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Answer common questions in a help channel

Most questions in an IT help channel are ones the team has answered many times before: how to connect to the VPN, how to reset a password, which Wi-Fi network to use. This guide builds a workflow that answers those in a thread, with answers your team wrote and keeps up to date. Any other request gets a 👀 reaction, so the person knows it was seen, and a Jira ticket for the IT team to pick up.

An AI Extract step sorts each message into a topic from a fixed list. The answers themselves are text your team wrote and saved as variables, so the model never writes an answer.

The finished workflow has these steps:

Slack: New message in a channel
└─ A new message?                        Branch
   └─ Then
      ├─ What is it about?               AI Extract
      └─ Which answer?                   Route
         ├─ vpn                          Answer the VPN question
         ├─ password_reset               Answer the password question
         ├─ wifi                         Answer the Wi-Fi question
         ├─ new_software                 Answer the software question
         └─ other_request                React, look up who asked,
                                         open a ticket, and reply

Before you start

Section titled “Before you start”
  • You need the Developer role in a KloudMate workspace whose plan includes workflows.
  • You need a Slack connection and a Jira Cloud connection, both with the Workflows capability. Invite the KloudMate bot to your help channel.
  • You need a Jira project for help desk tickets.
  • Each message in the channel uses workflow credits, and the AI Extract step uses more. See Check workflow usage.

Step 1: Write the answers

Section titled “Step 1: Write the answers”

Open Workflows → Variables, and create a Constant for each answer. The value is the message the bot posts, in Slack’s formatting, so a link is written as <address|text>:

NameExample value
answer_vpnTo connect to the VPN, open the VPN app and sign in with your work account. <https://wiki.example.com/vpn|Full VPN guide>
answer_password_resetReset your password at <https://id.example.com/reset|id.example.com/reset>. You'll need your phone for the verification code.
answer_wifiConnect to the network named Corp, and sign in with your work account. Guests use Corp-Guest.
answer_new_softwareRequest new software in the <https://portal.example.com|software portal>. Approved requests are installed within a day.

Also create a Constant named jira_url with your Jira site’s address, such as https://acme.atlassian.net, if you don’t have it already.

Keeping the answers in variables means the IT team can update an answer, for example when the VPN app changes, without editing the workflow. A value can hold up to 8 KB of text, over several lines.

Step 2: Import the workflow

Section titled “Step 2: Import the workflow”
  1. Copy the YAML below.
  2. Open Workflows, click Import, paste the YAML, and click Import.
  3. Click Open workflow, and set these before you publish:
    • On the trigger, pick your Slack connection under Account, and pick your help channel under Channel.
    • On every Slack step, pick your Slack connection.
    • On Open a ticket, pick your Jira connection, the Site, your help desk project, and an issue type such as Task.
kind: workflow
uid: guide-answer-help-channel-questions
spec:
  name: Answer common questions in the help channel
  description: Answers common IT questions in the help channel with a saved answer, and opens a Jira ticket for any other request.
  definition:
    schema_version: 1
    trigger:
      type: integration_event
      config:
        connection_id:
          $input: slack
        trigger_key: slack.new_message_in_channel
        props:
          ignore_bots: true
    steps:
      - id: new_message
        type: branch
        display_name: A new message?
        if:
          all:
            - field: trigger.event.thread_ts
              op: is_empty
        then:
          - id: topic
            type: action
            action: ai.extract
            display_name: What is it about?
            with:
              prompt: Someone posted in the IT help channel. Decide what the message is about. Use other_request for a request for help that none of the other topics covers, and not_a_request for a message that doesn't ask for help, such as a thank-you. If you're not sure, use other_request.
              source: "{{ trigger.event.text }}"
              output_fields:
                - name: topic
                  type: enum
                  options: [vpn, password_reset, wifi, new_software, other_request, not_a_request]
                - name: title
                  type: string
                  description: A title of up to 10 words for a help desk ticket
          - id: answer
            type: route
            display_name: Which answer?
            routes:
              - label: vpn
                if:
                  all:
                    - field: steps.topic.output.topic
                      op: eq
                      value: vpn
                steps:
                  - id: answer_vpn
                    type: action
                    action: slack.post_message
                    display_name: Answer the VPN question
                    connection_id:
                      $input: slack
                    with:
                      channel: "{{ trigger.event.channel }}"
                      thread_ts: "{{ trigger.event.ts }}"
                      text: "{{ vars.answer_vpn }}\n\nIf this doesn't solve it, reply in this thread and someone from IT will help."
              - label: password_reset
                if:
                  all:
                    - field: steps.topic.output.topic
                      op: eq
                      value: password_reset
                steps:
                  - id: answer_password_reset
                    type: action
                    action: slack.post_message
                    display_name: Answer the password question
                    connection_id:
                      $input: slack
                    with:
                      channel: "{{ trigger.event.channel }}"
                      thread_ts: "{{ trigger.event.ts }}"
                      text: "{{ vars.answer_password_reset }}\n\nIf this doesn't solve it, reply in this thread and someone from IT will help."
              - label: wifi
                if:
                  all:
                    - field: steps.topic.output.topic
                      op: eq
                      value: wifi
                steps:
                  - id: answer_wifi
                    type: action
                    action: slack.post_message
                    display_name: Answer the Wi-Fi question
                    connection_id:
                      $input: slack
                    with:
                      channel: "{{ trigger.event.channel }}"
                      thread_ts: "{{ trigger.event.ts }}"
                      text: "{{ vars.answer_wifi }}\n\nIf this doesn't solve it, reply in this thread and someone from IT will help."
              - label: new_software
                if:
                  all:
                    - field: steps.topic.output.topic
                      op: eq
                      value: new_software
                steps:
                  - id: answer_new_software
                    type: action
                    action: slack.post_message
                    display_name: Answer the software question
                    connection_id:
                      $input: slack
                    with:
                      channel: "{{ trigger.event.channel }}"
                      thread_ts: "{{ trigger.event.ts }}"
                      text: "{{ vars.answer_new_software }}\n\nIf this doesn't solve it, reply in this thread and someone from IT will help."
              - label: other_request
                if:
                  all:
                    - field: steps.topic.output.topic
                      op: eq
                      value: other_request
                steps:
                  - id: seen
                    type: action
                    action: slack.add_reaction
                    display_name: React so they know it's seen
                    connection_id:
                      $input: slack
                    with:
                      channel: "{{ trigger.event.channel }}"
                      ts: "{{ trigger.event.ts }}"
                      emoji: eyes
                  - id: who
                    type: action
                    action: slack.lookup_user
                    display_name: Look up who asked
                    connection_id:
                      $input: slack
                    with:
                      user: "{{ trigger.event.user }}"
                  - id: ticket
                    type: action
                    action: jira.create_issue
                    display_name: Open a ticket
                    connection_id:
                      $input: jira
                    with:
                      summary: "{{ steps.topic.output.title }}"
                      description: |-
                        *From:* {{ steps.who.output.user.real_name }} ({{ steps.who.output.user.profile.email }}), in the Slack help channel
                        {quote}{{ trigger.event.text }}{quote}
                      fields:
                        labels: [helpdesk]
                  - id: reply
                    type: action
                    action: slack.post_message
                    display_name: Reply with the ticket
                    connection_id:
                      $input: slack
                    with:
                      channel: "{{ trigger.event.channel }}"
                      thread_ts: "{{ trigger.event.ts }}"
                      text: "I've opened <{{ vars.jira_url }}/browse/{{ steps.ticket.output.key }}|{{ steps.ticket.output.key }}> for this, and the IT team will pick it up there."
inputs:
  slack:
    kind: connection
    name: Slack
    type: slack
  jira:
    kind: connection
    name: Jira
    type: jira
  jira_url:
    kind: variable
    name: jira_url
    type: constant
  answer_vpn:
    kind: variable
    name: answer_vpn
    type: constant
  answer_password_reset:
    kind: variable
    name: answer_password_reset
    type: constant
  answer_wifi:
    kind: variable
    name: answer_wifi
    type: constant
  answer_new_software:
    kind: variable
    name: answer_new_software
    type: constant

How each step works

Section titled “How each step works”

The trigger

Section titled “The trigger”

The New message in a channel trigger runs for every message posted in your help channel. Ignore messages from bots is on, so the bot’s own answers don’t start a run.

Replies in a thread start a run too. A Branch checks that trigger.event.thread_ts is empty, so only a new message goes further. Slack sets thread_ts only on a reply, and the workflow leaves conversations in threads to people.

What is it about?

Section titled “What is it about?”

An AI Extract step reads {{ trigger.event.text }} and returns a topic from a fixed list, with a title in case it becomes a ticket:

[
  { "name": "topic", "type": "enum", "options": ["vpn", "password_reset", "wifi", "new_software", "other_request", "not_a_request"] },
  { "name": "title", "type": "string", "description": "A title of up to 10 words for a help desk ticket" }
]

The Instruction tells the model to use other_request when it isn’t sure, so a doubtful message goes to a person rather than getting the wrong answer. not_a_request covers messages such as a thank-you, which need nothing.

Which answer?

Section titled “Which answer?”

A Route has a path for each topic, and each path runs when steps.topic.output.topic equals its name. A topic’s path posts a reply in a thread on the message, with Reply to thread set to {{ trigger.event.ts }} and the answer from its variable:

{{ vars.answer_vpn }}

If this doesn't solve it, reply in this thread and someone from IT will help.

The other_request path does more:

  1. A Slack Add Reaction step reacts to the message with 👀.
  2. A Slack Look Up User step finds the person’s name and email address.
  3. A Jira Create Issue step opens a ticket, with the title from the model, and the person and their message in the description.
  4. A Slack Post Message step replies in the thread with a link to the ticket.

The Route has no Otherwise, so a message with the topic not_a_request runs no path, and the workflow does nothing with it.

Step 3: Test and publish

Section titled “Step 3: Test and publish”
  1. Open the trigger’s Test tab and click Test trigger. Then post a question in the help channel, such as How do I connect to the VPN?. The message becomes the trigger’s sample.
  2. Test What is it about? from its Test tab to see the topic the model picked.
  3. Click Publish. The first publish also switches the workflow on.

Then post a few different questions in the channel, and check that each one gets the right answer or a ticket. To see which topic a message got, open its run from Workflows → Runs.

Adapt the workflow

Section titled “Adapt the workflow”
  • Add an answer. Create a variable for it, add its topic to the topic options in What is it about?, and add a Route path for it with a reply step that uses the variable.
  • Answer in several channels. Leave Channel set to one channel, and import the workflow again with a different uid for each channel. Each copy can use the same answer variables.
  • Only react, without a ticket. Remove Look up who asked, Open a ticket, and Reply with the ticket from the other_request path, for a team that works from the channel itself.
Section titled “Related”