Workflows

Workflows are part of Cliedesk Pro. A workflow is a rule with many steps. It has the same trigger, conditions, versions and run log as a rule. Instead of one list of actions, it runs a flow of steps: it can talk with the customer, wait, ask a person for approval and choose a path.

Open Settings → Automation → Workflows (needs the Manage automation permission). A workflow also shows in Settings → Automation → Rules as a rule with the step Run a multi-step workflow: set its trigger, conditions and channels there, and turn it on or pause it there.

Two triggers are for workflows: Called by another workflow (no audience: other workflows, macros and the API run it) and A workflow completes (choose which one).

Recipes with Pro (Rules → Recipes) create workflows too, for example Nudge and close with AI-written reminders, Answer after hours with AI, Answer “where is my order?” and Reassign when the agent is away. They start paused, so you can change them first.

Three more recipes create rules:

• Alert Slack about urgent conversations posts new urgent conversations, and conversations that become urgent, to your Slack or Teams channel. Connect Slack or Teams first (Settings → Integrations).
• Follow up on low reviews (WooCommerce): a product review with 2 stars or fewer opens an internal conversation with the review and high priority, so someone follows up.
• Reach out after a failed payment (WooCommerce): waits an hour, checks the order again and, if it is still not paid, sends the customer one email. Change the wait and the text in the rule before you turn it on.

Start a workflow

• New workflow: type a name and click New workflow. The workflow starts empty and paused.
• Describe it: say in plain words what the workflow should do, then click Draft with AI. The AI builds the steps as a paused draft. An AI draft never goes live by itself: a person must check it, publish it and turn it on. In the list it has the badge Drafted by AI.

Build the flow

The flow goes from top to bottom. A step with paths shows its paths side by side below it. After the paths, the flow goes on with the next step.

• Click a step type under Add a step. New steps go after the selected step, at the end of a path (Add steps here) or at the end of the flow.
• Each step has Edit, Up, Down, Copy and Delete. Paste step adds a copy after the selected step, with new step IDs.
• Add path makes a path for one exit of a step, for example one per button.
• Find a step searches names, types, IDs and settings. Zoom in, Zoom out and Reset zoom change the size. Tidy up fixes missing or double step IDs and removes empty paths.
• The Paths list shows the outline of the flow. Steps with errors are marked Error. Click a step to jump to it.

Steps

• Message: text with up to 10 buttons. Customer must pick a button hides the chat box. Add Start over adds a button back to the first step. Add Talk to a human adds a button that hands the conversation to your team.
• Ask (collect data), Order picker, Verify identity and Expected reply time.
• Branch: choose a path by conditions. It runs the first branch that matches, or every branch that matches.
• Waits: wait for a time, until a condition is true, for a customer reply, or for a webhook call.
• Approval: a person approves or rejects.
• AI steps: classify, decide, extract or write text. AI costs have a cap per run and per day.
• Loops, retries and error paths: run steps for each item, retry an action 1 to 5 times, and add steps for errors.
• End steps: end the flow, resolve, stop or hand over.
• Run another workflow: start a Called workflow. Called workflows have inputs and outputs.

Background or with the customer

Under Workflow settings, Runs is In the background or With the customer. Only one customer-facing workflow runs on a conversation at a time. Choose what happens to a second one: skip it or start it after the other one. When the customer is silent for 15 minutes (you can change it), the conversation is resolved. After a stop, the workflow does not start again on that conversation for 24 hours.

Conversations held only by a workflow show in the Automated view. They are not in Unassigned until the workflow hands them over.

Channels

Some steps cannot show on every channel. For example, SMS shows buttons as a numbered list. A step that a channel cannot show gets a warning. Add Fallback text per channel to send instead.

Saving and publishing

• Your changes save by themselves a few seconds after you stop typing. You see Saving… and then Saved at with the time.
• When another person edits the workflow, you see “Name is editing this workflow”. Your changes are not saved until you click Take over. When someone takes over from you, autosave stops until you reload the page.
• There is no limit on steps. Above 150 steps you see a warning: large workflows are harder to check. Think about splitting them into Called workflows.
• Check shows problems. Publish is off while there are errors. Publish makes the draft the live version.
• Test runs the workflow with your test answers. Nothing is sent to customers.