Build your first chatbot workflow

What a workflow is

A chatbot workflow is a visual conversation script. You place nodes on a canvas, connect them with arrows, and the bot follows the path you've drawn. Because every step is deterministic — you wrote it — the bot always does exactly what you expect. There's no AI making decisions unless you add an AI Bot node explicitly.

Step 1 — Create a new workflow

1. Go to Automation → Custom in the dashboard.
2. Click New workflow.
3. Give it a name and optional description. The name is internal — visitors don't see it.
4. Click Create. The flow editor opens.

Step 2 — Understand the canvas

The canvas has one fixed element: the Start node in the top-left. Every workflow begins here. You can't delete the Start node. All paths you build must trace back to it.

Nodes come in two categories:

• Action nodes — run in sequence within a step (Message, Collect Data, Ask Question, Form, API Action, Request Agent, Reply Time).
• Final/branch nodes — end the current step and branch the path (Buttons, Conditions, AI Bot, Custom Bot, Link).

Step 3 — Add your first node

1. Click the + handle on the Start node's output.
2. A node picker appears. Select Message.
3. Type the greeting message your visitors will see first (for example: "Hi! I'm here to help. What brings you here today?").

Step 4 — Add buttons for choices

1. Click the + handle below the Message node.
2. Select Buttons.
3. Add 2–4 button labels ("Pricing", "Technical support", "Return a product", "Something else").
4. Each button gets its own output handle. Connect each handle to the next node for that branch.

Step 5 — Build out each branch

For each button branch, add the nodes that make sense for that path:

• A Message node with an answer or next prompt.
• A Collect Data node to grab an email address before routing to a human.
• A Request Agent node to hand off to a live agent.
• Or connect directly to another Buttons node to go deeper.

Any node without an outgoing connection is a terminal — the conversation ends there. Make sure every terminal is intentional (a "thanks, we'll be in touch" message before a Request Agent node, for example).

Step 6 — Configure trigger and widget

1. Switch to the Settings tab.
2. Under Trigger, choose when this workflow fires. The most common choice: Chat open (fires whenever a visitor opens the widget).
3. Under Widgets, select which widget(s) this workflow runs on.
4. Toggle Active on.
5. Save.

Step 7 — Preview and publish

1. Click Preview in the editor to walk through the flow yourself.
2. Test every button path. Make sure no branch is a dead end.
3. When satisfied, confirm the Active toggle is on in Settings and save.

The workflow goes live immediately. Open your site and trigger the widget to confirm it fires as expected.

Next steps

Learn what every node type does: Workflow nodes explained. Target this workflow to specific pages: Target a workflow to specific pages.