When a flow starts: the triggers and “Who sees it”

Last updated: 2 November 2026 · 5 min read

Steps

1. 1

   The triggers

   • “When a conversation starts”: when the user opens a new conversation, before they write anything. One per inbox.
   • “App event”: when the app calls Clomni.startFlow("event", data). One flow per event name. Mobile app only. See “Starting a flow from an app event (startFlow)”.
   • “Manual”: when an agent sends it in a conversation, when Clomni AI starts it with its “Start a flow” skill, or when another flow starts it. Any number. See “Sending a flow to a conversation by hand”.
   • “When the conversation status changes”: when the conversation moves to the chosen status, changed by the chosen actor. One flow per status and “Changed by”. Mobile app only. See “A flow that starts when the conversation status changes, and CSAT”.
   • “Reusable”: no trigger of its own; it starts only from a “Start another flow” step. Any number.
   • “When a DM opens”: when a customer opens a conversation with your Instagram or Facebook page for the first time and taps one of the ready questions. One per page. Instagram and Facebook only.

   Web chat, WhatsApp and Telegram inboxes have only “When a conversation starts”, “Manual” and “Reusable”. Instagram and Facebook also have “When a DM opens”.

   Under “When a conversation starts” there is the option “Start again when the customer writes into a closed conversation”: when the customer writes again after the conversation was closed, the flow starts from the beginning, and that message is not taken as the answer to its first question. It is on for new flows and off for flows made before it. The flow does not start again if an agent wrote into the closed conversation; the mobile app has no such option, as the user opens a new conversation there.

2. 2

   When a DM opens (ready questions)

   When a customer first opens the conversation, before writing anything, they see your questions (Meta calls them Ice Breakers). The question they tap starts the flow.

   • “Settings” › “When it starts” › “When a DM opens”. Under “Ready questions” write up to 4 questions of up to 80 characters each. On Facebook you can also turn on the “Get Started button”.
   • The questions are written to the page when the flow is “Active” and published. If you changed them, press “Publish” again. Pausing the flow, changing its trigger or deleting it removes them from the page.
   • Ready questions another tool wrote on the page are replaced.
   • If Meta does not take the questions, the flow is not published and the reason is shown.
   • The tapped question shows as the customer's first message and is not taken as the answer to the flow's first question. It is kept in {{dm_question}}: a “Condition” step can branch on it.
   • A customer who writes without tapping a question does not start this flow; the inbox's “When a conversation starts” flow starts instead, if there is one.
3. 3

   Trigger clashes

   When a trigger clashes with another flow, saving says:

   • “This inbox already has a flow that starts its conversations. Choose another trigger for this one.”
   • “Another flow of this inbox has this event name. Choose another name.”
   • “Another flow in this inbox starts on this status. Choose another status or narrow down who changes it.”

   A new flow in an inbox that already has a flow is created with the “Manual” trigger.

4. 4

   Who sees it

   The “Who sees it” section at the bottom of “Settings” narrows who the flow starts for. With nothing chosen, everyone.

   • “Channel”: “Web”, “Mobile app”.
   • “Platform”: “iOS”, “Android”.
   • “User”: “Identified” (the app identified the user with a user_id or an email) and “Anonymous”. Mobile app inboxes only.

   The flow does not start for a user who does not match. A flow an agent sends by hand ignores this filter. A “Reusable” flow has no such section.

5. 5

   For the flow to run

   Even with the right trigger, a flow runs only when its status is “Active” and it has been published at least once. See “Flow not working: publish, pause and check it”.