Use this article to identify which Workflow fired in a customer conversation, understand why an expected Workflow didn't trigger, and navigate to a Workflow to make changes. This content is for teammates and workspace admins on any Intercom plan that includes Workflows.
You can see which workflow fired in a conversation in two main ways:
1. Conversation events in the Inbox
Within the Inbox, you can click Show conversation events to view the lineage of events that have occurred in a conversation. This view includes information about which Workflow has been fired within that conversation.
After identifying which Workflow was triggered in the conversation events, you can then go to the Workflow to make changes if necessary. To navigate there, go to Fin AI Agent > Workflows and locate the Workflow by name. Click into it to review or edit its trigger rules, audience, and steps.
2. Sent tab in Workflows
Each Workflow has a Sent tab that displays a list of conversations where that Workflow has fired. This allows you to track all conversations triggered by a specific Workflow.
Customer-facing and Background Workflows
Workflows are categorized into two main types: Customer-Facing Workflows and Background Workflows. Understanding the difference is crucial for effective automation.
Customer-facing workflows
A Customer-Facing Workflow includes elements that customers can see or interact with, such as reply buttons or messages. At any given time, only one Customer-Facing Workflow can be active for a customer. They will experience the first matching Workflow, and this remains active unless a condition change in the conversation allows a different Workflow to take over.
Background workflows
Background Workflows operate internally and handle tasks invisible to customers. They perform actions such as adding tags, routing conversations, snoozing messages, or setting attributes. Multiple Background Workflows can run at the same time if their targeting criteria are met. They execute sequentially in the order they appear from top to bottom in your Workflow List (Fin AI Agent > Workflows), with all matching Background Workflows firing in that sequence.
Note: Some assignments from Background Workflows—such as conversation routing—may be delayed until the Customer-Facing Workflow completes or the conversation moves out of the Bot Inbox (a holding area that keeps conversations with an active Customer-Facing Workflow separate from the main Inbox until the bot completes its flow) if this is turned on. A small icon next to the Workflow name visually indicates a Background Workflow.
Troubleshooting workflow triggers
If a Customer-Facing Workflow fails to trigger in a conversation where you expected it to, the first thing to review is the Audience Rules.
Audience targeting criteria
Audience targeting criteria are essential; if the customer does not meet these requirements, the Workflow will not activate in the conversation.
Example: If a Workflow is set to target "Users" but the conversation involves a "Lead," the Workflow will not execute. Audience rules can be nuanced, and improper use of AND/OR logic may result in Workflows not triggering as intended. For example, applying OR logic within exclusion rules can inadvertently lead to the Workflow matching or missing audiences you did not anticipate.
Note: In Intercom, a User is a logged-in customer whose identity your workspace tracks (typically via a unique ID passed on login). A Lead is an unidentified or anonymous visitor who hasn't authenticated. A Workflow targeting Users will not fire for Leads, and vice versa. When building Audience rules, AND logic requires all conditions to be true for the Workflow to match, while OR logic requires only one condition to be true — using OR within exclusion rules can cause the Workflow to match more conversations than intended.
Structuring audience rules and branches
To keep your Workflow Audience Rules and Branches logic working as expected, arrange your conditions in this order:
Example match: "I want to cancel my account"
First, check for required words or phrases (e.g., contains “cancel”).
Next, add optional positive checks (e.g., contains “account”).
Finally, add any “does NOT contain” (negative) checks (e.g., does NOT contain “help”).
Placing the negative conditions last ensures that you filter only after all positive matches are checked, avoiding unintended exclusions.
Important: If a Workflow was updated after the conversation started, the Workflow rules at the time of the conversation start are what matter.
If a Workflow does not appear in a conversation where you expected it, one of the following conditions likely applied at the time the conversation started:
Your conversation doesn’t match the rules set for who receives the Workflow.
Another Workflow, set as more important, was shown instead.
Timing issues—like when your conversation started before the Workflow was available, or if Workflow settings were changed after your chat began.
If you don’t see the expected Workflow, it likely means your conversation didn’t meet one of these requirements.
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