Building a Pathway in ClearTalk
Create a pathway, learn every node type, and build a simple flow.
Create a pathway, learn every node type, and build a simple flow.
Steps
Pathways live with your agents
A pathway is a visual map of a conversation — it decides what your agent says and does at every turn. You'll find pathways alongside your other agents, under My Agents.
Create a pathway
To make one, open the Create Agent menu and choose Pathway.
Name it
Give the pathway a clear name. We'll build an appointment booking flow. You can also generate a starting pathway from a prompt, but let's start blank.
Open the builder
Click Create pathway, and ClearTalk drops you straight into the visual builder.
The canvas
This is the pathway builder. The canvas in the middle is your conversation, laid out as connected nodes. Each node is one step the agent takes.
The Node library
On the right is the Node library. Click any node here and it drops onto the canvas. Let's go through what each one does.
Default
The Default node is the workhorse. The agent either says a fixed line, or generates a reply from a prompt — then moves on.
Knowledge Base
Knowledge Base answers the caller using a connected knowledge base, quoting your own content.
AI Knowledge Search
AI Knowledge Search does the same, but uses semantic search to pull the most relevant passages.
Webhook
A Webhook node calls an external API mid-conversation and branches on what comes back.
Custom Tool
Custom Tool invokes one of your registered tools — like Slack, Salesforce, or your own REST API.
SMS
The SMS node sends a text message to the caller in the middle of the call.
Scheduling
Scheduling books an appointment right inside the conversation, using your calendar's open slots.
Advanced (JavaScript)
Advanced lets you run your own JavaScript for anything the built-in nodes don't cover.
Transfer Call
Transfer Call forwards the caller to a real person — either a cold transfer, or a warm one with a hand-off.
Send keypad digit
Send keypad digit presses a phone keypad tone — useful for navigating automated phone menus.
End Call
End Call plays one last message and hangs up.
Route
Route branches to different nodes based on what the caller said or on variables you've extracted.
Wait
Wait pauses the flow until the caller responds before moving on.
Jump to another flow
And Jump to another flow hands the conversation off to a completely different pathway.
Start with the Start node
A new pathway starts with a Start node — the first thing the agent does on every call. Click any node to open its settings.
Name the node
Give the node a clear name so the flow is easy to read. We'll call this one Greeting.
What the agent says
Then write what the agent should say. This greeting is the first thing every caller will hear.
Add another step
To grow the flow, close the settings and click a node in the library — it drops onto the canvas as the next step.
Connect the nodes
Connect two nodes by dragging from the dot at the bottom of one node to the top of the next. That line is the path the conversation follows.
Save your work
Finally, hit Save. When you're happy with the flow, Promote pushes it live to production. And that's a pathway, from an empty canvas to a working conversation.