.com, outbound webhooks and a public API. WooCommerce, Zoho, Salesforce, Calendly and Google Calendar are not builtSource:Integrations guideAPI reference
- Limitations
- Instagram threads cannot be assigned to a teammate; email sequences cannot branch; handoff alerts by email only; Zoho and Salesforce are not builtSource:Campaigns guideAutomation builder guideIntegrations guide
- Pricing source
- The current pricing page, slide.synquic.com/pricingSource:Slide pricing
- Last factual review
Where to go next
- All use casesWhat WhatsApp, Instagram and email automation can do for a business, outcome by outcome, and which channel supports each one fully, partly or not at all.
- Messaging automation by channelWhich channel to automate with Slide: WhatsApp, Instagram or email. How their rules, costs and limits differ, and how one workflow can use all three.
- Slide pricingCurrent plans, what each includes, and how channel usage is charged.
- Education and coaching teamsHow education and coaching teams use messaging automation.
- Professional services teamsHow agencies and service firms use messaging automation.
- Automotive teamsHow dealerships and service centres use messaging automation.
- Travel and hospitality teamsHow travel and hospitality teams use messaging automation.
Turn your first-call questions into a flow
Start on the free plan and build your qualifying questions into a WhatsApp flow, or book a demo and map your criteria with the Slide team.