A bot step is any one action that you can configure a custom bot or a feedback bot to perform. Most custom bots and most feedback bots contain multiple bot steps, which work together in sequence to meet a higher-level goal than any one bot step can meet in isolation.

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STEP TYPES

  • There are many different kinds ("types") of bot steps.
  • You can configure some step types repeatedly in one bot, running differently each time. For example, your second and third steps might both submit API calls but direct these calls to two different systems.
  • Other step types cannot be used repeatedly together in the same bot. For example, it would make no sense to reopen a particular, resolved issue more than once per conversation.

Note: * But never as the first step.

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STEP ORDER

  • A bot's steps run together in exactly the order that you specify.
  • Although two bots might contain otherwise identical step types, you can arrange them to run in a different order.

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END-USER RESPONSE FORMATS

Different bot step types support various end-user response formats. We cite and describe these formats in the same articles where we describe the step types.   

NOTE

  • To build and configure a custom bot or a feedback bot, you use our no-code Visual Bot Builder.
  • There can be no more than 25 steps per bot.
    • Limiting a bot's scope in this way makes each bot easier to conceptualize, fine-tune, and troubleshoot.
    • What might seem too narrowly focused at first glance may support greater versatility than you imagine.
    • Steps can support multiple, branching scenarios, which you specify. The nature of these scenarios differs by design from one step type to another and from one end-user response format to another.
  • We recommend that you consider all possible effects before, during, and after you add or delete any bot step.