Workflows Overview

Workflows let you automate what happens in your conversations and contact records without writing code. Each workflow starts with one trigger (for example a new conversation, an incoming message, a tag change or a store order) and then runs a chain of steps on a visual canvas: send messages, ask questions, branch on answers, assign the conversation, update the contact, call another system or hand over to an AI agent. Teams use Workflows to greet and route customers, reply outside working hours, qualify leads, follow up after a conversation closes and connect Resool to the other apps they use.

#Before you begin

• Connect at least one channel (WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, website chat and so on) for triggers that react to conversations. See Connecting Channels.
• The AI agent step and Build with AI need a plan that includes AI.

#How workflows work

#How to create a workflow

1. Click Workflows in the left menu.
2. Click Add Workflow to start from a blank canvas, or open Start from a template and pick one of the ready-made workflows below.

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Workflows

The Workflows list with several workflows (some Published, one Draft, one with the "Unpublished changes" badge), the columns Status, Name, Last published by, Last published and Created by, and the Add Workflow and Start from a template buttons at the top.

File: screenshots/workflows-overview-list.png

1. Type a name for the workflow at the top of the builder.
2. Click the Trigger block and choose what starts the workflow in the panel on the right.
3. Click + under the trigger to add your first step, then keep adding steps with the + buttons between them. The Add a step menu groups steps into Messaging, Logic, Contact, Conversation, Apps, Stores, Accounting, Tasks & docs and Files.
4. Click any step to fill in its settings in the right panel. Steps with missing fields are highlighted.

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Workflows › open a workflow › Builder tab

The canvas with the Trigger block (Conversation Opened), a Send a message step, an Ask a question step with Sales and Support buttons, and a Branch with two coloured paths and Else; the right panel open on the selected step; the zoom controls and the "Steps: 5 / 100" counter at the bottom.

File: screenshots/workflows-overview-builder.png

1. Click Save to keep a draft, or Publish to save and turn it on.

#How to publish, edit and unpublish a workflow

• Publish: the workflow starts running for new triggers. The list shows it as Published.
• Edit a published workflow: your changes stay in the draft and the workflow shows Unpublished changes. Contacts keep going through the published version until you click Publish again.
• Unpublish: stops new runs. You can unpublish from the builder or from the Actions menu on the list.
• Duplicate: makes a copy you can change without touching the original.
• Delete: from the Actions menu or Workflow settings › Delete workflow. Contacts that are running or waiting in it stop where they are.

#Workflow settings

Click the settings icon in the builder header to open Workflow settings:

• Trigger once per contact: each contact goes through this workflow only once (per published version).
• Delete workflow.

#How to follow runs

Open a workflow and click the Runs tab to see every contact that went through it, newest first. Each run shows its status, how many steps it ran and, for a waiting run, until when it waits.

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Workflows › open a published workflow › Runs tab

A list of runs with contact names, the statuses Running, Waiting (with "until …" time), Done and Stopped, and the step count of each run.

File: screenshots/workflows-overview-runs.png

#Notes and limitations

• A workflow has one trigger and up to 100 steps. A Branch step has up to 8 branches plus Else.
• Only one workflow run is active in a conversation at a time. When a new workflow starts in a conversation, a run that was waiting there is stopped, so a customer's reply always has one clear owner.
• A run can pass through at most 200 steps in total. A path that loops forever (for example with Jump to) is stopped and marked Failed.
• Steps that talk in or change a conversation (Send a message, Ask a question, Assign to, Open or close conversation, Add comment, AI agent) are skipped when the contact has no conversation yet. A Send a WhatsApp template step can open one.
• Changes take effect only after you publish.

#FAQ and troubleshooting

#My workflow doesn't start. What should I check?

What you can do:

• Make sure the workflow is Published, not a draft.
• Check that the trigger's channel is connected and active. The trigger panel shows a notice when it isn't.
• If you picked specific Channels or Keywords in the trigger, make sure the conversation matches them.
• If Trigger once per contact is on, the contact may already have gone through this version.

#I edited a workflow but customers still get the old messages.

Your edits are saved as a draft. Click Publish to make them live. The Unpublished changes badge tells you a draft is waiting.

#Can more than one workflow run on the same conversation?

Not at the same time. The newest workflow to start in a conversation takes over, and a run that was waiting there is stopped.

#What happens to contacts in a workflow when I delete it?

Their runs stop where they are. Nothing else changes on the contact or the conversation.

#How do agents run a workflow by hand?

Use the Shortcut trigger (agents run it from the conversation menu in the inbox) or the Manual Trigger (run from a contact's page). See Workflow Triggers.

#What's next?

• Workflow Triggers
• Workflow Steps
• Building Workflows with AI
• AI Agents