Creating generative procedures to shape flexible conversation flows for AI agents

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">Generative proceduresare flexible conversation flows that useagentic AIto guide an AI agent's responses and actions during a conversation with a customer.</p>
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<p class="p"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10473649691418" target="_blank">Generative procedures</a> are flexible conversation flows that
use <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8966284087066" target="_blank">agentic AI</a> to guide an AI agent's responses
and actions during a conversation with a customer.</p>
<p class="p">Related articles: </p>
<ul class="ul" id="agentic_procedures__ul_tcs_gs2_wfc">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9424547622298" target="_blank">Best practices for creating generative procedures
for AI agents</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10040865503898" target="_blank">Managing generative procedures for AI agents with
agentic AI</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_ult_rs2_52c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Creating generative procedures</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Client admins and client editors can create a generative procedure from within a use
case. </p>
<div class="p">
<div class="note" id="topic_ult_rs2_52c__note_w5f_1t2_52c">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> Generative procedures don’t currently support rich-text
formatting, such as buttons or carousels. </div>
</div>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To create a generative procedure</strong></p>
<div class="p">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_ult_rs2_52c__ol_p3s_ct2_52c">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In the AI agents workspace, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357756913178#topic_t25_qvj_tdc" target="_blank">select the AI agent</a> you want to work
with.</span></li>
<li class="li"><span class="ph">Click <img class="image" id="topic_ult_rs2_52c__d9e127" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ai_agents_content_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Content</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Use cases</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click the use case you want to create a procedure for. </li>
<li class="li">Under <strong class="ph b">Reply method</strong>, make sure <strong class="ph b">Use procedure when use case is
triggered</strong> is selected.<div class="note tip" id="topic_ult_rs2_52c__note_sxs_gt2_52c">
<span class="tiptitle">Tip:</span> For
more information about this setting, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9041911005850#topic_elk_mcf_52c" target="_blank">Configure whether a use case uses a
dialogue or generative procedure</a>.</div>
</li>
<li class="li">On the <strong class="ph b">Procedure</strong> tab, click <strong class="ph b">Create procedure</strong>. </li>
<li class="li">On the <strong class="ph b">Create procedure</strong> screen, enter a free-text description of how
the AI agent should solve a customer’s issue when this use case is
triggered.<p class="p">Within a procedure description, you can:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_ult_rs2_52c__ul_kvm_4gj_vfc">
<li class="li">List the steps required to solve this task as you would with a human
agent. For best results, list them in a logical, sequential
order.</li>
<li class="li">Instruct the AI agent to search a knowledge source to answer the
user’s question. For example, “Search in the help center for…” You
can even use natural language to reference specific search rules
(for example, “Search only in the English help center”). </li>
<li class="li">Add instructions on how to phrase an answer (for example, “Always
include {{brandName}}”). </li>
<li class="li">Type a forward slash (/) or click the plus icon (+) to insert <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10783053154202" target="_blank">actions</a>, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8357756844442" target="_blank">API integrations</a>, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8920235767834" target="_blank">parameters</a>, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9185497386394" target="_blank">search rules</a>, or links to
other procedures or dialogues.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_ult_rs2_52c__image_yhk_vt2_52c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/aiaa_create_procedure_field_updated.png" width="350"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Generate procedure</strong>. <p class="p">On the left, the procedure builder
summarizes the procedure it generated, allowing you to read through the
logic in a human-friendly way.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_ult_rs2_52c__image_lpp_pnm_3hc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/aiaa_generative_procedures_summarize_update.png" width="400"></p>
<p class="p">On the right, an
AI-generated procedure map appears, showing you exactly what logic the
AI agent will follow and what steps it will take during a conversation
to solve a customer’s issue for this use case.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_ult_rs2_52c__image_y24_152_52c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/aiaa_gen_procedure_map_example_updated.png" width="700"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">If necessary, make adjustments to the procedure using the free-text field at
the bottom and click <strong class="ph b">Update procedure</strong>. <p class="p">Make adjustments by
instructing the procedure builder to add, change, or delete parts of the
current version of the procedure. Don’t rewrite the whole procedure in
your adjustment. </p>
<p class="p">For example, you might instruct the AI agent to:
</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_ult_rs2_52c__ul_e4m_vnm_3hc">
<li class="li">Add a step at a certain point in the current procedure. </li>
<li class="li">Change the content of a specific node in the procedure map. </li>
<li class="li">Adjust content throughout the entire procedure, such as changing
{{phone}} with {{telephone}}.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_ult_rs2_52c__image_yzc_gdf_fhc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/aiaa_generative_procedure_update.png" width="300"></p>
<p class="p">After each adjustment you
submit, the procedure builder sends a reply summarizing the changes it
made to the procedure, and the procedure map is updated with your
adjustments. You cannot edit your previous entries or the procedure map
directly.</p>
<div class="p">Repeat as necessary until the procedure map looks the
way you expect.<div class="note tip" id="topic_ult_rs2_52c__note_uyh_xt2_52c">
<span class="tiptitle">Tip:</span> If you want to
start your procedure from scratch, click the <strong class="ph b">Start over</strong> icon
(<img class="image" id="topic_ult_rs2_52c__image_bcy_4ff_fhc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/aiaa_start_over_icon.png">) in the upper right. Your changes are
still saved to the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8979864563610#topic_b2h_5cc_tgc" target="_blank">procedure’s version
history</a>.</div>
</div>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Publish procedure</strong> in the upper right.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_ult_rs2_52c__image_q3n_m2f_fhc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/aiaa_publish_procedure.png" width="350"></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
<p class="p">After you create a procedure, you can <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10040865503898" target="_blank">manage it</a> at any time, including editing,
testing, and restoring previous versions.</p>
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