The workflow designer is a visual workspace for creating and managing workflows. You use it to arrange workflow actions, configure each step, publish new versions, and monitor workflow runs.
Employees don't use the workflow designer. They interact with workflows through the AI assistant or within case conversations.
For an introduction to workflows, see Understand agentic workflows.
Before you begin
- You need the Experience Designer or Tenant administrator role to open the designer.
Open the workflow designer
- Open Workflows from the admin area.
- Select Create new.
Understand the designer layout
The workflow designer is organized into four main areas.
- Title bar
- Actions palette
- Canvas
- Node editor
Title bar
The title bar identifies the current workflow and provides lifecycle actions.
From here you can:
- Rename the workflow
- View whether the workflow is Draft, Live, or Archived.
- Publish the current draft
- Open workflow management actions such as version history or archiving
Actions palette
The Actions palette contains the building blocks used to create workflows.
Drag actions onto the canvas to build your workflow.
The Start action is created automatically and appears only once in every workflow.
For more information about each action type, see Understand workflow actions.
Canvas
The canvas is the main design surface.
Use the canvas to:
- Add workflow actions
- Connect actions to define the workflow path
- Organize complex workflows
- Navigate using pan and zoom controls
The order and connections between actions determine how the workflow executes.
Node editor
Selecting an action opens its configuration in the right-hand pane.
The available settings depend on the action type. For example, you might configure AI instructions, integration settings, conditions, wait criteria, or event details.
Design workflows
Building a workflow typically follows this process:
- Configure the Start action.
- Add actions from the Actions palette.
- Connect actions to define the workflow.
- Configure each action.
- Test the workflow.
- Publish the workflow.
Publish workflows
When you're ready, select Publish.
The designer validates the workflow before publishing. If validation finds any issues, correct them and publish again.
After a successful publish, the workflow becomes Live and is available for new workflow runs.
Monitor workflow runs
You can also use the workflow designer to investigate completed or active workflow runs.
In Run mode:
- The canvas becomes read-only.
- Actions show their execution status.
- You can inspect the results of each action.
- You can review conversations, outputs, and execution details.
- Long-running actions such as waits display their current status.
Viewing a workflow run doesn't affect the workflow definition.
Best practices
When designing workflows:
- Start by configuring the Start action before adding additional steps.
- Build and test workflows incrementally instead of creating long workflows all at once.
- Use Notes to document design decisions for other designers.
- Keep workflows focused on a single business process whenever possible.
- Test workflows before publishing them to employees.