---
title: "Onboarding wizard overview"
description: "A complete overview of the Interlinked onboarding wizard: how the step-by-step flow works, which steps appear for each workflow, and how draft mode keeps your AI agent safe until you publish."
section: "Onboarding wizard"
url: https://interlinked-ai.com/en/resources/docs/onboarding-wizard-overview
lang: en
lastUpdated: 2026-04-24
reviewedAt: 2026-04-24
---

# Onboarding wizard overview

## What the onboarding wizard is

The onboarding wizard is a guided setup flow that configures your AI agent from scratch. It opens automatically after your first sign-in and walks you through every decision required to get your AI agent ready to respond to customers on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger.

The wizard runs at `panel.interlinked-ai.com/en/wizard` and cannot be skipped. It will keep appearing every time you log in until you complete all steps and click **Publish**.

<div class="docs-media-placeholder">
  <p class="mono-label">Screenshot: The onboarding wizard main interface showing step progress and the current step form</p>
</div>

## How navigation works

The onboarding wizard uses **strictly linear navigation**:

- You move through steps one at a time by clicking **Continue**.
- You can go back to any previous step by clicking **Go Back**.
- You can change your workflow selection at any point, and the wizard will recalculate which steps are required.
- There is **no sidebar** for jumping directly to a specific step. This is intentional — the wizard is designed to guide you sequentially so you do not miss critical configuration.

<div class="docs-callout docs-callout-note">
  <p><strong>Note</strong></p>
  <p>If you need to jump between steps freely, that feature is available in the <a href="/en/resources/docs/edit-your-setup-from-ai-config">AI Config wizard</a>, which becomes accessible after you complete the onboarding wizard and publish for the first time.</p>
</div>

### What "Continue" does behind the scenes

Each time you click **Continue**, the wizard:

1. **Saves your current step data** to a draft on the server.
2. **Recalculates the step list** based on your latest answers (for example, changing your workflow adds or removes steps).
3. **Advances you to the next step** as determined by the server.

This means the wizard is **server-driven** — the steps you see are dynamically determined based on what you have configured so far. The wizard always shows you the right steps for your chosen workflow.

## Draft mode

Most AI configuration settings you configure during the wizard are saved as a **draft**. The draft is a working copy of your AI agent configuration that does not affect the live AI agent until you publish.

Key rules:

- **Drafts are saved automatically** — Every time you click Continue, that step's data is persisted. If you close the browser and return later, you resume from where you left off.
- **Nothing goes live until you click Publish** — Your AI agent remains completely inactive during the entire wizard process. It will not answer any customer messages until you publish.
- **You can change anything** — Go back to any previous step and change your answers. The draft updates accordingly.
- **Only one action is irreversible** — Publishing. Once you publish, the AI goes live and begins responding to customers through the connected channels.

<div class="docs-callout docs-callout-warning">
  <p><strong>Product catalog exception</strong></p>
  <p>Product catalog uploads are not held in wizard draft mode. Uploading, replacing, adding, or clearing products updates the product catalog immediately. See <a href="/en/resources/docs/upload-your-product-catalog">Upload your product catalog in the wizard</a>.</p>
</div>

<div class="docs-callout docs-callout-tip">
  <p><strong>Tip</strong></p>
  <p>There is no time limit on the wizard. You can take days or weeks to complete it. Your draft is safely stored on the server between sessions.</p>
</div>

## Step structure

Every wizard session consists of **fixed steps** that always appear and **conditional steps** that appear only when your chosen workflow requires them.

### Fixed steps (always present)

These steps appear in every wizard session regardless of which workflow you choose:

| Step | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| [Company information and agent identity](/en/resources/docs/company-information-and-agent-identity) | Your business name, industry, website, social profiles, communication style, and greeting message |
| [Choose a workflow](/en/resources/docs/choose-a-workflow) | Select the conversation flow that matches how your business operates |
| [Upload your product catalog](/en/resources/docs/upload-your-product-catalog) | Add your products or services so the AI can answer customer questions; product uploads apply immediately |
| [Add business context](/en/resources/docs/add-business-context) | Provide extra guidelines, rules, or instructions for the AI |
| [Connect channels](/en/resources/docs/connect-channels) | Link WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger |

### Conditional steps (workflow-dependent)

These steps appear only when the workflow you selected requires them:

| Step | Appears when |
|------|-------------|
| Delivery rules | You selected a shipping workflow |
| In-store pickup rules | You selected a pickup workflow |
| Booking rules (deposit amount) | You selected a paid service workflow |
| Store locations | You selected a pickup workflow |
| Qualification questions | You selected a Qualify workflow |
| Google Calendar connection | You selected an appointment workflow |
| Calendar settings | You selected an appointment workflow |
| Calendar availability | You selected an appointment workflow |
| Bank accounts | You selected a workflow that involves payments |

For full details on which steps appear for each workflow, see the [Workflows overview](/en/resources/docs/workflows-overview).

## The final step

The last step in every wizard session is the **Connect channels** screen. On this same screen, after connecting at least one channel (WhatsApp, Instagram, or Facebook Messenger), the **Publish** button becomes available.

Clicking **Publish** does the following:

1. Writes all draft data to your live AI agent configuration.
2. Marks your onboarding as complete — the wizard will no longer appear when you sign in.
3. Activates your AI agent — it immediately starts responding to incoming messages on the connected channels.
4. Redirects you to the dashboard.

For more details, see [Publish and go live](/en/resources/docs/publish-and-go-live).

## After publishing

Once you publish, the onboarding wizard is complete and will not appear again. From this point:

- Your AI agent is live and answering customer messages.
- You can modify your configuration at any time from the [AI Config wizard](/en/resources/docs/edit-your-setup-from-ai-config), which offers the same steps but with free-form navigation and a sidebar.
- You can add more channels, update your product catalog, or change your workflow without going through the full onboarding process again. Product catalog updates apply immediately; other AI configuration changes follow the AI Config publish flow.

## What to do next

Start with the first step: [Company information and agent identity](/en/resources/docs/company-information-and-agent-identity). Or, if you want to understand the workflow options first, skip ahead to [Choose a workflow](/en/resources/docs/choose-a-workflow).