How to create a block in a chatbot to wait for a customer response
How do I create a block in a chatbot to wait for a customer response?
This article explains how to pause your chatbot until a customer answers. Follow these steps to keep the assistant waiting at a specific step. This ensures your conversation moves forward only when a response arrives.
In this article, you will learn how to
- Add a Wait for a reply block to your chatbot.
- Decide how long the chatbot waits and what happens when time runs out.
- Fix issues with stuck chat sessions.
Before you start
Before creating a block in a chatbot to wait for a customer response make sure you have:
- An existing chatbot to add a Wait for a reply block.
- A next step or action that is to follow after the wait.
How to create a block in a chatbot to wait for a customer response
- Log in to your Flownally workspace.
- Go to the Chatbots tab.
- Click an existing chatbot to edit it, or create a new one to open the editor automatically.
- Click on Add step after a block, or on the + icon on a connecting line, to add a new block.
- Choose the Wait for a reply block.
- The block will stop the chatbot until the customer sends a message. Optionally, open Timeout to change how long the chatbot waits:
- In Wait duration, choose Use chatbot default or Set a different duration.
- In When time runs out, choose End the chatbot quietly or Use a separate path, which adds a timeout path for a reminder, a handover, or another step.
What happens after creating a block in a chatbot to wait for a customer response?
After creating a block in a chatbot to wait for a customer response, the assistant pauses the conversation automatically when a customer reaches this step. It resumes the workflow with the customer's message as soon as the user sends an answer. If the customer doesn't respond in time, the chatbot follows your Timeout settings.
Troubleshooting
Chatbot stops after the customer replies
This may be because you haven't added another block after the Wait for a reply block. In this case, you need to click Add step after the Wait for a reply block in the chatbot editor.
Chatbot ends before the customer replies
The customer didn't answer within the wait duration, so the chatbot ended quietly. Set a longer duration in Timeout, or choose Use a separate path to send a reminder or hand the conversation over to an agent.