Flows & Dialogs

Build conversation flows for virtual assistants.

Overview

Dialog flows define how your virtual assistant handles conversations:

Intents — What users want to accomplish
Entities — Information extracted from messages
Dialogs — Conversation logic and responses
Transitions — How conversations move between states

Dialog Types

Standard Dialog

Structured conversation flow for specific tasks:

[User: Check order status]
         │
         ▼
[Collect Order Number]
         │
         ▼
[Validate Order Number]
         │
    ┌────┴────┐
    ▼         ▼
[Valid]   [Invalid]
    │         │
    ▼         ▼
[Fetch    [Request
 Status]   Again]
    │
    ▼
[Deliver Response]

Agent Flow

Complex flows with AI agent capabilities:

Agent Flow: Research Assistant
Capabilities:
  - search_web
  - analyze_documents
  - summarize_findings
Behavior: |
  Research the user's question using available tools.
  Synthesize findings into a comprehensive answer.
  Cite sources when providing information.

Sub-Dialog

Reusable dialog components:

Sub-Dialog: Collect Address
Entities required:
  - street_address
  - city
  - state
  - zip_code
Validation: address_verification_api
Reusable: true

Building Dialogs

Dialog Builder

Visual drag-and-drop builder:

Node Type	Purpose
Message	Display text, cards, or media
Prompt	Collect user input
Condition	Branch based on conditions
API Call	Execute integrations
Script	Run custom code
Agent	Invoke AI agent
Transfer	Hand off to human

Node Configuration

Message node example:

Node: Welcome Message
Type: message
Content:
  text: "Hello! I'm your order assistant. How can I help you today?"
  quick_replies:
    - "Check order status"
    - "Start a return"
    - "Track my package"
Transitions:
  - intent: check_order → order_status_flow
  - intent: start_return → return_flow
  - default → fallback

Transitions

Define conversation flow:

Transition Type	Description
Intent	Move based on detected intent
Entity	Move based on extracted entity
Condition	Move based on variable value
Default	Fallback when no match
Error	Handle errors gracefully

Entity Management

Entity Types

Type	Use Case	Example
Built-in	Common data types	Date, Number, Email
List	Defined options	Product names, sizes
Regex	Pattern matching	Order ID: ORD-\d
Composite	Grouped entities	Full address

Entity Extraction

Configure extraction:

Entity: OrderNumber
Type: regex
Pattern: "(?:order|ORD)?[-#]?(\d{5,8})"
Validation: |
  length >= 5 AND length <= 8
  starts_with_digit
Prompts:
  initial: "What's your order number?"
  retry: "I didn't catch that. Order numbers are usually 5-8 digits."
Max retries: 3

Entity Disambiguation

Handle ambiguous inputs:

Disambiguation: Size
Values: ["small", "medium", "large"]
On ambiguity:
  type: confirm
  message: "Did you mean {{matched_value}}?"
On multiple:
  type: select
  message: "Which size? Small, medium, or large?"

Context Management

Context Variables

Store and use conversation context:

// Set context
context.session.orderNumber = "12345"
context.session.customerTier = "premium"

// Use in messages
"Your order {{context.session.orderNumber}} is being processed."

// Use in conditions
if (context.session.customerTier === "premium") {
  // Premium customer handling
}

Variable Scopes

Scope	Lifetime	Use Case
Turn	Single turn	Temporary processing
Session	Conversation	Order details, selections
User	Across sessions	Preferences, history
Global	All users	Configuration, flags

Interruption Handling

Configuration

Handle topic switches:

Interruption Handling:
  allow_interruptions: true
  hold_and_resume:
    enabled: true
    message: "No problem, let me help with that first."
  implicit_confirmation: true
  max_depth: 3

Scenarios

Scenario	Handling
New intent	Hold current, start new
Clarification	Handle inline, resume
Cancel	Confirm and exit
Go back	Return to previous step

Testing

Conversation Testing

Test dialog flows:

Open Test panel
Enter test utterances
Verify intent detection
Check entity extraction
Validate flow navigation
Review responses

Batch Testing

Run test suites:

Test Suite: Order Status Flow
Tests:
  - name: "Valid order number"
    utterance: "Where is my order 123456?"
    expected:
      intent: check_order_status
      entities:
        order_number: "123456"
      response_contains: "order status"

  - name: "Missing order number"
    utterance: "Where is my order?"
    expected:
      intent: check_order_status
      next_prompt: "order number"

Debug Mode

Enable detailed debugging:

Intent confidence scores
Entity extraction details
Flow transitions
Variable values
API call results

Best Practices

Dialog Design

Keep flows focused on single tasks
Use sub-dialogs for reusable components
Handle errors gracefully
Provide clear escape paths
Test edge cases thoroughly

Intent Training

Add 15-25 utterances per intent
Include variations and typos
Use real customer language
Regularly review misclassifications
Avoid overlapping intents

Conversation UX

Confirm understanding before actions
Provide clear options when ambiguous
Keep messages concise
Use quick replies for common paths
Allow natural conversation flow

​Flows & Dialogs

​Overview

​Dialog Types

​Standard Dialog

​Agent Flow

​Sub-Dialog

​Building Dialogs

​Dialog Builder

​Node Configuration

​Transitions

​Entity Management

​Entity Types

​Entity Extraction

​Entity Disambiguation

​Context Management

​Context Variables

​Variable Scopes

​Interruption Handling

​Configuration

​Scenarios

​Testing

​Conversation Testing

​Batch Testing

​Debug Mode

​Best Practices

​Dialog Design

​Intent Training

​Conversation UX

​Related