Workflows and external data
You'll need: an administrative role. Administration → Workflows.
Workflows
A workflow is a sequence of steps that runs the same way every time: generate, review, approve, publish. Where a task is one piece of work, a workflow defines work that repeats.
Create workflow opens a canvas of steps. Each step has:
| Name and Type | What it is and what kind of step it is. |
| Position | Where it sits in the sequence. |
| Properties | Its configuration. |
| Hidden | Whether it shows in the instance view. |
Transitions connect steps and can be restricted by role, which is how an approval step becomes a real gate: only someone holding the named role can move the instance from one state to the next.
Instances
Every run of a workflow is an instance, listed under Workflow instances with its current state and status.
Only RUNNING can move; the other three are terminal. An instance stuck in CREATED
never started, which is a different problem from one that reached FAILED.
Open an instance and the Step Timeline shows each step with its Input, Output and, if it failed, its Error. Check the timeline when a run did not do what you expected, rather than the workflow definition, which only shows what was supposed to happen.
All instances and My instances filter the list.
External data
Administration → External Data. Connect the systems your information already lives in so agents can query them live, instead of copying data into a knowledge base where it goes stale.
Services such as HubSpot, Salesforce and Mailchimp connect here. For each connection:
- Connection name, what agents will see it as
- Credentials, stored securely and never displayed again
- Allow write operations, off by default
With write access enabled, agents can create and modify data in the connected service. Leave it off unless you specifically need it, and turn it on for one connection at a time rather than as a default.
Each connection shows its status (Connected, Pending, Error or Disabled) and whether it is Read-only or Read & write.
Disconnect revokes a connection, and agents lose access immediately.
Give an agent access
Connections do nothing until an agent is given the External Data capability. You can also restrict which connected systems that agent may reach rather than granting all of them. See agents.
Knowledge base or external connection?
| Use a knowledge base | Use an external connection |
|---|---|
| The content is yours to maintain here | The system of record is elsewhere |
| It changes slowly | It changes constantly |
| You want it cited and versioned | You want it live |
| Products, policies, brand, FAQs | Deal stages, ticket status, campaign metrics |
Copying a fast-changing system into a knowledge base is the most common setup mistake here. The copy is accurate for a few days and misleading after that.