Build smarter Guided Conversations with Fork Blocks

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.


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.


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

        • Images Don't Display on Blog

          Hi, I've just posted a new blog entry, but regardless of format (png or jpeg) Images that display in Preview mode do not display on any browser in the published post.  I've not done anything different with this post than others regarding images, please advice. Thanks! Edit:  I've discovered that moving the image files from a my sub directory folder "Pics for Blog" to the top level of the "Files" folder on my site allows the images to display live.  This, even though my other blog posts are correctly

        • Checkbox Field Mapping Zoho Forms to Zoho Sign

          I have an application that will be filled out via Forms that I am mapping into a PDF Filler on Zoho Sign. I need to have a series of checkboxes mapped to the corresponding fields in Sign and I only see single checkboxes available via the mapping, though

        • Books P&L by Customer

          Lately, we have found that the Customer field filter for the Profit & Loss report in Zoho Books is no longer available. We have several projects with the same customer and look at the P&Ls by project AND by Customer (overall). Can you please add back in this field selection alongside the Project field to the P&L report filter? Thanks! -Gina

        • Sent mail sort by date disappeared

          Hello, We used to be able to sort the emails by date in the sent folder, but this feature has recently disappeared. Can we bring it back?

        • I cannot check out to Zoho People.

          When I tried to check out today, there's prompt that inhibits me to check out: To add entry in Attendance, log time for any of your jobs

        • Pricing Strategies: #2 Plan your Service Offerings using Plans

          Meet Harvey & Mia, hailing from the same Tech school, carrying the dream of setting up their own IT maintenance firm in their location. They drew up a clear business plan and put their business in motion on New Year's Eve. They had great reception right

        • Open a record to edit based on another form being edited

          Hi all, I am trying to edit a record based on another record being edited. It works out like this: When I create a Monthly_Update and then submit I open the Monthly_Levels form and pass the ID from the Monthly_Update to a field called mu. I want it to

        • Problem with signature on zoho survey

          Hello, I'm trying to export individual responses with signatures on zoho survey. But the signatures on some of my surveys are not exported as the original image, but as a generic image, same for all (screen joins). Is there a solution to have the signatures

        • Change in Zoho CRM API?

          Hello, I am using the Zoho API trough the PHP SDK v2.1 Since few days, I noticed that I have to change the way I pass the data to the API when I create, update, or upsert a record. Dates Before I was passing a PHP date object to "$record->addKeyValue(...)",

        • MTA - BAD IP reputation by outlook/hotmail

          Messages to Microsoft email servers are bouncing back due to poor reputation. Message: 4.7.650 The mail server [136.143.188.206] has been temporarily rate limited due to IP reputation. For e-mail delivery information see https://postmaster.live.com (S775)

        • QuickBooks Extension for Zoho CRM - Advanced Features -2025

          Hello Everyone, We’re happy to announce the latest version of our QuickBooks Extension for Zoho CRM, now officially live on the Zoho Marketplace! This release introduces one-click data sync, a user-friendly UI, enhanced performance, and a powerful set

        • Changing Department often causes the Firefox tab to freeze

          Title, it doesn't seem to happen with neither Opera nor Chrome. And even in Firefox, sometimes it just lets me change the department I'm in no problem, even to All Departments which is probably the most, like, resource heavy? But most of the time, the

        • Need to integrate Zoho Mail Mobile app with Zoho Meeting Mobile App for Android and Apple

          Hello Zoho Team, Please bring integration of Zoho Mail Mobile app with Zoho Meeting for Android and Apple Thanks

        • ¡Muchas gracias por participar a los Meetups de Usuarios de Zoho! Y Novedades del ecosistema Zoho

          ¡Hola Comunidad de Zoho en Español! 👋 Después de un breve lapso de tiempo, volvemos con una nueva edición de nuestro Community Digest, donde te contamos las novedades de los productos de Zoho en los últimos meses. Estas mejoras se centran en nuestros

        • Anyway to move mail from one account to another yet?

          Hello, Is there any way to move email from one mailbox account to another mailbox account in zoho yet? Thanks, Ryan.

        • Using a CRM Client Script Button to create a Books Invoice

          Hello, I need help handling error messages returned to my client script from a function. The scenario I have setup a client script button which is available from each Deal. This CS executes a crm function, which in turn creates an invoice based on the

        • Building Toppings #2 - Learn how to use Bigin's Developer Console to build toppings

          Hey Biginners, In our last post, we discussed what toppings are, why they're essential to extending Bigin's capabilities, and how the Bigin Developer Center serves as the starting point for building them. As a cloud platform, the Developer Center empowers

        • Links are incorrect when sent out

          I'm adding in hyperlinks into my eDM. When I send a test email, it's all correct. However, when I send out the eDM, all the hyperlinks jump up one space so none of the links are opening to the correct page. Why is this happening and how can I fix it?

        • Tip of the week #16 - Search and filter threads based on criteria

          Zoho TeamInbox lets you search and filter threads with any information that you have about the thread. You just have to input the criteria and Zoho TeamInbox will list all the threads that match the condition.   Firstly, there is a global search you can

        • Introducing recipient authentication via Stripe Identity in Zoho Sign

          Hi everyone! It's important to authenticate your recipient's identity before they access and sign important documents to ensure the highest level of compliance. Zoho Sign already helps businesses do this with various authentication methods: SMS OTP Email

        • Keep Converted Leads

          How do I keep the converted leads in the Leads Module after conversion (converting it to account, contact, deal). I want to add it in a converted stage in the leads module in order to get a report or dashboard and see all converted leads from my pip

        • Customizing Global Search Settings for All Users

          Hi Our team use the brilliant global search functionality within CRM many many times daily. But, we struggle with the out-of-the box columns that CRM gives you. We are always telling users to customize this look to more suit our business, to show the

        • Introducing Formula Fields for performing dynamic calculations

          Greetings, With the Formula Field, you can generate numerical calculations using provided functions and available fields, enabling you to derive dynamic data. You can utilize mathematical formulas to populate results based on the provided inputs. This

        • Tip of the Week #77– Stay informed of the activities happening in your organization

          Whenever a message is handled in Zoho TeamInbox, every action is recorded in the Activity Log. This ensures you always know what’s happening across your teams and inboxes. To access it, simply click the Audits icon on the left pane’s top bar after logging

        • Zoho Logs - Not seeing logs since 30 Nov

          Hi, we have a few functions running, I am testing some new ones and noticed that although I can see executions, I cannot see any logs, even when the first line on the functions is a log. I reviewed some existing functions, one of which is invoked on a

        • Workdrive MS Office integration

          Have installed subscribed version of Zoho WorkDrive VSTO runtime not found is the error when I try to install Zoho_WorkDrive_For_Office Unable to open work files in Excel and Word Urgent, since I have migrated all my OneDrive files to work drive already

        • How to change Zoho Vault password

          I am searching where I can change the Vault Password after having changed the Zoho account password. I don't see this option anywhere in my account. It should be simple and accessible! Please help. Thanks!

        • Zoho Workdrive - Communication / Chat Bar

          Hi Team, Please consider adding an option to allow admins to turn on or off the Zoho Communication Bar. Example of what I mean by Communication Bar: It's such a pain sometimes when I'm in WorkDrive and I want to share a link to a file with a colleague

        • When Marking a Multiple Choice Answer Exclusive - Not Following My Survey Disqualification Logic

          Using a multiple choice (many answers) question and I created survey disqualification logic that was working as intended. My question: Disqualification page logic is: If (QUESTION) is "any one of the following" then (OPTIONS) - a custom message populates

        • Where to Add Machines as Products to Map with Assets in Zoho FSM?

          implementing Zoho FSM for a clinical equipment supply company. The business sells and installs clinical machines in hospitals and clinics, and they also handle service requests, scheduled maintenance, calibration visits, and general machine upkeep. In

        • Show Zoom Link in Recipient's Calendar

          We set up meetings within a record, selecting the "Make this an online meeting".  We use Zoom. Most of the recipients go to their calendar (usually Gmail or Outlook, corporate) to join the Zoom meeting, but there is no Zoom link in the calendar. Can this

        • Zoho Bigin - should be able to link a "contact" to multiple "companies"

          Hello Support, I called into telephone support and was told that a contact can only be linked to one company. We have situations were director are contacts of and directors of multiple companies so that seems a basic weakness in Bigin. When go to add

        • Does Thrive work with Zoho Billing (Subscriptions)?

          I would like to use Thrive with Zoho Billing Subscriptions but don't see a way to do so. Can someone point me in the right direction? Thank you

        • Radio button data won't update

          Wondering if anyone is experiencing the same problem. I tried bulk updating our data on Zoho Creator using API and noticed that the radio button field wasn't updated. I have tried updating it manually, it didn't work. When I tried updating a text field

        • Introducing Global Sets for easy management of similar picklists in CRM

          Latest update (December 2025): You can now apply color coding to the values inside a global set, the same way you color code values in regular picklist fields. Update (Sep 2024): We've increased the maximum count limit for global sets. These new limits

        • No Ability to Rename Record Template PDFs in SendMail Task

          As highlighted previously in this post, we still have to deal with the limitation of not being able to rename a record template when sent as a PDF using the SendMail Task. This creates unnecessary complexity for what should be a simple operation, and

        • New in CPQ: Smarter suggestions for Product Configurator by Zia, and additional criteria in Price Rules

          Hello everyone! CPQ's Product Configurator in Zoho CRM allows sales teams to define structured product bundles through configuration rules, ensuring that the right product combinations are applied consistently in quotes. Admins set up these configurations

        • Process between CRM and Campaigns to ensure double opt-in contacts?

          I would like to ask for a few clarifications to ensure we fully comply with best practices and legal requirements: According to the documentation (Zoho Campaigns CRM sync – Default option), the best and recommended way to sync contacts is by using the

        • Zoho Books - New Interface keep details with PDF View

          Hello, The Zoho Books Interface has changed for estimates etc... One thing is causing issues though. Before the change, in PDF view you could see the detail information including custom fields entered for the estimate. Now, you have to switch between

        • Tip #52- Zoho Assist Downloads: Everything You Need in One Place- 'Insider Insights'

          Looking to start remote support sessions faster, manage unattended devices effortlessly, or join sessions without any hassle? The Zoho Assist Downloads Center has all the tools you need—across desktop, mobile, IoT, and browser environments. With our range

        • Next Page