AI Front Desk Workflow Quickstart

This guide gets one useful AI Front Desk workflow into your dashboard. You will create the workflow, configure its persona, test chat, add knowledge, attach safe capabilities, connect channels only when needed, and check the owner-facing lead handoff.

Open agent.tropikal.ai and sign in with your Tropikal ID. The app host still uses the stable agent domain, but the setup model is workflow-first: a workflow owns the job, a persona defines behavior, and Knowledge & Capabilities define what it can safely use.

2. Create the workflow

Click Create workflow, give it a clear name, and choose a starting template if one matches the job:

Template	Use it when
Receptionist & Booking	The workflow should answer initial questions, collect booking details, and route the request for follow-up.
Customer Support	The workflow should answer product or service questions from approved material.
Lead Qualifier	The workflow should collect contact details, service interest, urgency, and preferred time.
Knowledge Base	The workflow should answer from documents, URLs, or site content.

After creation, open the workflow detail page. The slug becomes the stable handle used in dashboard routes, install snippets, and API paths.

3. Configure the persona

The persona is the behavior brief for the workflow. Keep it short, concrete, and testable.

You are the front desk assistant for Acme Clinic.
Answer in a calm, concise tone.
Ask for a name and phone number before booking.
If you do not know an answer, say what information is missing.
Never invent prices, policies, or appointment availability.

Use the persona for behavior, tone, boundaries, and escalation rules. Put factual reference material in Knowledge instead of pasting everything into the persona. Put actions and integrations in Capabilities.

4. Chat-test the workflow

Open the chat panel and ask three first questions:

A normal question the workflow should answer.
A question outside scope.
A request that should trigger a next action, such as checking a resource or collecting lead details.

Adjust the persona until the workflow handles all three predictably.

5. Add knowledge

Create a knowledge source when the workflow needs reliable information from docs, policies, FAQs, pages, or approved copy. Link the source to the workflow, then ask a question whose answer appears only in that source.

Good knowledge sources are specific and current. Split unrelated policies into separate entries so you can update or remove them independently.

6. Attach capabilities

Use capabilities when the workflow must act outside the chat response. Common first capabilities include:

Capability shape	Example use
Read-only HTTP function	Look up order status, appointment slots, or public catalog data.
Create/update function	Save a lead, create a draft, or update a CRM record after confirmation.
Website action	Read or update approved resources for a connected site.

Start read-only. Add write actions after the read path is proven and the workflow clearly asks before destructive or broad changes.

7. Add channels only when useful

Website Embed, website chat, Telegram, Gmail, Google Calendar, Drive, and the Email Capability should be connected for a specific workflow, not by default. Each channel expands what the workflow can see or do, so test again after enabling it.

Use Website Embed when you want the workflow to appear as a floating AI Front Desk bubble on a public website.

For public AI Front Desk workflows, confirm that the Leads view shows the transcript, summary, contact details, service interest, urgency, and preferred time after a visitor shares enough information.

8. Troubleshoot the first run

Symptom	First check
Workflow answers too generally	Add knowledge and ask a question that requires the source.
Workflow ignores instructions	Tighten the persona and remove conflicting instructions from old knowledge.
Capability does not run	Confirm the function is linked to the workflow and the user request clearly needs that capability.
Knowledge answer is missing	Reprocess the knowledge source and verify it is active for this workflow.
Website action is denied	Check the website resource approval and permission tier.
Lead is incomplete	Ask for the missing contact, service, or timing detail before handoff.

Next: create a focused workflow in Create your first workflow.