Tips and Tricks

From an actor’s Capabilities drawer you can add Execute Code (sandboxed Python for calculations), Execute Workflow (kick off another CogniAgent workflow and optionally wait for the result), or an HTTP Request (call an internal or third-party API), all without any canvas wiring.

When you wire an integration into an actor’s Capabilities, expose only the specific actions it needs, like just send-email, rather than a whole app’s action list. Give an actor “all of Gmail” and it may call delete-thread when a user says “delete this conversation.”

Actors are free-form by default, deciding what to say turn by turn, and that is right most of the time. Switch to the Advanced tab’s step builder only when you need an exact, repeatable sequence, like a payment flow or identity check; scripts longer than about 8 steps are usually better split into multiple actors.

Values collected by Ask Question steps, such as a name, an email, or an order number, are saved to slots that survive every actor transfer for the life of the conversation. By default every actor’s prompt includes a “Collected information so far” summary, so users never repeat themselves.

Widget is inbound-only, since there is no one to start a conversation with an anonymous visitor, while SMS and WhatsApp Business are outbound-only. Gmail, Outlook, Slack, Teams, and Phone support both inbound and outbound, so check the channel matrix before wiring a channel to an Initiator flow.

Responder or Initiator is chosen once per flow in Flow settings, not configured through a separate dispatcher node. Responder flows wait for inbound messages; Initiator flows are started manually, from a workflow, or via API, and a single flow can only run in one mode at a time.

A Strict actor won’t hand off until its Definition of Done is satisfied, so leaving that field blank on a Strict actor can stall the conversation indefinitely. Set a concrete completion rule any time you use Strict focus mode.

Auto, Flexible, Persistent, and Strict each change how eagerly an actor hands off when the user changes topics. Use Flexible for thin triage agents, Persistent for multi-step intake that can be resumed, and Strict only for identity, payment, or compliance flows that must not be interrupted.

Context is inheritable background knowledge; Instructions are private behavior rules that never pass to child actors. Put a rule like “always confirm before sending” into Context instead of Instructions, and every child actor will inherit it and try to do the same job.

Write your company introduction once in Flow settings’ Global Context, then let each actor opt in through its Inherit Context checkboxes. Copy-pasting the same context block onto every actor just means three edits instead of one the next time it changes.

Describe the triggering situation in plain language on each routing edge, for example “when the user asks about price, plans, or wants an Enterprise quote,” instead of keyword conditions like “intent = billing.” Avoid overlapping activation prompts on sibling edges, since the router will pick one nondeterministically.

A Conversation Flow has exactly one Start node plus one or more actors connected by routing edges — there’s no separate dispatcher or LLM node to wire up. Each actor holds its own model, prompt, and capabilities, and the Start node just routes new conversations into the first actor.

Use the Start event when testing new workflows or validating features.This gives you full control and human oversight before automation kicks in.

Set up Recurring Start events for regular reports, system checks, or competitor monitoring. Schedule them to run daily, weekly, or at specific times without manual intervention.

Use Event from an App to trigger workflows from services like Gmail, Linkedin, or your CRM. This eliminates the need for constant manual checking.