Write Deflection workflows
Workflows are plain-language rules that tell Pluno how to reply and when to escalate. Learn what they can do, how to write them well, and how to test them.
A workflow is an instruction, written in plain language, that Pluno must follow when it handles a ticket. Knowledge tells Pluno what is true. Workflows tell it what to do.
Use workflows for your rules: what Pluno should never promise, what it must ask for first, and what it should hand to your team without trying.
What a workflow is#
A workflow has two fields:
- Name. A short title. Pluno reads it as part of the instruction, so make it meaningful.
- Description. The instruction itself.
There are no conditions to configure and no switch to flip. A workflow is active the moment you save it, applies to every ticket and chat in its knowledge hub, and stays active until you delete it. You can add as many as you need.
Create a workflow#
- In the Pluno web app, open Deflection, then Workflows. If you have several knowledge hubs, choose the hub first.
- Select New Workflow.
- Enter a Name and a Description.
- Select Create.
The workflow applies from the next ticket. To change one, select its pencil icon. To turn one off, delete it with its trash icon.
What Pluno knows when it applies a workflow#
Your instructions can refer to any of these:
| Context | Details |
|---|---|
| The ticket | Channel type (email or messaging), time, ticket fields and their values |
| The customer | Name, email, organization, tags and user fields |
| The organization | Name, domain names, tags and organization fields |
That means you can write rules such as "For customers in an organization tagged enterprise, always escalate."
What a workflow can and cannot do#
A workflow can make Pluno:
- Reply in a certain way, or avoid saying certain things.
- Ask the customer for specific information before escalating.
- Escalate with a message to the customer.
- Escalate without replying to the customer.
A workflow cannot make Pluno:
- Edit ticket tags or fields.
- Assign a ticket to an agent or a group.
- Change the ticket status.
- Run macros or automations in your help desk.
For tags and fields, use AI Tagging & Field Filling. For routing, use your help desk's own triggers, which can react to the tags Pluno adds.
Write workflows that work#
- Put the condition in the text. Start with when the rule applies: "When the ticket mentions…", "For chats…", "If the customer asks for…".
- Say what to do, then what not to do. "Escalate. Do not offer a workaround."
- One rule per workflow. Pluno reads all your workflows on every ticket and uses judgment about which apply. Short, separate rules are easier for it to apply correctly, and easier for you to maintain.
- Avoid rules that contradict each other. There is no priority order. If two workflows can apply to the same ticket, make clear in the text which one wins.
- Mention the channel when it matters. The same workflows apply to tickets and chats.
Examples#
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| General Rules | Never offer a discount. Escalate if you think the team will offer a discount for the user. |
| Password reset requests | For password reset requests, always ask for the user's account email before escalating. |
| Security breach | When the ticket mentions a security breach, escalate immediately without replying to the customer. |
| Requests for a person | If the customer asks to speak to a human, escalate and tell them the team will reply. |
The last one is worth adding in most workspaces. Pluno has no built-in rule for customers who ask for a person.
Reuse workflows in another hub#
When you create a new knowledge hub, it has no workflows. To copy them from an existing hub:
- Open Workflows for the new hub.
- Under Add workflows from another knowledge hub, choose the hub to copy from.
All workflows from that hub are copied straight away. The option only appears while the hub has no workflows of its own.
Test a workflow#
A saved workflow is live immediately, so check its effect on a real past ticket:
- Open Insights & Analytics, then Ticket & Chat history.
- Pick a ticket and select one of Pluno's messages.
- Select Simulate Response, then Regenerate Response.
Pluno runs the ticket again with your current workflows, and shows whether it would escalate and what it would reply. Nothing is sent to the customer. By default it uses the knowledge Pluno had when the customer wrote. See Replay a reply with your current setup.
See Test and roll out Deflection AI for more ways to test.
Other kinds of workflows#
Deflection workflows only guide automatic replies. AI Copilot and Escalation Copilot have their own:
- Copilot workflows guide the suggestions your agents see.
- Escalation Copilot workflows guide what happens after a ticket is escalated to engineering.
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