Flows
Build Form and Chatbot Flows powered by AI in FormWise.
Flows
In FormWise, a Flow is an AI-powered application that you build, customize, and share. Flows are the core buildable object on the platform. You design the logic, connect it to an AI model, and publish it for your users - no coding required.
[Screenshot: The Assets page filtered to Flows, showing a grid of Flow cards.]
Types of Flows
FormWise Flows come in two styles. Each one targets a different way your users will interact with the AI. You do not pick a style when you create a Flow: a Flow with form questions runs as a Form, and a Flow without questions runs as a Chatbot. You can also choose Chat View or Form View as the default view on the Publish & Share tab.
Form Flows
A Form Flow presents your users with a set of questions or input fields. When they submit the form, your AI workflow processes their answers and returns a result.
Form Flows are great for things like:
- Content generators (blog posts, product descriptions, social media captions)
- Analyzers (resume reviewers, SEO auditors, feedback summarizers)
- Calculators and planners (meal plans, marketing strategies, project estimates)
See Form Builder for how to design the input form, and Workflow Builder for the AI logic behind it.
Chatbot Flows
A Chatbot Flow gives your users an interactive, conversational experience. They type messages, and the AI responds in real time - like a chat.
Chatbot Flows work well for:
- Customer support bots
- Personal assistants
- Interactive Q&A or onboarding flows
- Knowledge base search (when paired with your Knowledgebases)
Chatbots can also support voice mode, artifacts, and chat attachments. Artifacts are switched on in the Agent node - see Configuring Agent Nodes.
Need a persona-driven agent instead?
Flows aren't the only way to build with AI in FormWise. An Agent is a separate kind of object - a persona-driven AI teammate that you assemble through its own guided builder instead of wiring up a workflow node-by-node. You give it a persona, goals, guardrails, knowledge, and a roster of services or other agents it can call, and FormWise compiles the underlying workflow for you.
Agents are designed for cases where the AI needs to behave like a real team member rather than answer a single question:
- A "senior support specialist" that triages tickets, escalates the tricky ones, and follows your house style.
- An internal research assistant with access to your Knowledgebases and a curated set of Flows.
- A sales SDR that qualifies leads and books meetings using connected services.
Agents have their own Agents entry in the sidebar, separate from the Flows list. For the full walkthrough, see Agents.
Agents are in Beta. The builder and underlying schema are still evolving, so expect new steps and settings to land over time.
Choosing a Flow style
A quick comparison to help you pick:
| If you want... | Use this |
|---|---|
| A one-shot generator or analyzer driven by structured input | Form |
| An ongoing conversation, multi-turn Q&A, or voice interaction | Chatbot |
If you want a persona-driven agent with goals, guardrails, and connected services instead of a workflow, see Agents.
If you are not sure which Flow style to use, start with a Chatbot - it is the most flexible interaction model, and you can add form questions later to turn it into a Form.
What makes up a Flow
Every Flow in FormWise has a few key parts:
- Workflow - The AI logic behind your Flow. You build this visually using the workflow builder. This is where you define what the AI does with the input it receives.
- Form (Form Flows only) - The input questions your users fill out. You add these to the Start node of the workflow.
- Versions - FormWise tracks versions of your Flow so you can iterate safely and roll back if needed. See Versioning.
- Publishing and sharing - Controls for how and where your Flow is published (shareable link, embedding, default view, and more). See Deploying.
The Flow editor
When you open a Flow, you will see these tabs across the top:
- Design - Where you build your workflow and form, with a live preview on the right. This is where you spend most of your time. The sidebar also lets you attach a Knowledgebase and set the Flow's appearance. See Workflow Builder and Form Builder.
- Quality Check - Generated test cases, graded runs, and prompt refinements to help you fine-tune your Flow. Included with the Pro and Agency plans (and AppSumo tier 3 and above). See Testing and Quality.
- Publish & Share - Your Flow's icon, description, category, preview screenshots, default view (Chat View or Form View), and the Publish and Share buttons. See Deploying.
- Assignments - Which groups and plans can reach this Flow. This tab only appears for organizations with user groups turned on, and is still rolling out.
To connect your Flow to external services, use the Agent node's connected services or a Webhook node. See Integrations.
Agents have their own guided builder view rather than these tabs - the steps cover the same ground in a more guided flow.
Next steps
Ready to build? Start with Creating a Flow to set up your first one, or jump straight to Agents if you want the persona-driven builder.