AI Expert conversations
What happens when an AI Expert talks to a buyer — when it answers, when it stays quiet, and every way a conversation ends.
The AI Expert node puts one of your experts into a flow to hold a real Q&A conversation: it waits for the buyer's question, answers it from your knowledge, then waits for the next one — and keeps going until the buyer is done or wants a person.
This page is the behaviour reference: exactly when the AI answers, when it stays quiet, when it refuses to start, and every way a conversation ends. For how to add the node to a flow, see Flow nodes → AI Expert.
AI is a Pro feature. On other plans the node doesn't answer — see What won't start below.
How a conversation runs
- The buyer says something. The Expert reads it and answers from its knowledge — in the buyer's language.
- The Expert stays in the conversation and waits for the next question.
- Repeat, until the buyer leaves — by asking for a person, saying they're done, or going quiet.
Three things follow from this design:
- It doesn't need a Wait for Reply in front of it. The node collects its own questions.
- There is no "answer once, then continue" mode. The steps after the node run when the conversation ends, not after the first answer. If you want a short exchange, set a short gone-quiet timer.
- The AI judges intent itself. It reads each message and decides whether the buyer is asking for a person or wrapping up — in any language, with no keyword lists to maintain.
The two ways out
However the buyer leaves, the flow continues down one of two branches:
| Branch | When it runs | What to put there |
|---|---|---|
| Done | The buyer said they're finished, tapped the "I'm done" button, or went quiet past the timer. | A sign-off, a promo, or nothing. |
| Wants a person | The buyer asked for a human (typed or tapped), or the Expert can't answer anything (see below). | A Human Handoff node — almost always. |
If you leave the Wants a person branch empty, it falls through to the Done branch — the editor warns you about this, because a buyer asking for a human would then get whatever the Done branch holds (usually a promo, which reads badly).
Every way a conversation ends
| What happens | Which exit |
|---|---|
| Buyer types that they want a person, staff, or admin — any phrasing, any language | Answered/acknowledged first, then Wants a person |
| Buyer taps the "Talk to a person" button on the card | Wants a person, instantly — no AI call |
| Buyer types a clear sign-off — "that's all", "no more questions, thanks" | Answered first, then Done |
| Buyer taps the "I'm done" button on the card | Done, instantly |
| Buyer goes quiet longer than the "gone quiet" timer (if you set one) | Done |
| Buyer never replies again and TikTok's 48-hour messaging window closes | The conversation ends quietly — neither branch runs, and the buyer can trigger a fresh automation whenever they come back |
| A teammate takes over the conversation in the inbox | The conversation ends — a human is in control now. Handing back to automation doesn't restart it; a new trigger starts fresh |
| The Expert becomes unusable (see next section) | Fallback message (if set), then Wants a person |
Two rules apply across all of these:
- The buyer is answered before the exit fires. Someone who asks a question and asks for a human gets the answer (or the fallback), then the handoff — the flow never exits silently mid-question.
- "Wants a person" wins ties. "Thanks, that's all — actually, can I talk to someone?" goes to the person, not the promo.
When the Expert stays in the conversation
Not being able to answer one question is not an exit. These keep the conversation open:
| Situation | What the buyer sees |
|---|---|
| The question isn't covered by the Expert's knowledge ("only answer from attached knowledge" is on and nothing matches) | The fallback message, plus the reply-options card — and the Expert keeps listening |
| The AI hiccuped on this one reply | Same: fallback + card, still listening |
| No fallback message is set | Nothing that turn. The buyer can still ask something else, tap a card button, or the timer/window ends things |
| The buyer hasn't asked anything yet | Nothing — the Expert waits for a question rather than sending the fallback at someone who hasn't spoken |
| The buyer's newest message is one the Expert already answered | Nothing — it never answers the same message twice |
Always set a fallback message. Without one, a buyer whose question falls outside your knowledge gets silence — they can't tell the difference between "the AI can't answer this" and "nobody's home." The editor warns when it's empty.
When the Expert gives up immediately
Some problems doom every future question, not just this one. Rather than inviting more questions that will fail the same way, the node sends the fallback message (if set) and takes the Wants a person exit right away:
- The workspace isn't on Pro (or lost Pro) — AI features are off.
- The Expert was deleted or is paused.
- The Expert only answers from its knowledge but has no indexed documents attached.
- AI isn't configured for the workspace at all.
The editor warns about the no-documents case when you pick the Expert, so you can fix it before publishing.
What won't start at all
- No Expert selected — the flow can't be published; the editor blocks it.
- The buyer is already in another automation. Only one automation runs per contact at a time; while another flow is mid-conversation a new trigger won't start.
- A teammate has taken over the conversation — new automations don't start on it until it's handed back to automation.
- TikTok's messaging window is closed when the conversation would begin — nothing can be sent, so the flow ends without answering. See Messaging limits.
The reply-options card
The card is the visible way out of the conversation — buttons the buyer can tap instead of having to type "I want to talk to someone."
| Field | Required | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Card question | Yes (if you use the card) | Anything else I can help with? |
| "Talk to a person" button | Yes (if you use the card) | Talk to our team |
| "I'm done" button | Optional | I'm all set |
How it behaves:
- Sent after the first answer, and again with every fallback — the moment the buyer most needs a way out.
- Tapping a button sends its exact text back as the buyer's message. Tuku recognises it and exits instantly, with no AI call.
- Typing works too. The card is a convenience, not a requirement — the AI spots a typed "ขอคุยกับคนจริงหน่อยค่ะ" on its own, card or no card.
- The card is optional, but half-filled cards don't publish: if you add one, it needs its question and the "Talk to a person" button.
- In a comment flow, the card is skipped on the first answer (TikTok allows only that one message until the buyer replies).
The "gone quiet" timer
Move on if they go quiet after decides how long the Expert waits for the buyer's next question:
- Leave it empty — the Expert waits as long as TikTok's 48-hour messaging window allows. When the window closes, the conversation ends quietly.
- Set a number of minutes — when the buyer has been silent that long, the flow continues down the Done branch. Use a short timer (say 10–30 minutes) when you have a follow-up step you actually want to reach, like a discount code or a feedback ask.
The timer resets every time the buyer says something. A real reply always beats the timer — if they ask another question a minute before it fires, the question gets answered and the timer starts over.
In comment flows
An AI Expert works in a comment-triggered automation too:
- If the buyer hasn't DM'd yet, the Expert answers the comment itself — the comment text is the first question.
- That first answer is delivered under TikTok's one-message rule for comment DMs, so the reply-options card can't ride along with it. The card appears later — with a fallback, once the buyer has replied.
- Not every commenter can receive a DM at all — see who actually gets a DM.
Watching AI conversations in the inbox
While an Expert holds a conversation, the inbox marks it with an AI badge, and the automation filter gains an AI Answering option — so your team can watch live AI conversations and step in:
- Take over works on an AI conversation like on any automation conversation: the AI stops immediately and the conversation is yours. Handing back to automation doesn't restart the AI — a new trigger starts a fresh conversation.
- Replying manually requires taking over first, so you never end up typing alongside a live AI.
Building around it
- Put a Human Handoff in the Wants-a-person branch. That's the branch's whole job. The editor nudges you if it's empty.
- Don't chain two AI Experts. The first one already keeps answering until the buyer leaves — a second Expert directly after it only ever meets someone who just said they were done. The editor warns about this.
- Steps after the node run when the conversation ends — write them for someone who just finished a Q&A, not someone mid-question.
- Tune the Expert, not the flow. Tone, language, and strictness live on the expert (instructions + the "only answer from attached knowledge" toggle). Test it in the Try it playground — it uses the same knowledge and instructions the automation uses.