Interaction Setup

When it runs

Interaction Setup runs when a new interaction starts, which means:

• a customer sends a message,
• a voice call starts (even before the users speaking),
• an initializing refferal from the chat is send
• there is no active interaction already running

It does not run:

• in the middle of an ongoing conversation

The System Interaction Setup

The System flow is managed by Zowie. It coordinates the start of every interaction, and it does
three things in order:

                      ┌──────────────────────────┐
     New interaction  │  Should GDPR be shown?   │
          ───────────►│  (only if GDPR moment    │
                      │   is configured)         │
                      └───────┬──────────┬───────┘
                          yes │          │ no
                              ▼          │ 
                      ┌───────────────┐  │
                      │  Run GDPR     │  │
                      │  process      │  │
                      └───────┬───────┘  │
                              │          │
                              ▼          ▼
                      ┌──────────────────────────┐
                      │  Is there an incoming    │
                      │  customer message?       │
                      └───────┬──────────┬───────┘
                          yes │          │ no
                              ▼          ▼ 
                   ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────────┐
                   │  Hand it to  │  │  Run Customer    │
                   │  the AI      │  │  Greeting, then  │
                   │  Agent       │  │  stop and wait   │
                   └──────────────┘  └──────────────────┘

Step 1 — GDPR. If you have the GDPR moment configured, the flow checks whether consent still
needs to be collected for this customer. If it does, the GDPR process runs and the flow records
that it has been shown, so it isn't shown again unnecessarily. If you don't use the GDPR moment,
this step doesn't exist in your flow at all.

Step 2 — Is there a message to answer? If the customer wrote something, the flow hands that
message to the AI Agent, which answers it.

Step 3 — Or greet. If the interaction started without an incoming message — for example the
chat window opened via a referral — the flow runs your Customer Greeting instead, then stops and
waits for the customer to write.

The default flow always stays in sync with your configuration: if you change your Greeting or your
GDPR process, the System Interaction Setup picks up the change automatically.

Creating your own Customized Interaction Setup

If you need logic at the start of an interaction that the system flow can't express — loading
customer data from your own API, setting variables, branching on segment, sending a different
greeting per market — you can create your own Interaction Setup.

When you create one, you get an editable copy of the system flow. It already contains the GDPR
step, the message check, and the greeting call, so nothing breaks on day one. You then edit it as a
normal process.

From that point you manage it yourself. The copy does not receive future updates to the default
flow, and Zowie no longer guarantees that GDPR and the greeting are wired correctly — that's now
part of the flow you own.

Where to configure it

Moments → Interaction Setup. You'll find:

Channels

The Channels setting is not a filter that turns Interaction Setup off elsewhere. It decides,
per channel, which of the two flows runs.

Example

You have an unusual email requirement: before the AI Agent answers an email, you want to look up
the sender in your CRM and attach their account tier. Chat and Voice need nothing special.

So you create a Custom Interaction Setup, add your CRM lookup, and select Email only.

Chat and Voice keep working exactly as before. You did not have to rebuild the standard behaviour
for them, and you don't have to maintain it.

What counts as which channel

Chat is the catch-all. There is no separate selector for individual messaging channels: if you
select Chat, your custom flow runs on the widget and on Messenger and on WhatsApp. If you need
different behaviour between them, branch inside your process rather than trying to split it here.

Choosing between them

Stay on the System flow if your start-of-interaction needs are GDPR consent and a greeting. This is
most setups. You get automatic updates and nothing to maintain.

Create your own if you need to load external data, set variables, or branch before the AI Agent
starts — and accept that you now own the GDPR and greeting wiring inside it.

Use the channel selector to keep that ownership as narrow as possible. If only Email needs
custom logic, select only Email and let the system keep handling Chat and Voice.

FAQ

Can I have a different Custom Interaction Setup per channel?
No. There is one custom process per AI Agent, and you choose which channels it applies to. To vary
behaviour by channel inside it, branch on the channel within the process.

What happens on channels I didn't select?
The Zowie-managed System flow runs. Nothing is skipped.

If I turn the toggle off, is there no Interaction Setup at all?
No — the System flow runs on every channel. Turning the toggle off means "use the System flow everywhere", not "run nothing".

Will my Custom flow get improvements to the System flow?
No. It's a copy taken at creation time. You maintain it from then on.

Can I see what the System flow does?
Yes. The Interaction Setup panel links to the Zowie-managed default so you can inspect it before
deciding to make your own copy.