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How to Create a Conversation Flow and Choose the Right Trigger

Creating a conversation flow in Bird allows you to automate customer interactions across multiple channels like WhatsApp, SMS, and more. This guide walks you through how to create a flow and select the correct trigger for your use case.

Step 1: Navigate to Workflows

You can access workflows in two ways:

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

  • Or, from the Admin Console → Workflows → Flows.

  • Or, from the Admin Console → 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

A trigger is what starts your flow. After creating the flow:

  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).

You will now see sub-triggers under the Conversation trigger. The two main sub-triggers are:

  • 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.

This testing process ensures that your flow is built using real-world scenarios and works correctly when deployed.

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.

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