Question flows

A question flow is a simple chatbot. When a new customer writes on a channel, the flow asks your questions one by one, offers numbered choices, tags the contact by their answer and saves details such as their name or email. When the flow ends, the conversation continues with your team or the AI agent.

Before you start

• Question flows are available when your plan includes Question flows.
• Only owners and administrators can see and build flows.
• You need a connected channel. See Channels.
• Each channel runs one flow at a time. Turning a flow on pauses the one that was running on the same channel.

Create a flow

1. Open Conversations, then select Question flows.
2. Enter a Name, up to 120 characters, and choose the Channel.
3. Optionally write a Message at the end, up to 300 characters, sent when the flow finishes.
4. Select Create flow. The flow opens as a Draft.

Add questions

A flow holds up to 15 questions. Add them in order:

1. Write the Question, up to 500 characters.
2. Then either list choices or save the answer, not both:
   • In Choices, one per line, write each choice on its own line, up to 9 choices.
   • Or choose a field under Or save the answer as: Name, Email or Note.
3. Select Add.

A question with neither choices nor a saved field accepts any answer and moves on.

To change the last question, select Remove the last step and add it again.

Write choices

Each line is a label, then optionally > and the number of the step to jump to, and # and a tag to add. For example:

Sales > 3 # sales
Support # support
Something else

• The label is up to 80 characters, the tag up to 60.
• A jump must go forward to a later question. Without a jump, the flow goes to the next question.
• The customer sees the question followed by the choices numbered 1), 2) and so on.

Turn it on

1. Select Activate. The flow needs at least one question, and every jump must point to a question that exists.
2. To stop it, select Pause. Select Activate again to resume.

Questions can change only while the flow is a draft. Once a flow has been activated, build a new one to change its questions.

What the customer experiences

• The flow starts when someone writes on the channel for the first time, and when a customer writes again in a closed conversation.
• The customer answers a choice with its number, in Western or Arabic digits, or with its exact label in any letter case.
• If an answer does not fit, the question is asked again once. A second answer that does not fit ends the flow.
• A saved Name replaces the contact's name. A saved Email must be a valid address, or the question is asked again; a new address is marked as opted out of marketing, because a typed address proves nothing. A Note is added to the contact's notes, up to 2,000 characters.
• A choice with a tag adds that tag to the contact.
• After the last question, the Message at the end is sent if you wrote one, and the flow is done. The customer's next message goes to your team, or to the AI agent if it is on for the channel.

Messages from the flow appear in the conversation labelled Assistant.

Good to know

• As soon as someone on your team replies, the flow stops in that conversation.
• If Question flows leaves your plan or the channel is turned off, flows stop and the customer's message waits for your team or the agent.
• Flows send plain text. They do not use AI and do not use AI credits.
• Choices with tags work well with Automations and segments that act on tags.

Troubleshooting