Ask Question

"This step sends a question to the Contact, allowing you to customize the question, response type, and handling of responses, including timeout settings."

This Step sends a question to the Contact on the related inbox if all conditions are met.

Configuration

There are two key configurations in Ask a Question:

• Question Text: Enter the question you want to ask the Contact.

• Question Type: Select from various response options available to the Contact.

Question Types are shown below:

Question Type	Description
Text	Any text-based answers.
Image	Collect images or photos as responses.
Location	Request geographic coordinates or location data.
Regex	Validate data using custom patterns: The "Regex" question type allows you to ask questions that require responses to match a specific pattern or format defined by a regular expression (regex). It's a powerful tool for validating and collecting data with specific structures or rules.
Multiple Choice	Share up to 10 possible answers for Contacts to choose from. Each answer is limited to 20 characters.
Number	A number value. You can set minimum and maximum values for the expected answer.
Date	A date in a specified format. Format: mm/dd/yyyy (e.g. 09/19/2021)
Email	An email address
Website/URL	A valid URL
Rating	The Contact can pick a rating between 1 and 5 stars

Once you’ve chosen the Question Type, the Save Response As field will open.

There are three options as to how responses can be saved:

• Contact Fields

• Variables

• Tag (only for multiple choice responses)

Contact Fields

To save the Contact's answer as a Contact Field, simply turn the Contact Field toggle ON and then choose the appropriate Contact Field from the drop-down menu.

Variables

To save the answer the Contact provides as a Variable, turn the Variable toggle ON, and name the Variable in the field to the right.

Tag

To save the answers the Contact provides as Tags, turn the Tag toggle ON. Please note that this is only applicable to multiple-choice questions.

Advanced Settings

There is one advanced setting you can use:

• Add Timeout Branch

Add Timeout Branch

To set how much time the Contact has to answer the question, turn the Add Timeout Branch toggle ON.

You can add Steps to determine what happens to Contacts who don't respond in time, or the Workflow will end when the timeout is reached.

FAQ and Troubleshooting

If I add an Ask a Question step after a conversation has closed (e.g., Close Conversation step or Conversation Closed trigger), will the conversation reopen if the Contact responds?

No, a Contact will not reopen the conversation by responding to the 'Ask a Question' step.

When Contacts with Closed Conversation sends a message while a Workflow with Ask a Question step is ongoing, will it open the conversation?

Conversations will not automatically open when a Contact with Closed Conversation sends a message while a Workflow with Ask a Question step is running. Only once the Workflow with Ask a Question step ends, a message from Contacts will automatically open the conversation. You can add a timeout in the Ask a Question step to ensure the Workflow will end after a certain time period.

Why is the Contact Field not saving responses in the Ask a Question step?

Invalid responses, such as responses in the wrong format, cannot be saved. Clearly specify a response format when asking a question to avoid this scenario.