Help Center

About the Conversation AI Flow Builder

The Conversation AI Flow Builder is a visual design tool for creating structured, guided conversations for your AI bot. Unlike a standard workflow, this builder is specifically for crafting multi-step, goal-oriented interactions that happen directly within the Conversation AI interface. You use it to map out exactly how your bot will engage with contacts, ask questions, capture data, and move through a predefined sequence to achieve a specific outcome.

Accessing the Flow Builder

To create a new flow-based bot, go to AI Agents > Conversation AI. Click the Create Bot button, then select the Create New Bot button and choose the Flow Based Builder option. The interface resembles other workflow builders in the CRM, but it is dedicated to AI conversation flows. You can confirm you are in the correct builder because the navigation will show options like Back to Conversation AI and Test Bot.

Choosing the Right Tool

Use the Flow Builder when you want the bot to manage an entire structured conversation from start to finish within the Conversation AI system.

Use the Conversation AI action within a standard Workflow Builder when you need a workflow to ask a single question, wait for a reply, branch based on the answer, or continue with other automation steps. This distinction is important for deciding if the bot logic will be self-contained or triggered externally.

Configuring Your Bot

Bot Settings

On the Bot Settings tab:

Give your bot a name.
Set the Bot Status to Auto Pilot.
Select the communication channels where this bot should be active, such as SMS, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Live Chat.
Set a higher max messages value (e.g., 100) to accommodate longer, flow-based conversations.
Save your settings.

Bot Goals

The Bot Goals tab is where you define the bot's core personality and purpose. This information forms a global prompt that influences every action in the flow.

Bot Tone: Select descriptive keywords like friendly or confident.
Personality & Style: Describe the bot's character using sentences. You can use merge fields like {{ai.business_name}}.
Intent: Clearly state the overall goal of the conversation, such as helping users choose a service and book an appointment.
Additional Information & Context: Provide business details and explicit examples of how the bot should or should not phrase things.
Unique Conditions:
- Stop Bot: Configure the bot to immediately halt the conversation if a contact uses specific language.
- Human Handover: Set the bot to stop and notify a human agent when it cannot answer a question or is explicitly asked for a person.
Appointment Options: Toggle permissions for the bot to cancel or reschedule appointments on behalf of the contact.

After configuring, save your Bot Goals and click the Launch Flow Builder button to begin designing the conversation.

Understanding the Flow Structure

The flow begins with a default Chat Initiated trigger. This is the only way to start this type of flow. As you build, you will see nodes marked with [END]. This indicates the end of the bot's current objectives, not the end of the chat session. The conversation will continue passively unless it is explicitly concluded by a maximum message limit, a timeout, or an End Conversation action.

Using AI Actions

Click the plus (+) button within the flow to add a step. Alongside standard actions, you will find a dedicated AI Actions section. These are the building blocks for your intelligent conversation.

Key AI actions include:

Capture Information (Qualify)
Book Appointment
End Conversation
AI Splitter
AI Message
Custom Message
Transfer Bot
Continue Conversation

Note that the Capture Information and Book Appointment actions are persistent. The bot will autonomously loop, asking clarifying questions until it successfully achieves the objective or meets an exit condition (like a maximum number of attempts). Other message actions send a single message without subsequent follow-up.

Configuring the Capture Information Action

This action is designed to gather specific data from the contact.

Describe the objective: Enter a clear instruction for what information to collect (500 character limit). Example: "Get the user's phone number."
Update contact field (optional): Select a contact field from the dropdown, like "Phone Number," to automatically save the captured data.
Additional instructions: Provide nuanced directions. For example, "If the user is not the decision-maker, politely ask for the best contact who is."
Response example: Specify a desired format for the answer, such as "###-###-####" for a phone number.
Skip objective if field is already filled out: If enabled and you have selected a contact field, the bot will skip this step if that field already contains data in the contact's record.
Maximum attempts: Set a number (e.g., 2). This limits how many times the bot will rephrase its question to try and get the required information before moving on to the next step in the flow.

Building Structured AI Conversations with the Flow Builder