Interactive replies

Plans and permissions:

• Add-on: AI agents, billed separately
• Add interactive replies to a workflow: Admin, Manager, or Team Lead role, or a custom role with Workflows set to Can create, edit, and delete workflows

Use interactive replies to let chat customers answer with a tap instead of typing. In a workflow, the chat agent can show a list of buttons, or a carousel of cards with images, built from fixed options or from the customer’s own data, such as their recent orders or linked accounts. Customers can still type their own answer if none of the options fits.

To add one, go to AI support > Workflows, open the workflow, and edit a Guide step. For more on Guide steps and their Response instructions, see Guide steps in workflows.

How interactive replies work

• You add an interactive reply to a Guide step’s Response instructions, and describe when the chat agent should show it.
• Interactive replies appear in the chat agent only.
• There are two types:

What customers see

1. The chat agent shows the options as buttons or cards.
2. The customer selects an option, or types a reply instead.
3. The chat agent confirms the choice, for example “Great, I’ll help you with Order #1123”, and the workflow continues.

The selected option is saved to the workflow variable or smart field you chose, so later steps can use it.

Add a button list

1. In the workflow’s Guide step, in Response instructions, describe when the chat agent should show the buttons.
2. Type @, and under Chat agent interactive replies, select Button list.
3. In Button list: content and layout, enter an Internal display name.
4. Under Button content type, choose Fixed options or Dynamic from smart fields, and set up the options. See below.
5. Under Layout, choose Vertical or Horizontal.
6. Select Next. On Button list: save selection, choose where to save the customer’s choice, then select Save button list. See Save the customer’s selection.

Fixed options

Use fixed options when every customer sees the same choices. Under Button options, add up to five buttons, each with its label.

Dynamic from smart fields

Use dynamic options to build the buttons from the customer’s data, for example from an API call earlier in the workflow.

1. In Smart field source, choose the smart field that holds the data.
2. Under Extraction method, choose how to turn it into options:
   • Use smart field as-is: the smart field is already a list of options, such as a dropdown smart field.
   • Extract values with AI: describe in What to extract which values to turn into buttons.
3. Set the Maximum number of options to display, from 1 to 10. The default is 5.

To change a smart field’s type to Dropdown and set its options, go to Configure > Smart fields and open the smart field. See Smart fields.

Add a carousel

Carousel cards show images in a row customers can scroll sideways. Use them when a picture helps customers choose.

1. In the workflow’s Guide step, in Response instructions, describe when the chat agent should show the carousel.
2. Type @, and under Chat agent interactive replies, select Carousel.
3. In Carousel cards: content and layout, enter an Internal display name, and choose a Carousel content type: Fixed options or Dynamic from smart fields.
4. Choose the Image proportion, Rectangle or Square, and the maximum number of cards to display, up to 10.
5. Set up each card’s content, as described below, and select Next through the remaining screens.
6. On Carousel cards: save selection, choose where to save the customer’s choice, then select Save carousel cards.

Card content

With Fixed options, you enter each card’s image URL, text, and buttons. With Dynamic from smart fields, you choose the smart field that holds your data, such as a list of orders, and the field in it that supplies each part, such as transactions.listingImage for the image and transactions.listingTitle for the header text. Use the preview to check how the cards look.

Save the customer’s selection

Under Save user selection as for a button list, or Save selection as for a carousel, choose:

• New workflow variable: saves the choice to a new variable in this workflow. Enter a Variable name.
• Existing smart field: saves the choice to a text or dropdown smart field. Choose the Smart field, and the Saved value for each option.

For a carousel, also choose the Data to capture: the selected card’s Header text, or a value From smart field for that card.

Best practices

• Keep button text short: aim for two to five words, so customers can scan the options quickly.
• Use carousels only when images help: if customers can recognize options by name, a button list is simpler.
• Show fewer options: fewer choices lead to faster decisions, so filter your data to the most relevant items.
• Use consistent images: images with similar proportions, square or landscape, look best in a carousel.
• Leave room to type: interactive replies speed up common paths, but customers with unusual situations still need to type.
• Test with real data: check how your replies look with different numbers of items and with missing images.

Common issues

• Buttons or cards don’t appear: Check that the API call in your workflow returns data, that the smart field is filled before the interactive reply’s step, and that your field paths match the data, such as transactions.listingTitle.
• Images don’t load: Check that the image URLs are public and valid, and that the image field path is correct.
• Too few options appear: Extra items beyond the maximum aren’t shown. Filter the data in your API call if you often have too many.