Adding a stand-alone conversation process for a conversational channel
To improve and simplify how Pega Intelligent Virtual Assistant™ (IVA) collects information for your application, create and configure a stand-alone conversation process. By adding a conversation process to your channel, your chatbot interacts with users in a consistent, logical, and conversational way by asking questions, displaying text, or starting another conversation process.
For example, you can create a stand-alone conversation process for a chatbot that asks users their location in the United States and as a result, sends the users a message with the correct contact telephone number for your organization in the specified location.- In the Digital Messaging channel, click the Configuration tab.
- In the Conversation flows section, click Add conversation.
- In the Create conversation window, in the Name list, select Create new conversation.
- In the New conversation name field, enter a name for the conversation process, and then click OK.
- In the Conversation command list, enter a name for the response command for the conversation process, and then click Submit.
- In the Conversation flows section, in the Flow name column, click the name of the conversation process that you created in the previous steps.
- In the flow canvas, modify the primary path in the conversation process by
connecting and configuring the following conversation shapes:
- Ask a question
- Asks a question to the user in the chatbot in a button, quick reply, yes/no, or open format, and saves the answer in case properties.
- Send a message
- Displays a text message to the user.
- Conversation flow
- Starts another existing conversation process within the flow that is either stand-alone or for a case type.
You can also configure additional useful shapes that are available in the context of the conversation. For more information, see Editing the conversation smart shapes and Flow shapes.
For example: The following figure shows a conversation process for a chatbot that uses conversation shapes to ask users their location in the United States and display a contact telephone number for each location. A conversation process with conversation smart shapes 
- Optional: To test the created flow that includes the conversation shapes in the preview
console, in the top-right corner of the page, click the Run
conversation icon.For more information about using the preview console to simulate a conversation, see Simulating a conversation and building a chatbot.
- Click Save.
- Optional: To display chatbot details on the Configuration tab, in the conversation flow toolbar, click Go back.
The following video demonstrates improvements in the chatbot authoring experience.
You will learn how to use the new smart shapes to build a conversation process for
an IVA:
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