The automation builder, or Builder, is a central part of your chatbot platform.

It is with the automation builder that you can automate long (or short) and complex (or simple) processes, both conversational and pure automation. It is so extensible and powerful, not a single process can resist it.

If you can make it a process, our builder can automate it.

In this document, you will learn the basics of the automation builder.

Default workflows #

Your platform comes loaded with default workflows. These workflows are conversations, built to help ensure your chatbot works from the get-go; giving you a leg up and preventing you from having to build everything from scratch.

Head over to Builder.

Here you find all the existing conversation. Each conversation has:

• A name (e.g. QR code)
• A description (in light grey below its name)
• One or several optional tags (e.g. Default, Feedback, etc.)
• A View button, which takes you to edit that specific conversation.
• A Lock button, which stops platform users without the appropriate permissions to access the conversation.
• A Delete button, which enables you to delete the conversation.

While default conversations are automatically added to any new account, you still have complete control over them. You may edit or delete them, as you please.

Pick any conversation on the list and click View.

The builder is made up of two key elements: the canvas and the block bank.

Canvas #

The canvas is the entire working area of your automation.

It is on the canvas that you build your workflows by adding, deleting, and moving elements.

Every element on the canvas is movable through simple drag and drop motion. For example, if I wanted to move this conversation step slightly to the left, I would click the step, hold, and move it to the left.

Block bank #

Building conversations is as simple as stacking and arranging a step of actions.

Every possible action your chatbot might take (e.g. a new step in the conversation, saving a variable, calling an integration, sending an email, etc.). is available in your block bank.

Your block bank is nested in the top right of your screen. To open it, click the icon in the top right:

Once open, you’ll notice the blocks are organised in sections.

Section 1: Name and updates #

At the very top of the block bank, you find the name of the workflow you’re currently working on. Notice the notification showing you when something inside your workflow was last updated.

Finally, it also has an edit button to change your workflow’s name or description.

Section 2: Blocks, settings, and demo #

In this section, you can flick the block bank between three tabs:

• Blocks: display on the image above, gives you access to everything you need to build your automation.
• Settings: will only appear if you have two or more languages activated. Allows you to switch your workflow overview to a different language.
• Demo: allows you to test your conversational automation inside the builder.

Section 3: Steps #

There are two types of steps:

• Message. A message step is a step of your workflow where your automation will send a message to the user. Message steps are used for chatbot automation.
• Automated. An automated step is a step of your workflow where you automate specific actions (e.g. trigger an integration, send an email, create a ticket, etc.).

Section 4: Step actions #

Step actions are actions you add to your workflow’s steps. There are five step actions.

• Integration, which enables your chatbot to send data to third-party software.
• Email, which enables your chatbot to fire off an email.
• Action, which enables your chatbot to fire a series of automated processes.
• Trigger, which dictates a way for users to reach this specific conversation step.
• Validation, which prevents users from moving to the next step unless their response is valid.

Step actions cannot be dropped anywhere else on the canvas.

As you click and drag them, you will notice every element of the canvas will turn red, except steps.

Section 5: Transition actions #

These blocks enable your chatbot to take action in transition between two existing steps. There are two transition blocks.

• Variable, which will store the user’s response to the previous message.
• Metric, which will increase a metric as users go through the step.

Transition actions cannot be dropped anywhere else on the canvas.

As you click and drag them, you will notice every element of the canvas will turn red, except transitions.

Connect steps #

There are two ways to create new steps in your conversation.

The first is to drag and drop a new step from your Block bank onto the canvas. Doing so will produce an orphaned step; one that is not connected to anything else.

Orphaned steps are marked with a red warning sign in the top right corner of the step.

To connect this step with another, all you have to do is click on the white dot of a step and drag the dotted line across to the new step’s white dot:

Doing so will open the transition modal.

The second way to create a new step is to click an exiting step’s white dot and click again anywhere on the canvas. A modal will appear asking you to pick between creating a message step or an automated step.