Bots and Workflows – Chile

Objective:

This article aims to guide users in creating and configuring workflows in Intercom. It will focus on explaining the process of choosing between prebuilt templates and creating flows from scratch, including configuring triggers, available steps, and specific actions. The goal is to enable users to set up efficient workflows that improve interaction with employees and optimize support and communication management.

Scope / Limitations:

This article is intended for users with administrative roles or support management roles in Intercom. It focuses exclusively on the process of configuring workflows within the platform, without covering other aspects of managing Intercom or integration with other tools.

Process:

To configure a workflow, the user must first log in to Intercom and go to the "Automatización" section, where they can choose "Nuevo flujo de trabajo".

Here, you have the option to start from scratch or use prebuilt templates that cover a variety of common cases such as issue classification, data collection, support via website buttons, among others.

Available Templates:

Classify issues and assign to teams:When an employee opens a new conversation in Buk, collect details about their issue in advance so you can assign the conversation to the most relevant team.
Collect contact details from potential customers:Once employees have sent their first message, ask them for their contact details, such as email address or phone number.
Provide support from a button on your website:You can choose an element from the Buk platform, such as a button or a link. When the employee clicks that element, a conversation will automatically open to route them to the most appropriate team to handle their inquiry.
Route customers to the appropriate support team:Rate your employees immediatelyafter they contact you. This template makes it easy to classify your employees based on their type, language, activity, or any other relevant attribute. This way, you can route employees to the most appropriate team so they receive effective support immediately.
Tag conversations that contain specific keywords:Classify or prioritize conversations by automatically applying tags based on specific keywords present in the conversation.
Follow-up with inactive customers:Send a reminder to employees who have not responded for a while.
Show expected response time to customers:Manage your employees' expectations while they wait for a response.This template sends your employees a message with an expected response time and a reminder that they will receive a reply by email.
Automatic email reply with expected response time:Manage employees' expectations by automatically replying to emails with a personalized message.
Request conversation rating:Once the conversation is closed, ask employees to rate their satisfaction by sending them a short survey.
Resolve frequent queries with self-service content:Encourage employees to explore self-service content before contacting the team. Before employees start typing in Buk, proactively show them different options or topics to deliver FAQ content and resolve their issue without any team member involvement.

Create from Scratch:

When clicking "Create from scratch", you must first select how the workflow will start, determining the action that will trigger the start of operations within the flow.

At the start of a conversation:

The customer visits a page: Starts the workflow in Buk when the employee meets certain defined conditions such as the exact URL or time spent on the visited page
The customer clicks an element on the website:Triggers a workflow when an employee clicks an interactive element like a button or link in the Buk platform
The customer opens a new conversation in Messenger:Starts the workflow when the employee opens the chat, before they begin typing
The customer sends their first message:The flow starts when the employee sends a message in the chat

During the conversation:

The customer sends any message:React to every message in a conversation by running a workflow.
A teammate sends any message:React to every teammate message in a conversation by running a workflow.
A teammate changes the conversation status:Triggers a workflow when a conversation is closed.
The customer has not replied:Triggers a workflow to snooze the conversation or send a reminder to the employee.
A teammate adds a note:Triggers a workflow when a team member creates an admin note.

Only Support Tickets:

A support ticket is created:Automatically applies background actions, such as assignment or tagging when a ticket is created
A teammate changes the status of a support ticket:Add notes or apply other actions with a workflow when an admin changes the status of a ticket

Before configuring the flow you should review the trigger settings; from here you can select the channels to which you want to apply this trigger, the audience, the frequency, and you can define the workflow objective.

When you create the flow, make sure to give it a title and decide what the first action will be. You can choose one of the suggested steps or click the + sign to explore all available steps.

These available steps are:

Message:Automatically send a message that you will need to write; you can add emojis, GIFs, articles, images, links, and videos.
Collect data: You can choose attributes for the employee to fill in. You can use existing attributes or create custom ones (for conversation data, people data, company data).

Show expected response time:Sends the response time configured in “Messenger and Omnichannel”->”General settings”->”Business hours and response time”
Collect the employee's response: The employee must type a message for the flow to continue

Ask them to rate the conversation: At the end of a conversation, you can select this step, which allows employees to evaluate the support received and provide feedback to improve performance, which you can later review in reporting. In addition, you can choose to prevent employees from changing their rating after a specific period of time.

Submit ticket :Provides the option for the employee to create a ticket and complete the attributes associated with it. You can choose between a back office ticket or a customer support ticket

You also have the option to proceed down another path; under this option you must create another step later:

Response buttons:You can create response buttons for the employee to select an option and thus direct them down new paths based on their answers.

Branches:The workflow branches through various conditions defined by attributes. When a condition is met, the flow proceeds along the path connected to that condition.

Finally you can add an action:

Apply rules:You can define conditions as attributes and set the action that will be carried out if the attribute matches the conversation data. You can add as many conditions as you need

Tag conversation:Automatically tag conversations based on selections employees make in the bot flow.

Assign:Route the conversation to a teammate with an Intercom user account or to a specific inbox by assigning it automatically.

Snooze:Automatically change the conversation status to “Snoozed.”

Wait:The workflow will pause for the specified period of time and then continue. If an interrupting event occurs during the wait, the workflow will end.
Mark as priority:Automatically mark the conversation as priority so admins can easily find it using the "Top priority" filter.

Add a note: With this action, you can write an internal note that will be added to the conversation in the Inbox. Notes will be hidden from employees; only conversation admins will be able to access them

Disable customer reply:To prevent employees from typing messages and ensure they complete the bot flow, disable the "allow customer to reply" option on Path A. This will prevent employees from responding to the response buttons throughout the workflow.

Close:Automatically change the conversation status to “Closed”

Once the workflow configuration is complete, you can select "Preview" to review how employees will see it before activating it. You can also save it to activate later or select "Set live" to activate it automatically on the previously selected channels.

And that's it — you can now use your workflows and automate your conversations

Required Modules:

Base:Essential people management.
Addons:Employee support.

Keywords:Workflows, workflow, bots, automation, Intercom, Employee support, chat

Related articles