Manage flows
Managing a flow involves several key actions such as editing, cloning, and deleting a flow. These actions allow you to refine the conversation flow, create duplicates for testing purposes, and remove unnecessary or outdated flows as needed. Additionally, it involves setting up the welcome and fallback flows.
Configure Start (Welcome) and Fallback flow
This video provides a step-by-step guide on creating start (welocme) and fallback flows for your bot using the Yellow.ai cloud platform. Learn how to set up the initial interactions users have with your bot and to handle unexpected user inputs with effective fallback flows.
Start flow (Welcome)
The welcome message is the first greeting users receive when they interact with the bot. You can choose any flow as the welcome flow (when there are more than two flows available).
For instance, if you want your chatbot to greet users with a welcoming message and introductory details at the start of each conversation, you can set this as the entry point for the bot conversation. The associated flow would then trigger the welcome message and introduction.
If the user ends that conversation and starts a new one, the welcome flow will again greet the user in the new session.
To set a flow as the start flow, follow these steps:
Go to Studio > Build > Flows.
Navigate to the flow that you want to set as the start flow, click the More options icon next to the flow, and select Mark as start flow option.
- This will set the selected flow as the start flow.
Fallback flow
A fallback flow is triggered when the bot cannot understand the user utterance, cannot suggest relevant flows, or fails to search for documents uploaded in KB.
You can mark any flow as the fallback flow. However, ensure that you design the flow to effectively handle unexpected scenarios.
To set a flow as a fallback flow, follow these steps:
Go to Studio > Build > Flows.
Navigate to the flow that you want to set as the start flow, click the More options icon next to the flow, and select Mark as fallback option.
- This will set the selected flow as start flow.
Search flows
After creating a flow, you can use the search functionality to quickly locate and access it. This allows you to easily find the specific flow that you need to work on, especially when there are multiple flows within the same bot.
To search for a flow, follow these steps:
Go to Studio > Build > Search.
Enter the flow name in the search bar.
- This will display the flow that you are searching for.
Edit flow
You can edit bot flows to enhance the bot's interactions by modifying flow details such as its name, description, and category, as well as adding new prompts or adjusting its logic based on user responses to ensure a seamless conversation flow.
To edit a flow, follow these steps:
Go to Studio > Build > Flows > select the flow that you want to edit > click the More options icon correspoing to the flow.
Select Edit flow details option.
You can edit Flow name, Flow description, and Category based on your requirements and click Save.
To edit the conversational design, click on the Flow name, which will direct you to the flows section, where you can make adjustments by adding new prompts or adjusting the logic.
Clone flow
You can clone a flow to create a duplicate copy, which can be useful for testing without affecting the original flow.
While cloning flows to another bot, the source and destination have to be in the same region.
To clone a flow, follow these steps:
Go to Studio > Build > select the flow that you want to edit > click the More options icon correspoing to the flow.
Select Clone option.
The flow name will be appended with clone, click Create to clone the flow.
- This will clone the flow successfully.
Delete flow
You can delete a flow to remove outdated or redundant flows that may no longer serve a purpose.
To delete a flow, follow these steps:
Go to Studio > Build > select the flow that you want to delete > click the More options icon correspoing to the flow.
Select the Delete option.
A confirmation message is displayed, click Delete to confirm the flow deletion.
Add flow to category
While creating a flow, you have the option to assign it to an existing category. Alternatively, after creating a flow, you can add it to a specific category to organize and manage your flows more effectively.
To add a flow to existing category, follow these steps:
Go to Studio > Build > select the flow that you assign to a category > click the More options icon correspoing to the flow.
Select the Edit option.
Select category for which you want to add a flow from the Category drop-down and click Save.
Move flow to another category
To move the flow to another category, follow the below step:
Under the Category drop-down, select category for which you want to move the flow and click Save.
Connect two flows
Connecting flows ensures seamless transitions between different conversation stages, maintaining context for a personalized user experience.
To connect two flows, you can use a switch flow node or execute flow node. In the case of a switch flow, the bot does not return to the original flow from which the node was triggered. While an execute flow node, allows the bot to return to the original flow after executing the designated new flow.
Preview flow
The Preview option allows you to test the selected bot flow and provides a glimpse into how the bot would appear, function, and interact with the end user. When you click Preview, you can perform the following actions:
| Options | Decsription |
|---|---|
| Preview bot | Allows you to see how your bot looks and operates within the selected flow. |
| Preview current flow | Previews the current flow that you are working on. |
| Preview and test the bot in different tab | Opens a new tab to preview and interact with the bot. |
| Debug logs | Enables you to debug the flows to find and fix issues in the bot's conversations, ensuring smooth user interactions. |
Publish bot
Once you have tested your bot, you can publish the bot in the respective environmnet to make it accessible to end users, and even export it as a template for future use.
- In the live environment, you can only view the flows if they are published.
- Editing or creating flows is not possible in the live environment.
- Approval from the bot approver or superadmin is required to publish the bot.
You can select the following options to publish the flows:
- Publish bot: Publishes all the flows within the bot.
- Publish selected flows: Publishes the selected flows within the bot.
- Publish widget styling: Publishes the chat widget UI and settings from lower to higher environments. This includes settings for the widget panel, bot icon, and all the settings.
- Export as flow template: Publishes the created bot flow as a template.