Build an inbound flow

Learn how to access, build, and deploy a basic inbound flow.

Inbound flows are the most commonly-used flows. They handle incoming customer inquiries.

Before you start, make sure you've familiarized yourself with the capabilities and limitations of flows.

What you'll need

• Access to Flows.

• At least one installed channel (we're going to be using WhatsApp).

• Two teams in Inbox, one for 'Support' and one for 'Sales'.

Step one: Access Flows

Context

Flows is available in the Process Automation section of your workspace.

1. Click your workspace name in the top left-hand corner of your screen.

2. Click Process Automation, then select Flows from the sidebar.

3. Click New flow in the top right-hand side of your screen, then select Create from scratch.

Step two: Add and set up a trigger

Context

• All flows start with a trigger—an event that makes the flow run.

• A conversation is created automatically in Inbox when a customer messages you.

• When a customer messages you for the first time, they automatically become a contact in Bird.

In this example, we're going to trigger our flow when a new conversation is started on a specific channel.

1. In the Trigger section, select Conversation.

2. In the Select a channel section, select your installed channel. We're going to choose WhatsApp.

3. If you have multiple versions of the channel installed, such as more than one WhatsApp number, they will be listed in the drop-down in the Select an instance section. Select the one that you want to use to trigger this flow.

4. In the Select a trigger event section, select Conversation created.

5. The Select participant type section will be prefilled with Contact. Leave this as it is.

6. Click Save to complete the trigger setup.

Step three: Reply with a list message

Context

• Once triggered, flows perform tasks, known as actions.

• List messages have clickable buttons, known as items. You can add up to 10 items to a single list message.

Now that our trigger has been set up to recognize when our WhatsApp number is used by a customer to start a new conversation, we need to ask the flow to send an automated reply to the customer.

In this example, we're going to reply with a list message.

1. Click Add new action.

2. Use the search bar to find the Send list message to conversation flow action.

3. [Optional] In the Title field, enter a headline for your message. This can be something that describes the content that you're about to share.

4. In the Message content field, enter the body text of your content.

5. [Optional] In the Footer field, enter a footer for your message.

6. In the Items section, click + Add new item.

7. In the Title field, enter the text to want to display on the button. We're going to use 'Talk to sales'. You can leave the Description field blank.

8. Click + Add new item again.

9. In the Title field, enter the text to want to display on the button. We're going to use 'Talk to support'. You can leave the Description field blank.

Step four: Wait for a response

Context

• Wait actions pause a flow until it receives a response.

• Because a flow can't wait indefinitely, wait actions will fail after a certain amount of time has passed. By default, they fail after five minutes.

• You can change how long the flow waits before it fails. For example, if you're using email, you might want to extend the wait time from five minutes to three hours.

Once our list message has been sent, the flow needs to listen for a reply to that list message. We'll use a Wait for conversation message to tell the flow to wait.

1. Click Add new action.

2. Use the search bar to find the Wait for conversation message flow action.

3. [Optional] Change the duration of the Fail after field.

4. Click Next.

Step five: Send some test data to your flow

Context

• While creating a flow, you'll often need to send some test data so that you can complete the setup.

• This data will appear in Bird as a payload.

• Payloads are structured packets of data that flows can read and pass between triggers and actions.

Our flow is now waiting for a reply to the list message we sent. To configure this step correctly, we need to simulate a reply to that message.

1. Save the WhatsApp number that you used to set up the flow trigger to your mobile device.

2. Open WhatsApp on your mobile, and send a message to that number.

3. In your flow, click the trigger to expand the configuration.

4. In the Test section, click Update test data.

5. The payload will be updated, and will now contain information about the message you sent to your WhatsApp number.

6. Scroll down to the Wait for conversation message step and click Update test.

Good to know: Tests conducted before publishing the flow are free of charge.

Step six: Use a conditional action

Context

• A conditional action always starts with two branches. You can add more branches as required.

• Conditionals determine what actions happens next based on whether specific criteria are met.

Now that we've simulated a reply, the flow needs to check the content of the reply. Most customers will use the reply buttons to select either 'Support' or 'Sales'.

1. Scroll to the end of your flow and click Add new action.

2. Use the search bar to find the Conditional flow action.

3. Click Branch A's name, and rename it Support.

4. In the Support branch, click the Variables field.

5. Click Steps > Wait for conversation message > event > message > body > text.

6. From the Select operator drop-down, select (String) equals.

7. In the Value field, type Talk to sales.

8. Click Branch B's name, and rename it Sales.

9. In the Support branch, click the Variables field.

10. Click Steps > Wait for conversation message > event > message > body > text.

11. From the Select operator drop-down, select (String) equals.

12. In the Value field, type Talk to support.

13. Click Next.

• When using the (String) equals operation, the flow will check that the reply content exactly matches the configured value.

• Make sure the values you add here exactly match the values that you added to the items in your list message.

Step seven: Assign tickets to teams in Inbox

Now that you've added branches to your flow, it's become a bit more complex. For a clearer view, scroll all the way up to the top of your screen and click Tree view.

Based on the content of the reply to the list message we sent, the flow will need to route the customer to either the 'Support' team, or the 'Sales' team.

1. Click the Support branch.

2. Within the branch, click Add new action.

3. Use the search bar to find the Assign to team in Inbox flow action.

4. In the Team ID field, select the appropriate Support team from the list.

5. Click Next.

6. Select the Sales branch.

7. Within the branch, click Add new action.

8. Use the search bar to find the Assign to team in Inbox flow action.

9. In the Team ID field, select the appropriate Sales team from the list.

10. Click Next.

Step eight: Handle messages that aren't for 'Support' or 'Sales'

If the recipient of your list message decided not to click either the 'Support' or 'Sales' buttons, and instead replied with a free-form message, they won't match either of the branches you configured in step six.

Let's add a new branch to the conditional to handle those responses by asking them to select one of the predefined options, and re-sending them the list message.

1. While in the Tree view, look for the dotted line next to your two branches, and click Add new action.

2. Use the search bar to find the Send plain text message to conversation flow action.

3. In the message content, enter some text to instruct your customer to choose one of the predefined options.

4. Click Next.

5. Below this action, click Add new action.

6. Use the search bar to find the Jump flow action.

7. Choose the Send List message to Conversation flow action from the Jump to action dropdown.

8. [Optional] Set a maximum number of jumps.

9. Click Next.

10. Below this action, click Add new action.

11. Use the search bar to find the Update feed item flow action.

12. In the settings, click the Closed toggle to the on position.

13. Click Next.

Step nine: Follow up if there is no answer

Sometimes you won't receive a response to the list message. Let's set up a branch to handle situations like this.

1. From the Tree view, click the Wait for conversation message flow action.

2. Click Advanced configuration.

3. Under Error handling, select Ignore and continue.

4. Close the Advanced configuration panel.

5. In the Fail After section, decrease the Duration to 15 seconds.

6. Click Next.

7. Send another test message to the WhatsApp number.

8. From the Tree view, click the Conditional flow action.

9. Add a new branch.

10. Name the branch Error.

11. Set up the Error variable for If error is present.

12. Move this branch above the other branches you have created.

Step ten: Polish and publish the flow

1. Give your flow a name that you'll recognize.

2. Add a short description to your flow steps.

3. Click Publish draft in the top right-hand corner of your screen.

Success! Your flow is now live.

Step eleven: Test and troubleshoot

Now that your flow has been published, you can test it by sending a new message to the WhatsApp number.

If your flow doesn't seem to be triggering, follow these steps:

1. Click the workspace name in the top left-hand corner of your screen.

2. Select either Marketing or Customer Service.

3. Go to Inbox.

4. Use the search bar to look for an open ticket for your own contact by typing in your phone number.

5. Assign the ticket to yourself, then close it.

6. Re-trigger the flow by sending a WhatsApp message from your phone.