Conversations is no longer available for purchase as of January 3, 2023.
Each Conversations account comes with a preconfigured Chatbot Automation. This simple workflow helps support real-time messaging by automating first touch-points, collecting data, and qualifying leads before one of your agents takes the conversation over. Using the Chatbot Automation ensures a timely, positive customer experience 24/7.
In this article, you'll learn about the triggers and actions available with the Chatbot Automation and how to customize the automation to best suit your business needs.
Take note
- For existing Conversations accounts, your Auto-reply message, Capture Form, and Follow-up Message setup has been migrated into the new Chatbot Automation builder to reflect your previous configuration
- The Chatbot Automation can be accessed and managed on the Settings >Conversations page in your ActiveCampaign account
- The Chatbot Automation is available for the Web Chat channel only
- There can only be one chatbot flow per account
- You can only use one trigger to start a Chatbot Automation
- You can have up to 100 actions in a Chatbot Automation
How to access the Conversations Chatbot Automation
To access the Chatbot automation:
- Click "Conversations" in the left menu.
- Under "Manage," click the "Conversations Settings" option.
- Click the "Chatbot Automation" tab.
When the automation loads, you'll see that there is one trigger and actions for the automation. You can proceed to use what has already been configured for you or you can customize the automation by using a different trigger, updating the current actions, adding actions, or removing actions.
Chatbot Automation triggers and actions
In this section, you'll learn about the triggers and actions available with the chatbot automation.
Chatbot Automation Triggers
A trigger is a condition that starts your automation. This specifies how a visitor will enter the automation so they can proceed through the workflow.
There are two triggers available with the Chatbot Automation. Note that only one trigger can be used. The two triggers you can choose from are:
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Visitor clicks the chat widget
The automation will run when a site visitor clicks the chat widget. -
Visitor sends first message
The automation will run when a site visitor sends their first message through the chat widget.
Chatbot Automation Actions
Actions are a series of processes that a visitor proceeds through once they enter the automation. As a visitor encounters each step in the automation, the action is executed.
There are four actions you can use in a Chatbot automation. Note that you can use up to 100 actions in your workflow. Actions available with the Chatbot Automation include:
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Text Block
This action displays a message you create to the site visitor. -
Question Block
This action will allow you to collect data from the visitor and progress their conversation. This block also uses branching options that you can use to determine the experience a visitor receives based on their responses to the question in the block. -
Form Block
This action prompts the visitor to submit personal information through a web chat form. -
Enter an Automation
This action will add the visitor to an automation in your ActiveCampaign account. Note that you must collect the visitor's email address before they can be added to another automation.
Chatbot Visitor Actions
Visitor actions are conditions that a vistor must meet in order for them to move to the next step in your automation. These actions are located at the top of each action block.
The Visitor Actions you can use include:
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No visitor action needed
Block will start immediately following the previous block. -
Visitor sends message
Block will start when a visitor types and sends a message through the web chat. -
Visitor submits Form Block
Block will start when a visitor submits the form from the previous block. -
Visitor responds to Question Block
Block will start when a visitor successfully responds to the question from the previous block.
How to change the trigger in a Chatbot Automation
To use a different trigger in the Chatbot Automation:
1. Click the block called "Trigger" at the top of the automation.
2. A "Select Trigger" modal will appear. Click the trigger you wish to use to begin the automation.
The updated trigger will automatically save.
How to add actions to the Chatbot Automation
You can add up to 100 actions to your Chatbot Automation.
1. Click the node (+) where you wish to insert the action.
2. A "Select a Block" modal will appear. Click the block you wish to add to the automation. You can choose from any of the following options:
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Text Block
Type the text you wish to display to the site visitor. Click the "Save" button when finished.
-
Question Block
Click the "Visitor Action" dropdown and click the action the visitor must take in order to display the question.- Type the question into the "Question" box provided. This box is an open text field. This text will be sent through to the visitor to prompt a response based on the field type you select.
- Click the "Save to Contact Field" search field. You will see a "Do Not Save" option as well as field group names. Clicking a field group will display a list of options you can use to save the visitor's response to. The field type will be labeled next to the field name. You will also see the quantity of answer options for Dropdown, Radio Button, List Box, and Check Box.
- Select Branching Options. If you select the Do Not Save, Dropdown, or Radio Button field types, you can also use Branching options. Branching options will send visitor down different paths in the chatbot automation, depending on how they answered your question.
- "Answer Options" are editable. They reflect what the visitor will see in the chat widget.
- "Save To" column shows the Custom Field and the answer option that the response will save to on the Contact Record.
- "Next Block" column shows the branching routes that a visitor will go down (ie, path A, B, C, etc). You can use this to match different answer options to the same path or different paths.
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Form Block
- Click the "Visitor Action" dropdown and click the action the visitor must take in order to display the form.
- Click the "Add a form type" link then click the field you wish to display in the form. To make the field required, click the "Required" checkbox.
- You can hide the visitor's web chat composer until they submit the form. To do so, click the "Disable visitor web chat composed until form submit" box.
- Click the "Save" button when finished.
-
Enter an automation Block
- Click the "Select an automation to enter" dropdown then click the automation you wish to add visitors to.
- Note that visitors cannot be entered into an automation unless you collect their email address using the Form Block.
- When finished, click the "Save" button.
3. You can change the name of any block you add to the automation. To do so, click the block you wish to update. Then click the edit icon (pencil) next to the name of the block. Type the new name into the field provided and click the "Save" button.
How to edit actions to the Chatbot Automation
You can edit any action in the Chatbot Automation. To do so, click the block you wish to update.
Text Block
You can update the following items in a Text Block:
-
Message displayed
To update the message in a Text Block, click into the "Text" field provided and type the new message. When finished, click the "Save" button. -
Block name
You can also update the name of the Text Block. To do so, click the edit icon (pencil) next to the block name. Type the name you wish to use for this box into the field then click "Save."
Question Block
You can update the following items in a Question Block:
-
Question
To update the question in a Question Block, click into the "Question" field provided and type the new question. When finished, click the "Save" button. -
Save to Contact Field
- The "Do not save" option is selected by default. This means that the response the visitor provides to your question will not be saved. This option is mainly used to help you progress the conversation with the contact. For example, you may want to ask them if they would like to chat with your Sales team or your Support team. They would then go down the appropriate path depending on their response.
- You can also choose to map the vistor's response to a field and save the data on their contact profile record. For this option, click the "Save to contact field" dropdown, click the field group, then click the field name you wish to use.
-
Branching options
- Edit answer options: This is what the visitor will see in the chat window. To edit any of the answer options, click the answer option you wish to update and type the text you wish to display. The "Save to" column to the right displays the field name and the answer option tied to it.
- Edit "Next Block": This is the automation path related to the answer option. Click the path dropdown for the answer option you wish to update. Click the new path that a visitor should take.
- Rearrange answer options order: Click the dots next to the path name and drag and drop it into the desired spot.
- Remove an answer option: Click the "X" next to the answer option you wish to remove.
Form Block
You can update the following items in a Form Block:
-
Form Fields displayed
To update the fields used in a form block, click the "Add a form type" link then click the form field you wish to use. You can choose from Full Name, Phone Number, and Account. It's not possible to collect other pieces of information using the form block at this time.
-
Remove fields
To remove a field from the form block, click the "X" for the field.
-
Make fields required or not required
You can make any form field required. To do so, click the "Required" checkbox for the field. To make a field not required, uncheck the "Required" box. -
Disable visitor web chat composer
You can temporarily remove the visitor's web chat composer until they submit the form. Doing so requires the visitor to submit the form before the conversation proceeds. To enable this setting, click the "Disable visitor web chat composer until form submit" box.
Enter an Automation Block
You can change the automation that a visitor should enter. To add a site visitor to a different automation, click the "Select an automation to enter" dropdown. Then click the automation you wish to add visitors too. As a reminder, you can only add visitors to an automation if they submit their email address to you through the Form Block.
How to remove actions from the Chatbot Automation
To remove an action from the Chatbot Automation, hover your mouse over the action you wish to remove. Click the "Delete" button.
A "Delete block?" confirmation modal will appear. Click the "Delete Block" button.
How to turn off the Chatbot Automation
You can turn off the Chatbot Automation at anytime. Once the automation is turned off, visitors will no longer proceed through your workflow. In addition, you will not be able to use a form to collect personal information, such as full name or email address, from visitors.
To turn off the Chatbot Automation, click the toggle to set it to the "Off" position. When it's off, the toggle will be red and will have an "X":
To re-enable the Chatbot Automation, click the toggle to set it to the "On" position.