Procedures
Author adaptive, multi-step procedures for bookings, orders, claims, applications, and other customer goals.
Procedures#
A Procedure is a reusable process for one customer goal. You describe when it starts, which details are required, which tools it may use, when to hand off, and what "done" means. The agent follows that adaptively from what the customer already said. It does not force every person through the same button path.
Find procedures under Agent Studio → Procedures.
For a fixed menu of buttons and forms, use a Workflow instead. A Workflow can start a Procedure, but that does not make the two the same thing.
What a Procedure Defines#
| Part | Purpose |
|---|---|
| When it starts | The customer goal that should enter this procedure |
| Required details | Information that must be known before the goal can be completed |
| Tools | Booking, payment, delivery, lookup, forms, or your own API |
| Handoff | When to pause the AI and bring in a person |
| Completion | The successful result that counts as done, and what to record or notify |
The agent can collect a missing detail in whatever order the conversation allows. It should not skip a required detail, and it should not call the goal complete while a required tool has not succeeded.
Procedures fit repeated journeys where the result matters: appointment booking, paid orders, delivery requests, refund intake, quotes, applications, and support handoffs.
Procedures, Workflows, Forms, and Escalations#
| Concept | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Procedure | An adaptive process for one customer goal, including required details, handoff, and completion |
| Workflow | A published button, form, message, and wait path |
| Custom Form | A reusable intake form. Submitting it does not confirm a booking or payment |
| API Action | A call to your own system during the procedure |
| Escalation | Routing a risky message to a person. This is not an Activity ticket |
A booking procedure can ask the customer to pick a service, use a payment tool for a deposit, and use a form for extra details. Each of those tools still has to succeed on its own.
Creating a Procedure#
| Step | What you do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Go to Agent Studio → Procedures and click Create procedure. |
| 2 | Name the goal, such as "Book a haircut" or "Take a paid order." |
| 3 | Describe when it should start and which details are required. |
| 4 | Link the tools it needs, such as Booking, Payment Methods & Proof Review, or a Custom Form. |
| 5 | Set the handoff and the completion rule. |
| 6 | Save it and test messy messages in Agent Studio → Test. |
Completion and Failure#
| State | What it means |
|---|---|
| Details are still missing | The procedure is not complete. Ask for the missing details |
| Waiting on a person | Pending owner or staff action. Checking that status does not perform the change |
| A tool fails | That step was not confirmed. Do not tell the customer the booking, payment, order, or delivery succeeded |
| The result is unclear | Check the booking, order, payment, or delivery before trying again |
| Completion rules are met and the tools succeeded | The goal is done. Say that, and only that |
Handoff sends the request to your team for follow-up in Activity. It does not by itself open an Activity ticket.
Example: Booking With a Deposit#
Goal: Book an appointment that requires a deposit
1. Find out the service and preferred date or time
2. Check availability
3. Collect the name and contact details
4. Send payment instructions or a payment link
5. Confirm the booking only after payment is verified and the booking is saved
6. Notify the team
Agreeing to a time, or saying "I paid," does not finish step 5.
Best Practices#
- Keep one customer outcome in each procedure.
- Say exactly when a human should take over.
- Require only the details you need.
- Reuse booking, payment, delivery, forms, and API Actions instead of describing the same setup twice.
- Test realistic, messy messages before you rely on the procedure.