Pathways

Pathways are the conversation flows that guide how your agents interact with users. They define the logic, branching, and actions that occur during a conversation.

What Are Pathways?

A Pathway is a visual or code-defined flow that determines:

What questions the agent asks
How it responds to user input
When to take actions (book appointment, transfer call)
When to escalate to a human

Start
  ↓
Greeting
  ↓
Identify Intent → Appointment? → Collect Details → Book → Confirm
                → Question? → Search KB → Answer
                → Transfer? → Route Call
                → Other → Fallback

Pathway Components

Nodes

Nodes are the building blocks of pathways:

Node Type	Description
Start	Entry point of the conversation
Message	Agent speaks or sends text
Listen	Waits for user input
Condition	Branches based on logic
Action	Triggers external action
Transfer	Routes to human or another agent
End	Terminates the conversation

Conditions

Conditions control conversation branching:

// Intent-based
if (intent === "book_appointment") {
  goto("collect_appointment_details");
}

// Keyword-based
if (userInput.includes("emergency")) {
  goto("escalate_to_human");
}

// Data-based
if (customer.hasAppointment) {
  goto("existing_appointment_flow");
}

Actions

Actions trigger external operations:

API Call — Send data to external systems
Book Appointment — Create calendar entries
Send SMS — Dispatch text messages
Update CRM — Modify customer records
Transfer Call — Route to human agents

Creating Pathways

Visual Builder

The visual builder provides a drag-and-drop interface:

Open Pathway Editor

Navigate to your Crew and select Pathways

Add Start Node

Every pathway begins with a Start node

Build Flow

Drag nodes onto the canvas and connect them

Configure Nodes

Set messages, conditions, and actions for each node

Test

Use the simulator to test your pathway

Code Definition

For complex logic, define pathways in code:

{
  "id": "appointment_booking",
  "name": "Appointment Booking Flow",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "id": "start",
      "type": "start",
      "next": "greeting"
    },
    {
      "id": "greeting",
      "type": "message",
      "content": "Hi, I can help you schedule an appointment. What day works best for you?",
      "next": "collect_date"
    },
    {
      "id": "collect_date",
      "type": "listen",
      "variable": "appointment_date",
      "next": "collect_time"
    },
    {
      "id": "collect_time",
      "type": "message",
      "content": "Great, and what time would you prefer?",
      "next": "listen_time"
    }
  ]
}

Common Patterns

Intent Classification

Route conversations based on user intent:

Listen → Classify Intent
              ↓
    ┌─────────┼─────────┐
    ↓         ↓         ↓
Schedule  Question  Transfer

Information Collection

Gather required data before taking action:

Ask Name → Store → Ask Phone → Store → Ask Email → Store → Confirm All

Escalation Flow

Gracefully hand off to humans:

Detect Escalation Trigger
        ↓
Check Agent Availability
        ↓
    Available? ─→ Warm Transfer
        ↓
    Unavailable → Collect Callback Info → Promise Follow-up

FAQ Handling

Search and respond from knowledge base:

User Question → Search KB → Found? → Deliver Answer
                              ↓
                           Not Found → Apologize → Offer Transfer

Variables and Context

Pathways maintain conversation context:

// Set variables
context.customerName = "John";
context.appointmentDate = "2024-01-15";

// Use in messages
"Great, {{customerName}}, I've booked you for {{appointmentDate}}."

Built-in Variables

Variable	Description
`caller_number`	Phone number of the caller
`call_duration`	How long the call has lasted
`current_time`	Current timestamp
`agent_name`	Name of the active agent
`transfer_count`	Number of transfers in this call

Testing Pathways

Simulator

Test pathways without making real calls:

Open the Pathway Editor
Click Simulate
Type responses as if you were the user
Verify the agent follows expected paths

Staging Environment

Deploy pathways to a staging Crew before production:

Development → Test → Staging → Validate → Production

Best Practices

Start with the happy path

Design the ideal conversation first, then add error handling.

Keep it shallow

Avoid deeply nested pathways. If a branch is complex, create a sub-pathway.

Always provide exits

Users should always be able to reach a human or end the call.

Handle the unexpected

Add catch-all nodes for unrecognized input.

Test with real users

Simulate real scenarios, including edge cases and mistakes.

Pathway Limits

Plan	Pathways	Nodes per Pathway
Starter	5	50
Professional	25	200
Enterprise	Unlimited	Unlimited

Next Steps

AI Receptionist — Apply pathways to voice agents
Custom Code Nodes — Add custom logic
Webhooks — Trigger external actions

Welcome

Core Concepts

Voice & Communication

Integrations

Security & Compliance

Enterprise

Pathways

Pathways

What Are Pathways?

Pathway Components

Nodes

Conditions

Actions

Creating Pathways

Visual Builder

Code Definition

Common Patterns

Intent Classification

Information Collection

Escalation Flow

FAQ Handling

Variables and Context

Built-in Variables

Testing Pathways

Simulator

Staging Environment

Best Practices

Pathway Limits

Next Steps

​Pathways

​What Are Pathways?

​Pathway Components

​Nodes

​Conditions

​Actions

​Creating Pathways

​Visual Builder

​Code Definition

​Common Patterns

​Intent Classification

​Information Collection

​Escalation Flow

​FAQ Handling

​Variables and Context

​Built-in Variables

​Testing Pathways

​Simulator

​Staging Environment

​Best Practices

​Pathway Limits

​Next Steps

Pathways

What Are Pathways?

Pathway Components

Nodes

Conditions

Actions

Creating Pathways

Visual Builder

Code Definition

Common Patterns

Intent Classification

Information Collection

Escalation Flow

FAQ Handling

Variables and Context

Built-in Variables

Testing Pathways

Simulator

Staging Environment

Best Practices

Pathway Limits

Next Steps