Workflow node: Ask Question

What it does

The Ask Question node sends a message to the contact and pauses the workflow until they reply (or until a time limit is reached). When the reply comes in, the engine validates it against the expected type and stores it in a variable for later steps.

When to use it

Great for qualifying a lead, requesting a specific piece of data (email, order number), or giving the contact choices to pick from — all inside an automation without manual intervention.

Configuration

• Question text (required): accepts variables.
• Answer type: free text, multiple choice, number, date, phone, email, or URL.
• Save to variable: the name the validated answer is stored under (e.g. "budget" → $budget).
• Choices (only for multiple choice): each with an id and a visible label.
• Max retries: how many invalid answers are tolerated before the error branch is taken (0 by default).
• Retry message: what's sent if the answer isn't valid and retries remain.
• Timeout (minutes): if it's exceeded and the contact hasn't answered, the workflow continues down the timeout branch.

Example

A qualification workflow: an Ask Question node set to "multiple choice" with the options "Under $50", "$50–$200", "Over $200", storing the answer in $budget. Depending on what the contact picks, a following condition node routes to Sales or to a "thanks for your interest" message.

Tips

On WhatsApp, up to 3 choices render as buttons; between 4 and 10, as a dropdown list; beyond 10, the node automatically falls back to plain numbered text so the contact can reply "1", "2", etc. Telegram, Messenger, Instagram, and Webchat each have their own native button format too.

Troubleshooting

If the workflow stays "waiting" indefinitely, check the configured timeout — without one, the node waits with no deadline. If the contact's reply doesn't trigger the next step, confirm they're actually replying in the same conversation the question was sent from.