An action flow is a user-defined automated workflow. Each action flow consists of an action flow trigger, which initiates the flow, and one or more steps. Action flows can run in response to their configured trigger or be initiated by agents using agent copilot auto assist. After you create an action flow, you can update it, deactivate it, or delete it.
Managing action flows
Editing an action flow's name and description
Editing an action flow's name and description is separate from editing the flow's steps in the action builder.
- In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action flows.
- Next to the action flow you want to update, click the options menu
(
) and select Edit name or description.
- Enter the updated name or description.
- Click Save.
Activating action flows
New action flows are inactive by default. An admin must activate the flow for it to be used.
- In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action flows.
- Next to the action flow you want to activate, click the options menu
(
) and select Activate.
Deactivating action flows
To prevent an action flow from being used, you can deactivate it or delete it. Deactivated flows don't occur when their trigger event occurs and aren't presented as options for agent copilot auto assist.
- In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action flows.
- Next to the action flow you want to deactivate, click the options menu
(
) and select Deactivate.
Deleting action flows
To prevent an action flow from being used, you can deactivate it. However, you can have a maximum of 10 action flows at a time. If you are permanently finished with an action flow, you can delete it.
- In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action flows.
- Next to the action flow you want to delete, click the options menu
(
) and select Delete.
- In the confirmation dialog, click Confirm.
Managing an action flow's steps
Using the action builder, you can edit and delete steps in an action flow.
- In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action flows.
- Next to the flow you want to manage steps for, click Edit workflow.
- Make any of the following changes:
- Click Save.
Editing a step in an action flow
In the action builder, you can click on any step of an action flow to review and modify its configuration as needed.
- In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action flows.
- Click the name of the action flow you want to edit.
- Click on the step you want to edit.
- Use the step sidebar to update the step's configuration.
- Click Save.
Rearranging the steps in an action flow
Steps can't be re-ordered. Instead, if you need to change the order of the steps, delete and re-create steps in the appropriate locations within the flow. In addition to the options to add steps at the end of an action flow's branches, you can also insert them between existing steps.
- In the action builder, hover between steps and click the add step icon
(
) that appears.
Delete a step in an action flow
- In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action flows.
- Click the name of the action flow you want to edit.
- Within the step in the action builder, click the options menu (
) and select Delete.
- In the confirmation dialog, click Delete step.
Testing an action flow
- When testing an action flow, real API requests are submitted for each step. Use test data, such as test tickets, Jira issues, and so on to avoid accidentally altering your service data.
- Any conditions configured for the action flow's trigger are disregarded during testing.
- In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action flows.
- Click the name of the action flow you want to test.
- Click Test.
- If prompted, use the Test action flow sidebar to enter sample
inputs.
Outputs from the action flow trigger are simulated, so only variable inputs used in the action flow need to be provided during tests.
- Click Run test.
- Review the results for each step.
Each step has a status of Done or Failed and can be expanded to display its output.
A test ends when a step fails or all steps have been completed successfully.
- Click Done or click Test again to try the action flow with other sample inputs.
Troubleshooting action flows
Checking action flow activation status
If an action flow isn't working as expected, you can start by checking that it's been activated. The activation status of your action flows is visible in the list on the Action flows page in Admin Center.
Fixing broken steps
Assuming the flow has been activated, the next thing to check is whether all of the steps are properly configured. Steps that aren't working properly, such as an invalid input or a broken connection to an external service, are highlighted in red in the action builder.
- In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action flows.
- Click the name of the action flow you are troubleshooting.
- Click on a step highlighted in red.
- Use the step sidebar to resolve any configuration issues with the step.
- Click Save.
Checking letter case in conditional steps
Values for conditional steps are case-sensitive. That means checking for the type Problem isn't the same as checking for problem.
Standard Zendesk fields typically use lowercase values.
Aligning action flow names and descriptions with auto assist procedures
When an action flow is initiated by an agent approving an auto assist suggestion, it is important that the language used in the action flow's name and description is closely aligned with one or more of your auto assist procedures. When the language isn't similar enough, the action flow won't get suggested to agents.
Re-adding updated action steps
If you have changed an auto assist action since adding it to your flow, you must delete it and re-add the action. If you use outputs from the action in subsequent steps, you will also need to update these references so they reflect the new version of the action.
Differentiating names of action flows from auto assist actions
Because auto assist can suggest both actions and action flows, it's important to be precise enough in the names and descriptions for both that auto assist can tell them apart. If the names are too similar, auto assist might suggest the wrong one or both, which could result in unexpected behavior. For example, if you have an action named Create Jira issue and an action flow named Create Jira ticket, it's likely auto assist could confuse or conflate the action and action flow.
Monitoring the performance of action flows
You can access a rolling 7-day record of action flow activity. See Viewing the integrations log.
- In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Integrations > Logs.
- Click on a row to view more detailed information about a log entry.Within the log, action flow entries are labeled with Action Flows as the product column. When viewing an action flow log entry, the following details are available:
- workflow_name: The name of the action flow.
- trigger: The name of the event that initiated the action flow.
- step_executions: An array of steps that were completed successfully, in the order they occurred.