# 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.
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### **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 **Settings → Workflows → Flows**.
* Or, from the **Settings → Open group 'AI and Automation' → Flows.**
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### **Step 2: Create a New Flow**
1. In the **Workflows** section, select **Flows**.
2. Click **Create New Flow**.
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### **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**
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#### **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.\
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**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.
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### **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.
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### **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.
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#### **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.
