Build smarter Guided Conversations with Fork Blocks

When your customers arrive on your support channel, they're not there to explore. They are usually confused and stuck while trying to fix something important. We understand how stressful that moment can feel and we want your bot to make things easier, not harder.

A well designed Guided Conversation takes away this confusion. At the heart of those flows lies one powerful tool: the Fork Block. When you pair it with a few smart techniques, it can turn a basic bot into a friendly assistant your users trust.

What Fork Blocks actually do   

Think of Fork Blocks as your bot’s decision maker. They split the flow into different paths based on conditions.

The bot behaves exactly the way you expect:

1. If the customer says X, respond with Y
   
2. If that does not match, check the next thing
   
3. If nothing fits, take them to a helpful fallback
   

Nothing is guessed; each action is based on your logical configuration.

Learn more about Fork Block

Example

A customer contacts your support bot on WhatsApp.

The bot asks: “What do you need help with today?”

Options:

1. Order related help
   
2. Account help
   
3. Something else
   

Your Fork Block simply checks what the user tapped or texted and takes them to the correct flow. A Fork Blocks split your flow into different paths based on conditions.

Customer chooses	Bot should do
Order related help	Bot asks for the order number and shows order status.
Account help	Bot verifies mobile number and shows account options.
Something else	Bot shows a short menu to guide the user.

This feels smooth because the bot reacts instantly based on the user’s choice.

  

Why this matters for your customers     

Fork Blocks help you:

1. Personalise every step
   
2. Reduce back and forth
   
3. Send users to the right answer faster
   
4. Prevent unnecessary agent escalations
   

This directly improves resolution rates across channels, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram and more.

 

Advanced techniques

Below are the techniques that can take your Fork Block logic from basic to professional level. The transitions between them are natural, since each one uses Fork Blocks in a different but complementary way.

Fork with IM Variables

When a customer messages your WhatsApp bot, Guided Conversations can use one of their credentials, such as their phone number (IM Variable), to fetch details from your backend system via a webhook. This equips the bot with key information about the customer, like whether they are on a Gold or Free edition, without needing to ask.

Your Fork Block then uses this information to personalise the conversation instantly.

Gold customers: "Hi, welcome back. You are on Gold support. Here are your recent tickets."

Free customers: “Hi. Please share your order number so I can help you.”

If customer type isn’t available: “Just to help you better, are you a Gold customer or a Free customer?”

This keeps the conversation smooth and personalised without asking the customer to repeat basic details.

Learn more about using IM variables in GC

 

Fork Block with Operation Block      

Some decisions depend on numbers. For example, a customer might tell you their quantity and price, and you need to decide what assistance level they should get. Instead of asking customers to calculate things or writing long explanations, let the Operation Block do the math.

Example  

1. A customer shares quantity and price.
   
2. Operation Block calculates total value.
   
3. Fork Block decides how to assist the customer based on that value.
   

 

Total Value	What your bot offers
Above 20,000	Priority callback
5,000 to 20,000	Connect to a human agent
Below 5,000	Automated

Here, the Fork Block evaluates the result of the Operation Block and chooses the best path. This keeps the flow clean and avoids long explanations.

Learn more about Operation Block

Fork Block with Webhook Block

Sometimes your bot needs to make decisions that depend on information stored outside the Guided Conversation flow. For example, checking a warranty, subscription, customer tier, or order status.

Combining a Fork Block with a webhook is a powerful tool in this situation.

How it works

1. The user enters a detail (for example: order ID)
   
2. A webhook sends this to your backend system for a status check
   
3. Your system returns a simple response such as:
   
1. SHIPPED
   
2. OUT_FOR_DELIVERY
   
3. YET_TO_SHIP
   
4. The Fork Block reads this result and decides the next step.
   

 

Example  

User asks “What’s my order status?” and enters an order number.

1. Webhook checks your system.
   
2. Response = OUT_FOR_DELIVERY
   
3. Fork Block routes to “Your order is on the way. Here’s your tracking link.”
   
4. If response = YET_TO_SHIP,  the Fork Block routes to “Your order is being prepared. We’ll notify you once it ships.”
   

This keeps the flow neat and helps customers move faster.

 

Learn more about Webhook Block

   

How the three come together to create a smooth, intelligent WhatsApp bot   

In real-world WhatsApp flows, these three techniques often work together.

1. IM variables help trigger the backend and retrieve user details
   
2. Webhook verifies backend information
   
3. Operation Block calculates values

For example, you can identify the user via their mobile number, calculate the cart value using an Operation Block, and verify their membership tier through a webhook all in one flow.

 

Best Practices  

1. Map your branches before building: Sketch your decision paths on paper first
   
1. This prevents confusion when your flow grows; it will be easy to see where each condition leads
   
2. Use specific conditions first and general ones later
   
3. Always include an Else path
   

Final Thought  

Fork Blocks work on every channel supported by Guided Conversations, not just WhatsApp.

When you combine them with Webhooks, Operation Blocks and Session Variables, you create flows that feel structured, reliable and human-aware, without complexity for the user.

Regards,

Prabin | Zoho Desk

• Topic Participants

• Raj R

  

• Sticky Posts

• Zoho Desk Partners with Microsoft's M365 Copilot for seamless customer service experiences

  Hello Zoho Desk users, We are happy to announce that Zoho Desk has partnered with Microsoft's M365 to empower customer service teams with enhanced capabilities and seamless experiences for agents. Microsoft announced their partnership during their keynote

• WhatsApp pricing changes: Pay per message starting July 1, 2025

  Starting July 1, 2025, WhatsApp is shifting from conversation-based pricing to per-message billing. That means every business-initiated message you send will count. Not just the first one in a 24-hour window. Pricing updates on the WhatsApp Business Platform

• Live Webinar - Work smarter with Zoho Desk and Zoho Workplace integration

  Hello customers! Zoho Desk and Zoho Workplace are coming together for a webinar on 14th May, 2024. Zoho Workplace is a suite of productivity apps for email, chat, docs, calls, and more at one single place. Zoho Desk is closely integrated with a few tools

• Apple iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 updates for Zoho Desk users

  Hello Zoho Desk users! Apple recently announced the release of iOS 17 and iPad OS 17. These latest OS updates will help you stay productive and efficient, through interactive and seamless user experiences. Zoho Desk has incorporated the updates to help

• Zoho Desk Cheat Sheet For The Year-End

  Check out these Zoho Desk best practices to end this year on a high and have a great one ahead! #1 Set Business (Holiday) Hours - If you have limited working hours, please make sure you restrict your business hours or set them as holidays for the coming days. Let your customers know when you will, and won't, be available. #2 Update the Annual Holiday List - Check the holidays for the new year and update the holiday schedule. Usually, holidays from the current year will be carried over for the next

• Recent Topics

• Emails are going to notification folder and not in inbox

  emails are going to notification folder and not into inbox

• Error AS101 when adding new email alias

  Hi, I am trying to add apple@(mydomain).com The error AS101 is shown while I try to add the alias.

• Report on opportunities showing only the last note added.

  Hi I need to create a report that shows the most recent note added to each opportunity. This is so management can see what the latest update is according to the assigned salesperson. One workaround is to use the status field but this implies added manual work and mistakes as the salesperson would have to copy the existing status to a note before adding the latest status... otherwise the activity history would be lost. My current workaround is a report on Notes with Opportunities as the related module.

• Please add Zelle as an online payment option

  Hello, I would like to request Zelle be added to the online payment service providers for Zoho Invoice. Considering how ubiquitous Zelle has become as a way to pay people via the major banking institutions, I feel like many freelancers would benefit from

• This user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details

  Hello, Just signed up to ZOHO on a friend's recommendation. Got the TXT part (verified my domain), but whenever I try to add ANY user, I get the error: This user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details I have emailed as well and writing here as well because when I searched, I saw many people faced the same issue and instead of email, they got a faster response here. My domain is: raisingreaderspk . com Hope this can be resolved.  Thank you

• Getting Project Template List using the REST API

  I am trying to confirm that I can use the REST API to create a project using a project template. The API documentation indicates this is possible by providing the Template ID, but it is not clear at all how to get a list of available Project Templates

• How to display the CONTACT ID in the Contact page

  Hi, I've seen this conversation below and it is exactly the same question I'm raising now, but unfortunately the last message is not solved https://help.zoho.com/portal/community/topic/show-contact-id-while-editing-contact-form I need to show the ContactId and I don't know how to do this. The last message included in the conversaton shows the way but not it is not completed. "I am sorry by default we do not have the option to show the record ID for the contacts in the field in a record. When you

• How to change margins in templates

  Hi, I'm new to Zoho Campaigns, and am trying to figure out how to adjust the margins within an email template.  The default margins make the text go all the way to the edges of the page.  Please advise.

• Create Canvas list view templates from images powered by Zia

  Currently available for all paid editions of Zoho CRM in the US, EU, IN, JP & CN DCs. Designing a personalized CRM interface just got even easier. In today’s fast-evolving digital landscape, AI is transforming the way we work by automating complex tasks

• Painfully Slow Zoho mail

  Since yesterday Zoho Mail seems to have starting functioning very slowly and having a few bugs. It's slow to open mails, slow to send, slow to change between email accounts. Sometimes clicking on a particular folder (eg Sent folder) stops working and

• "Wrong password or login" Problem to configure Zoho on MAIL App on my Macbook

  Hi, I'm having problems to configure my e-mail on my MAIL App(Macbook pro). My e-mail is hari@trespontoum.net Actually was working perfectly, and still working on my Iphone. My MAIL App prompt me that my login or password is wrong. I tried to change 3

• "User already exist in your org"

  Hello, I've just read a discussion about this issue, which didn't solve my problem. I'm trying to add the following emails: sales@kiss-my-boutique.co.uk returns@kiss-my-boutique.co.uk orders@kiss-my-boutique.co.uk I'm getting an error message each time I try and add them. None of them are primary or secondary emails and none of them have been created as users before. I know this as when I try and login and do 'forgot my password' all I get is an error message saying 'user invalid'. Please advise.

• Operation Not Permitted

  Hi, I have problem in adding user after verifying the domain but it seems like error appeared which is "operation not permitted". For your information, I had delete other domain before did it.

• Email forwarding setup fails

  I'm trying to set up email forwarding from my Zoho email to my gmail address. I followed the directions to set up email forwarding here: https://www.zoho.com/mail/help/email-forwarding.html. I did only steps 1-6. After doing this, rather than setting

• Passing the CRM

  Hi, I am hoping someone can help. I have a zoho form that has a CRM lookup field. I was hoping to send this to my publicly to clients via a text message and the form then attaches the signed form back to the custom module. This work absolutely fine when

• Shopify store email issues- Not getting emails

  Hi We have migrated from Microsoft outlook to Zoho back in March, we have a shopify store, the domain is hosted on namesilo, not shopify, I have seen some people here complaining about not getting emails from customers who fill out the contact form on

• How do I fix this? Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.

  How do I fix this? Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.

• Invoice Discount Account

  Is there a way to change the account used for Discounts applied to an invoice? The current Discount account (ZB native account) type is an "Income" type. I would like to change it to "Other Income", but that is not possible, I am assuming because it contains

• Need Inactive accounts to be visible in Reports in Zoho Books

  I N=need Inactive accounts to be visible in Reports in Zoho Books to do recons of the accounts but when i see the same they are not visible in the Accountant - Account Transactions report

• API Support for Creating Invoices with Batch-Tracked Items

  Hi Zoho Community, I am working on an integration where we create invoices in ERPNext and push them to Zoho Books. I need to send batch-tracked items (batch numbers) when creating invoices. I could not find any reference in the Zoho Books API documentation.

• javax.mail.authenticationfailedexception 535 authentication failed

  Hi, I am facing 535 authentication failed error when trying to send email from zoho desktop as well as in webmail. Can you suggest to fix this issue,. Regards, Rekha

• Phantom Opening Balance

  While experimenting w/ creating a composite item, Zoho added funds to Petty Cash and added Bank Account equal to previous day's balance. I'm unable to undo the adding of funds. Attaching screenshots of both bank account and petty cash transactions.

• Importing customer comments and multiple shipto addresses

  I am evaluating Zoho Books and have most of my data imported with two exceptions: (1) Import customer comments - in my current system I have several comments of different types, and I need to bring these into Zoho. Preferably Books customer records, but

• Detailed Account Reports - Add Running Balance

  When one clicks into an account from a report (say P/L or Balance Sheet), the default reports have the Debit, Credit, and then the Amount. The Amount column (last one) is duplicate information. It would be far better and fit more peoples' use cases if

• How to Billed from two different GST Numbers

  How to Billed from two different GST Numbers. Suppose ABC & Co had GST registration in Delhi and Haryana and Zoho account is created with Delhi GST Registration number. Now i also want to issue invoice from Haryana GST Registration number. How can i proceed ?

• Payment system for donations management

  I manage an organization where we receive donations from payers. Hence, there is no need to first create invoices and then create payments received against the invoices. What are the recommended best practices to do this in ZohoBooks?

• Zoho IP blocked by SpamHaus

  ERROR CODE :550 - 5.7.0 Your server IP address is in the SpamHaus SBL-XBL database, bye

• IMAP Communication Problems - IMAP Down Again

  We are experiencing the same problems over the last week or so that were supposedly 'solved' according to this thread. Zoho Imap Down Again This is affecting attempts to use IMAP on multiple ISPs and users so is definitely narrowed down to Zoho problems.

• Can't login to Zoho mail

  I'm logged into Zoho but when I try to go in zoho mail I get: Invalid request! The input passed is invalid or the URL is invoked without valid parameters. Please check your input and try again. I just set up my mx records and stuff with namecheap a few

• Hotmail is STILL blocking the zoho mail IP

  Greetings, as I already mentioned in my last message, my Zoho IP has been blocked by Hotmail for more than 15 days. Although someone said that the issue was "solved," it still isn't, and this amount of time seems neither normal for a "serious" company,

• Keyboard shortcut M key

  I'm trying to customize my keyboard shortcuts and assign the "m" key. But it says the key is already assigned. I've looked through all my shortcuts and can't see any assigned "m". When I select an email and press the M key, nothing happens. What is the

• Manage customer access across multi-brand help centers

  Hello everyone! Managing customer's access across multiple brands has been streamlined with the ability to invite, reinvite, approve, reject, and deactivate contacts individually for each help center brand . This enhancement gives administrators precise

• White Label certificate

  Hi all, About 72 hours ago, we fulfilled all steps for white labeling (CNAME to point to mail.cs.zohohost.eu), but since then the configuration page is now stuck at "generating certificate" since 3 days. When I execute an NSLOOKUP mail.webfoundry.be it

• Unusual activity detected from this IP. Please try again after some time

  When i try to create new addresses on my account i am getting this error, it has been 24 hours now and i am still getting this error can anyone help

• How to add a new domain in my account?

  Probably zoho has the worst UI in the market. Cannot add a new domain to manage a new email address.

• Ability for admin to access or make changes in zoho form without asking for ownership

  Currently in zoho form only form owner can make the changes in the form and if someone else has to make changes then we have to transfer the ownership to them and even admin also cant access it . So i think admin must have the ability or option to access

• Why does Zoho’s diff viewer highlight parts of unchanged lines?

  Hi everyone, I’ve noticed something odd in the Zoho editor’s diff view. When I delete a single line, the diff doesn’t just mark that line as removed. Instead, it highlights parts of the next line as if they changed, even though they are identical. Example:

• Report sorting not working

  I make extensive use of Summary reports and Pivot Tables. Most of these reports are structured such that I have several columns of "information" data that I want displayed, followed by one or more "Data" summarizations. For example, I have the following

• New Enhancements in Wizards

  Dear All, Wizards help you break a long form into a series of smaller forms on different screens, making it less overwhelming. We are thrilled to introduce a couple of enhancements to wizards in Zoho CRM: Enhancements for conditional rules in Wizards

• Microsoft Teams now available as an online meeting provider

  Hello everyone, We're pleased to announce that Zoho CRM now supports Microsoft Teams as an online meeting provider—alongside the other providers already available. Admins can enable Microsoft Teams directly from the Preferences tab under the Meetings

• Next Page