---
title: "How to Route Ad Leads with Keywords"
description: "When someone taps your ad that clicks to WhatsApp, they usually send the pre-filled message you set in the ad."
canonical_url: https://chatfuel.com/docs/whatsapp/how-to-route-ad-leads-with-keywords
markdown_url: https://chatfuel.com/docs/whatsapp/how-to-route-ad-leads-with-keywords.md
last_updated: 2026-08-12
lang: en
site: https://chatfuel.com/docs
llms_txt: https://chatfuel.com/llms.txt
---

# How to Route Ad Leads with Keywords

When someone taps your ad that clicks to WhatsApp, they usually send the pre-filled message you set in the ad.

When someone taps your ad that clicks to WhatsApp, they usually send the **pre-filled message** you set in the ad. You can use that message to give each ad its own conversation: create a [custom automation](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-create-a-custom-automation) on the **ads that click to WhatsApp** source for each pre-filled message, each with its own **Additional instructions** and replies.

## How it works [#how-it-works]

1. In your ad, you set a pre-filled message that appears in the customer's WhatsApp chat when they tap it — e.g., "I want info about Plan A". See [how to create ads that click to WhatsApp](https://chatfuel.com/docs/whatsapp/create-ads-that-click-to-whatsapp) for the full ad setup. Keep these messages short and distinct so keywords can match them reliably.

2. In Chatfuel, you create a custom automation whose **keyword** matches that pre-filled message.

3. When the lead sends the message, that automation answers — with its own instructions, so a whitening lead and an emergency lead get completely different conversations from the same number.

Messages that match no keyword fall through to the source's base [automation](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/automations), so no lead goes unanswered.

## Set it up in Automations [#set-it-up-in-automations]

1. Go to **Fuely AI** → **Automations**.
2. Under **WhatsApp**, open **ads that click to WhatsApp**.
3. For each ad message, create a custom automation: give it a name, add the pre-filled message as a **keyword** (e.g., `Service A`), and write the **Additional instructions** for how the AI should handle that lead.
4. Turn each rule on.

Repeat for each ad variant. The customer experience now changes depending on which ad they clicked.

## Or ask the AI Co-Worker [#or-ask-the-ai-co-worker]

Tell it what you want in chat:

*"For WhatsApp ad leads whose first message is 'Free consultation', create an automation that offers to book a slot this week."*

It creates the rule and confirms what it set.

## Example [#example]

You run a dental clinic with three Facebook ads, all pointing to the same WhatsApp number:

| Ad                    | Pre-filled message | Custom automation | What its instructions do                    |
| --------------------- | ------------------ | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| Teeth whitening promo | `Whitening`        | **Whitening**     | Presents the offer and its price            |
| Dental implants       | `Implants`         | **Implants**      | Qualifies the lead and books a consultation |
| Emergency dental      | `Urgent`           | **Urgent**        | Triages and offers the nearest slot         |

A lead who taps the whitening ad sends "Whitening" and the **Whitening** automation takes over. A lead from the emergency ad sends "Urgent" and gets triaged right away. Someone who edits their message into something unrecognizable falls through to the base automation.

## Tips [#tips]

* **Exact matches win.** A rule matching the exact text beats a rule that merely contains it — Chatfuel picks the winner by [a fixed priority order](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/which-automation-replies-to-a-message-or-comment). Use the same text in your ad's pre-filled message and in the rule's keyword.
* **Keep messages simple.** One or two words work best. Long sentences are harder to match, and customers sometimes edit them.
* **The base automation is your safety net.** Keep it enabled with good general instructions so unmatched leads still get a useful answer from your [Knowledge Base](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-set-up-knowledge-base).
* **Prefer targeting the ad itself?** Instead of keywords, a custom automation can [target a specific ad by its ID](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-set-up-automation-for-specific-posts-or-ads) — useful when several ads share the same pre-filled message.
* **Multiple ads, one number.** Run as many ads as you want pointing to the same WhatsApp number; the rules keep each lead on the right path.