Need if / then branches map for Chatflows

[AlexisM]

As a Marketing Manager who creates and maintains my company's chatbots, it would be extremely timesaving for me to have a map (think workflow diagram) of the entirity of my chatflow's actions, where I can see how a bot's programmed conversation containing if / then branches flows down all paths in a single view. 

Currently when building a chatflow with if / then logic branches, I can only see a single path of one branch at a time by individually clicking through the responses. This makes it difficult to remember what questions or actions have already been presented and where they fall within each path. With each if / then branch added, it becomes even more tedious to retrace your steps. 

Below I've included examples of other companies who have similar features.
Typeform Logic Map:

Drift editor:

[CJung]

The Chatbot needs to be able to have actual branching using the If/Then. Right now all branches return to a single endpoint. This is pretty dumb seeing as this is essentially a workflow and you already allow for full nonlinear branching with workflows.

The chatbot is basically a linear sequence of events that you can only skip specific things, but never change the end outcome. This is a really short sight design as the end outcome for feedback will never be the same end outcome for an issue or ticket.

[RacheleCom]

From what I understand, the various paths or branches of a chatflow actually don't have to end at the same point. I've created ones that end differently, e.g. if the chatter goes down one path, they end up at a "have team follow up" endpoint, and if they go down a different one, they end up at a "close chat" endpoint.

The confusing thing is that the various branches and endpoints are not laid out visually the way a workflow is, although it really should look the same and have similar options.

[RacheleCom]

YES! Put differently, I wish the chatflow editor looked and functioned more similarly to the HubSpot workflow editor. They are essentially the same thing, or ought to be. Instead of having "If response is X," and "If response is Y" as radio buttons, basically, they should be shown as If/then branches.

This might also resolve the need of CJung here: https://community.hubspot.com/t5/HubSpot-Ideas/Non-Linear-Chat-bot-actual-branching-with-If-Then/idi...

[cristinaxr]

PLEASE! The chatflow editor is confusing and not user friendly at all! All it needs is to look like the workflows editor and then you can easily find mistakes, change steps, etc. It's crazy that it's been designed in this way with no global overview.

[ancaban]

Yes, we need the chatflow/chatbot to be easily editable as well!!

[PClarke]

Yes, please add this HubSpot, it will make editing the Chatflows so much easier as you have to remember everything that you can't see or map it all out in another tool first at the moment.

[PClarke]

I think this is the same as this idea:HubSpot Community - Need if / then branches map for Chatflows - HubSpot Community

@hubspot can you merge these?

[ATinius]

Hi all! Thank you for your thoughts here. I'm merging this idea with a similar one so that we can keep an accurate count. 

[KDuke3]

In my last job we used HubSpot for everything BUT chatflows. We used Drift. Now I'm setting up HubSpot chat and cannot believe that in 2023 I cannot use proper branching. Is this really still not doable?

[YashD7]

It still amazes me after years of using HubSpot, how they have no branching logic available for chatflows.

[KAshford]

Yes, please! 😊
I LOVE the branching in workflows, it's so intuitive.
Chatflow should have the same thing, then it would be even more amazing than it already is!

[Crystal_Hopper]

Yes, I'm currently struggling to keep my branches straight in a long chatflow. Could I pre-map it out in a diagram? Probably, but I'm running into a problem where I need several actions to happen in one branch before they come back together again. It's hard to make that work or know that it is working (or not) when I can't see the branch. The way Hubspot Workflows layout needs to be applied to Chatflows. Please and thank you!

[AdeleTib]

The current HubSpot chatflow tool is excruciating. While offering a chatbot in a feature list is great, for those who would actually like to implement would welcome something more usable.

Please stop adding new "bot" types as the first step to a buildout, and consider developing something that might have a single starting point to "build their bot" where all of the available actions are accessible within a "workflow-like" builder. That might encourage more people to build, implement, and stick with HubSpot's solution instead of having to integrate and pay for a third-party chat solution. 

[BlueDasher]

Agree that there is a need for a "map" of the branching...that you can also export!  My company requires everything customer facing to be first reviewed by our legal department.  It was excruciating trying to take screenshots of the entire chatflow to be able to show legal all the branches.

[RHaynes2]

+1 please

[JCVia]

Bump.

This is a simple thing to fix why would you make it more difficult to use on purpose?