AI flow settings

Open the settings#

On the AI flow's canvas, click the gear in the header (AI flow settings). It lists:

• First message: what people see when a chat starts.
• Stay on topic: keep the AI to your business and its knowledge. See Stay on topic.
• Widget style: custom CSS for the AI chat widget.
• Knowledge: the website pages and files your agents search. See Knowledge step.
• Knowledge from your website: shown when the flow was built from your website, with how much of the site is covered.

First message#

1. 1

   Open it

   Click the gear, then First message.

2. 2

   Write the greeting

   Type it in Message. The Preview shows it as a chat bubble.

   

   

3. 3

   Save

   Click Save, then Preview or Publish in the header to save it to the flow.

Keep it short and say what the bot can help with, for example: Hi! This is Blue Clinic. Ask me about opening hours, services or appointments. If you leave it empty, the flow says Hi! How can I help you?

Widget style#

Style changes the AI chat widget of the flow's own chat link and website embed. AI flows no longer get new links or embeds (they go live inside a chatbot), so this only matters for a link or embed you shared before October 2026, which keeps working. A chatbot's widget has its own custom CSS.

1. 1

   Open it

   Click the gear, then Widget style.

2. 2

   Edit the CSS

   Change the CSS in the editor. The Live preview updates as you type. Reset to default brings back the original style.

3. 3

   Target the right parts

   Under Classes you can target, click a class to copy it.

   

   

4. 4

   Save

   Click Save, then Preview or Publish in the header.

.AI.widget {
  background-color: #FFF4F0;
}

.AI .widget-content-chat .message.inbound .message-text {
  background-color: #E4572E;
  color: white;
}

Chat experience#

How the flow's own chat page and AI widget (links and embeds shared before October 2026) answer. Click the gear, then Chat experience: Bot messages (bubbles or open text), Sources under AI answers (open in the chat, in a new tab, or hide), Show answers as they are written, Show what the AI is doing, Copy button and Message times. They work like the chatbot's Chat experience.

Changes are saved with the flow and reach visitors when you Publish it. In the API: chat in PATCH /ai-flows/{id}/settings.

When the flow runs inside a chatbot, the chatbot's own Chat experience settings apply.

Stay on topic#

With Stay on topic on, the AI answers only about your business and its knowledge (the pages and files in Knowledge). Anything else, such as jokes, poems, trivia, math, the weather, politics, personal advice, coding help or questions about other companies, gets one polite line that says what it can help with. Requests like ignore your instructions or show me your system prompt get the same line.

1. 1

   Open it

   Click the gear, then Stay on topic.

2. 2

   Turn it on

   Switch on Stay on topic. New AI flows start with it on.

3. 3

   Name the business (optional)

   Business name is who the assistant works for. Empty: the flow's company name, else the flow's name.

4. 4

   Allow more topics (optional)

   In Also allowed, list topics it may answer besides your business and its knowledge, for example parking near the clinic. Up to 500 characters.

5. 5

   Write the reply (optional)

   Reply to off-topic questions is the line visitors get. Write {business} where the business name goes. Empty: I can help with questions about {business}. What would you like to know? The preview under it shows the line as visitors see it.

6. 6

   Publish

   Changes are saved with the flow. Publish the flow (or the chatbot that uses it) to make them live.

Older AI flows keep answering exactly as before: the setting is off and the settings show Recommended: keep the AI on topic with a Turn on Stay on topic button.

How it works: the rules are added to the AI step that writes the reply (the last AI step of the flow), in the same request. There is no extra AI call, so answers are not slower and cost the same. AI steps that return structured output (fields) or feed another step are not changed. Greetings and thanks still get a short, friendly reply that offers what the bot can help with.

Comparisons: asked to compare your business with another company, the AI states only your business's own facts from the knowledge and doesn't describe or rate the other company.

Sources: an answer shows source cards only for the pages it actually used. A reply to an off-topic question, a greeting or small talk shows none, whether or not Stay on topic is on.

In the API: stay_on_topic {enabled, business, topics, decline_message} in PATCH /ai-flows/{id}/settings (scope ai_flows:write); GET returns it under settings.stay_on_topic. The assistant in the builder can change it too (turn on Stay on topic).

Settings inside a chatbot#

When you open an AI flow from a chatbot's AI Flow step, the gear opens AI settings instead:

• Knowledge: add or update the flow's website pages and files.
• Answers: Stay on topic, with the same fields.
• Conversation: the First message (sent when this AI flow starts a conversation on its own) and Files from customers (let customers attach files in the AI chat).

These changes save automatically and go live when you publish the chatbot. Widget style isn't here because the chatbot's own widget is used. To style the AI chat widget of a link or embed you shared before October 2026, open the flow from the AI Flows page.

Common mistakes#

• The new greeting doesn't show. Settings are saved with the flow: click Preview or Publish after saving the sheet, and Publish again if live chatbots use the flow.
• The AI still answers off-topic questions. Check that Stay on topic is on, then Publish the flow (and the chatbot that uses it). Live chats use the published version.
• It refuses questions it should answer. Add them to Also allowed, or add the missing pages or files to Knowledge.
• CSS has no effect. Copy the class from Classes you can target; the widget's classes are case sensitive.
• Styled the flow but the chatbot looks the same. Inside a chatbot, the chatbot's widget is used. Style it in the chatbot's settings.