Which chatbot should I use — Vex AI or workflows?

Updated May 22, 2026

Two tools, one goal

You have two ways to let Yaplet answer for you: Vex AI and chatbot workflows. From the outside they look the same — something replies to your visitor without you having to. Inside they work completely differently, and picking the wrong one is the most common reason a first setup disappoints. Both belong to a brand, and you find each of them in the Brand section of the menu.

Vex AI — the AI agent

Each brand has exactly one Vex, at Brand → Vex. There is no list of AI chatbots to pick from any more. Vex answers from everything the brand knows — its knowledge bases, documentation sets, uploaded files, website pages we read for you, question-and-answer entries and the product catalogue — all managed on one screen, Brand → Knowledge. When a visitor writes, Vex searches that material and answers in its own words.

The same material also answers phone calls, writes the suggested replies your team sees in the inbox, and feeds AI social posting. It is one search over one pool, with nothing to connect up.

  • Powered by a large language model (LLM)
  • Answers open questions it has never seen before
  • Replies in the visitor's language automatically — 100+ of them
  • Searches content written in up to three different languages at once, each source in its own language
  • Links to the knowledge base article or documentation page it used
  • Hands the conversation to a person when you have told it to

One naming note, because you will see it all over the dashboard: Vex is called an AI agent, and the word chatbot is now kept for the scripted workflows below.

Chatbot workflows — the scripted builder

A workflow is a script you draw in a drag-and-drop builder. It belongs to one brand and lives at Brand → Workflows. The bot follows exactly the path you designed: show a message, offer buttons, ask a question, branch on the answer, collect data, hand over to a person. Every step is deterministic — the same input always produces the same result.

The list has a Channels column showing where each script can actually run. A workflow can run in the chat widget, in Facebook and Instagram messages and on phone calls — but some steps rule some channels out. A Form step means it cannot run on Facebook or Instagram. A Form, Link, Buttons, Reply-time, Request-agent, Collect-data or Ask-question step means it cannot run on a phone call. Hover the column and it tells you which.

  • No AI involved — fully predictable and auditable
  • Best for structured processes: lead capture, triage, onboarding
  • Supports branching logic and data collection
  • Can hand over to Vex mid-script with the AI Bot step

If you run more than one brand, you reuse a script with Copy to another brand… on that same list — there is no attaching one workflow to a second widget.

At a glance

Vex AI Chatbot workflows
Where it lives Brand → Vex Brand → Workflows
Handles open questions Yes — it searches what the brand knows Only the paths you scripted
Requires a script No Yes — you build every step
Predictable output No — the AI writes each reply Yes — deterministic
Collects structured data Through API tools on Brand → Knowledge Built in — the collect-data step
Languages Replies in 100+, searches up to three at once Only the language you wrote it in
Where it can run Chat. The same brand knowledge also answers phone calls and writes inbox suggestions Chat, Facebook, Instagram and phone calls — where its steps allow
Best for General support questions Triage, lead capture, onboarding

When to pick Vex AI

Choose Vex when:

  • Your visitors ask open-ended, unpredictable questions
  • You already have help articles, documentation or files worth answering from
  • You want the AI to handle most chats without scripting every answer
  • Visitors write in different languages
  • You want a link back to the source article in the reply

When to pick chatbot workflows

Choose workflows when:

  • You need a fixed path — collect an email, show pricing, route to the right team
  • Outcomes must be predictable and auditable
  • You are building an onboarding flow or a qualification sequence
  • You want a different script running on different pages of your site

Using both at the same time

You do not have to choose one or the other. A common setup: a workflow fires when the widget opens, collects the visitor's name and topic, then hands over to Vex for the open questions — or to a person if the case is complex. The AI Bot step inside any workflow hands over to that brand's Vex, so the brand needs a Vex agent for that step to do anything at all.

Next step

Ready to start? Set up Vex with Set up Vex AI for the first time, or build a scripted bot with Build your first chatbot workflow.

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