Choose a workflow
Understand how to select a workflow in the Interlinked onboarding wizard. Learn the difference between retail and service workflows and how your choice shapes the AI agent's conversation flow.
What this step does
The second step of the onboarding wizard is where you choose a workflow — the conversation flow that defines how your AI agent interacts with customers. Your workflow determines the entire structure of customer conversations: what the AI asks, what information it collects, and how it guides customers toward a purchase, appointment, or handoff.
This is the most important decision in the wizard because it directly controls the AI’s behavior and determines which additional configuration steps appear after this point.
Screenshot: Step 2 showing workflow cards grouped by Retail and Service with the flow summary panel below
Two workflow families
Workflows are divided into two families:
Retail workflows
Retail workflows are designed for businesses that sell physical products. The AI guides customers through product discovery, cart management, order placement, and payment. There are three retail workflows:
| Workflow | What it does |
|---|---|
| Shipping & Pickup | The AI asks customers whether they prefer shipping or in-store pickup, then follows the appropriate flow for each |
| Shipping Only | The AI handles delivery-based orders with shipping address collection, cost calculation, and payment processing |
| Pickup Only | The AI offers in-store pickup at one or more physical locations with optional advance payment |
Service workflows
Service workflows are designed for businesses that offer services — consultations, appointments, classes, or any interaction that requires scheduling or qualification. There are six service workflows:
| Workflow | What it does |
|---|---|
| Qualify & Schedule | The AI asks qualification questions, then books an appointment on Google Calendar |
| Qualify & Transfer | The AI asks qualification questions, then hands off the conversation to a human agent |
| Qualify, Pay & Schedule | The AI qualifies the lead, collects a payment deposit, then books an appointment |
| Free Appointment | The AI books a free appointment directly on Google Calendar without qualification |
| Paid Appointment | The AI collects a payment deposit, then books an appointment on Google Calendar |
| Handoff to Human | The AI collects basic information, then transfers the conversation to a human agent |
Tip
Not sure which workflow to choose? Read the Workflows overview for a detailed comparison that will help you decide.
How to select a workflow
Workflows are presented as visual cards grouped by family (Retail or Service). To select a workflow:
- Browse the available workflow cards.
- Click on the card that best matches your business model.
- The selected card will show a blue border, a scale animation, and a checkmark icon.
Below the cards, a Flow Summary panel appears showing a visual pipeline of how the AI will handle conversations with this workflow. The pipeline shows stages like Connect → Qualify → Payment → Schedule/Handoff/Complete, making it easy to understand the conversation flow at a glance.
Screenshot: A workflow card selected with blue border and checkmark, with the flow summary pipeline visible below
How your choice affects the remaining steps
When you select a workflow and click Continue, the wizard recalculates which steps come next. For example:
- Selecting Shipping Only adds configuration steps for delivery rules and bank accounts.
- Selecting Qualify & Schedule adds steps for qualification questions, Google Calendar connection, calendar settings, and calendar availability.
- Selecting Handoff to Human adds no extra steps — it is the simplest workflow.
This dynamic step adjustment happens automatically. You do not need to manually add or remove steps.
Changing your workflow
You can change your workflow at any time during the wizard:
- Click Go Back until you return to the workflow selection step.
- Select a different workflow.
- Click Continue.
The wizard will recalculate the remaining steps based on your new selection. Any data you entered for steps that are no longer relevant (for example, calendar settings if you switch from a service to a retail workflow) is saved in the draft but will not be used.
Note
You can also change your workflow after completing the onboarding wizard by using the AI Config wizard. Changing workflows is not permanent — you can switch as often as you need.
What to do next
After selecting your workflow, click Continue. The wizard will take you to the first workflow-specific configuration step. For a detailed guide to each workflow and its steps, see the Workflows overview.
Related in Interlinked
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