A conversation flow is a small team of AI agents that work together to handle conversations. This page covers the four building blocks every flow uses.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cogniagent.ai/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
The four building blocks
The Start node
The single entry point. Owns the channel configuration (Widget, Gmail, Slack, etc.). One per flow.
Actors
AI agents. Each has a name, an icon, a system prompt, a model, and a set of capabilities. You can have as many as you need.
Routing edges
Connections between actors. Each edge carries an activation prompt — a short description of when this route should fire.
The canvas
The visual map where you arrange actors and draw edges. Drag, zoom, fit-to-view.
Start node
Every flow has exactly one Start node. It owns the channels configuration — where users reach your flow:- A Widget embedded on your website
- A Gmail or Outlook inbox the flow polls for new emails
- A Slack channel where the bot listens
- A Teams chat
- A phone number
Actors
An actor is one AI agent. Each actor is independently configured:| Setting | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Name + icon | Display label on the canvas. Visible in transcripts as the “speaker.” |
| Context | Background knowledge this actor needs. Inheritable by child actors. |
| Instructions | What this specific actor should do, how to behave, when to hand off. Never inherited. |
| Definition of Done | A short rule for when the actor’s job is complete. Triggers handoff. |
| Focus Mode | How strictly the actor sticks to its job when users change topics. See Focus modes. |
| Capabilities | Knowledge bases, integration actions, and custom tools the actor can call. See Capabilities. |
The model each actor uses is set at the workspace level. You don’t pick a model per actor — that keeps the configuration simple and lets the workspace owner upgrade models centrally.
Routing edges
Edges connect one actor to another. They’re how you say “from here, the conversation can go there.” Each edge has an activation prompt — a plain-language description of when this route fires:When the user asks about price, plans, seats, discounts, free trial, or wants a quote for an Enterprise contract.The platform reads the activation prompt during routing decisions, then auto-generates a short label (1–3 words) that appears on the edge. In this case: “Pricing”.
How routing actually works
At each turn, the platform asks:- Is the current actor still on-topic? If yes → keep talking.
- If no, is there a sibling actor whose activation prompt fits? If yes → hand off.
- Otherwise → escalate to the global router, which can pick any top-level actor or reply directly for cross-cutting questions.
The canvas
The canvas is where you arrange the flow visually. It’s a free-form drag-and-drop surface.
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Pan | Click an empty area and drag |
| Zoom | Mouse wheel, or the + / − buttons in the control panel |
| Fit to view | Click the framing icon in the control panel |
| Move a node | Drag it |
| Open a node’s config | Click it |
| Open an edge’s activation | Click the edge label |
| Delete a node or edge | Select it, then press Delete |
A simple worked example
The flow used throughout these docs: What happens when a user opens the widget and types “how much does Acme Pro cost?”:- The Start node receives the message and routes it into the first actor (Triage).
- Triage’s activation isn’t matched on this turn — but the Pricing edge’s activation prompt clearly fits. The platform routes directly to Pricing Specialist.
- Pricing Specialist replies using the pricing info from global context.
Next
Context and inheritance
How information moves between actors so the user never repeats themselves.
Focus modes
How strictly an actor sticks to its job when the user changes topics.
Execution modes
Initiator vs Responder — does your flow start conversations, or wait for them?
Configure an actor
The full field-by-field guide to setting up an actor.