How to Create a Conversation Flow and Choose the Right Trigger

Step 1: Navigate to Workflows

• From the left-hand navigation pane, click on Workflows → Flows.

• Or, from the Settings → Workflows → Flows.

• Or, from the Settings → Open group 'AI and Automation' → Flows.

Step 2: Create a New Flow

1. In the Workflows section, select Flows.
2. Click Create New Flow.

Step 3: Choose the Trigger

1. Click on Add Trigger.
2. Select Conversation as the trigger type if you want to respond to incoming messages on a channel like WhatsApp.
3. Choose the channel (e.g., WhatsApp).

• Conversation Created
• Message Created

What’s the difference between Conversation Created and Message Created?

• Conversation Created:
  A conversation is initiated the first time a customer sends a message to a channel (e.g., WhatsApp number you’ve connected). This creates a conversation in the Bird Inbox.
  • If this conversation is later closed (by an agent, bot, or flow) and the customer sends another message, it opens a new conversation.
  • Choosing Conversation Created means the flow will trigger only when a new conversation starts.
• Message Created:
  This sub-trigger activates on every message a customer sends within an open conversation.
  • If you want the flow to run for each incoming message, select this option.
    
    Note: what this means is if there is an already existing Flow that's currently running for a contact with a message created trigger. The next message they send won't create a new run. This only triggers a flow for every incoming message from the contact where the contact is not already within an Flow run for that messaging channel.

Step 4: Save and Test Your Trigger

1. Once you’ve selected the sub-trigger, click Save.
2. Click Update Test Data. This will change the sample payload to a loading icon.
3. Send a message from the customer side to the selected channel (e.g., WhatsApp).
   • This must be done within 5 minutes while the test data is loading.
4. After the message is sent, the payload will appear in the flow. Click Save again.

Step 5: Build and Test the Flow

• Add steps to your flow as needed (e.g., Send Message, Wait for Reply, Conditional Branches).
• Important:
  • Each step needs real test data to function properly.
  • For example, if you add a “Wait for Conversation Message” step:
    • Click Update Test Data on that step.
    • Send another message from the customer side.
    • Once the payload appears, click Save.

Best Practices

• Always test with actual messages for both triggers and steps.
• Start with Message Created if you need to respond to every message.
• Use Conversation Created if you only want to act when a new conversation begins.