# Links to chatbot

A link to the chatbot is an address that takes a person to the conversation with the bot in a messenger. It is placed on a website, in social networks, in ads, or printed as a QR code on a business card or packaging.

There are two kinds of links:

| Kind | What it starts | How many |
|---|---|---|
| General link | The bot's main scenario | One for every connected messenger |
| [Additional link](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/links/additional) | The scenario you have chosen | As many as you need: one for each ad campaign, product, version of the text |

The links are gathered in the "Links to chatbot" section of the bot's menu. On the right is the list of messengers, on the left — the links of the chosen messenger.

## What you need

- **A Pro subscription.** The section opens only with a subscription: links bring people to the bot, and that is already the bot at work. See the [What is available without Pro](https://support.watbot.org/billing/without-pro) page for details.
- **A connected messenger.** Until a messenger is connected, the section shows the "Connect messenger" button instead of links. How to connect a channel is in the [Connecting channels](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/channels) section.

> [!NOTE]
> The website chat has no links in this section: a visitor opens it with the widget's button right on the page. How to set this up is on the [Web chat](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/channels/web) page.

## The general link and the QR code

At the top of a messenger's page is the "General link to the chatbot" row. It appears on its own as soon as the messenger is connected.

- "Copy" — copies the link.
- "QR code" — opens a window with the QR code of this link. Above the code are the bot's name in the messenger (for VK — the community's name) and the link itself.
- The gear icon — opens the window of the connected messenger, where you can change the connection data. The icon is visible to those who have the "Editing channels" permission.

The general link is a short address of the platform, not the bot's direct address in the messenger. A person opens it, the platform records the click and sends the person to the messenger. Thanks to this, visits are visible in the [statistics](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/analytics).

## What happens when a link is followed

1. A person opens the link.
2. The platform sends them to the messenger — right away or through a page with a button (it depends on the messenger, see the table below).
3. The conversation with the bot opens in the messenger, and the bot starts a scenario: the main one for the general link, and the one chosen for the link for an additional link.

| Messenger | How it opens |
|---|---|
| Telegram | The conversation with the bot right away |
| MAX | The conversation with the bot right away |
| VK | A page with the bot's name and the "Send to VK" button |
| Viber | A page with the bot's name and the "Send to Viber" button |

If the personal data processing policy is turned on in the bot settings, Telegram and MAX also open through a page with a button: on it the person accepts the policy. The policy is set up in the [bot settings](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/settings).

## Referral links

Contacts' personal referral links are not created or shown in this section. The bot builds them itself — with a template in the message text, separately for every contact. The functions are listed on the [Function reference](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/templates/functions) page, and how referrals work is in the [Contacts](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/contacts) section.

## Who can work with links

| Action | What is needed |
|---|---|
| Open the section, copy the general link, open its QR code | The "View channels" permission |
| Create, change and delete additional links, open their QR code and chart | The "Editing channels" permission |
| The "Statistics" button above the list of links | The "View analytics" permission |

The bot's owner can do everything. Team members' permissions are set up in the [bot settings](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/settings).

## Pages in this section

- [Additional links](https://support.watbot.org/chatbots/links/additional) — how to create a link to the scenario you need, how links of different messengers differ and how to pass ad tags to the bot.