Action Bots

Overview

Action Bots allow administrators to build automated, event-driven, or scheduled workflows that can access data from Sharpen and connected third-party systems, then take action based on that data, all without manual intervention. Common use cases include sending alerts when performance thresholds are exceeded, automating follow-up tasks after interactions, or triggering notifications based on queue activity.

Action Bots are configured in Admin > Configuration > Logic & Actions and are closely related to Sharpen Insights — they use the same data sources, filters, summary functions, and groupings. Familiarity with Insights reporting will make working with Action Bots significantly easier.

Getting Started

To create a new Action Bot:

1. Navigate to Admin > Configuration > Logic & Actions.

2. Click New Action Bot.

The configuration page is organized into sequential sections. Each section builds on the previous one, and the page will expand as you make selections.

General Settings

The General Settings section at the top of the page allows you to provide a name and description for your Action Bot. This information appears in the main Logic & Actions menu and is used to identify the bot for future editing.

Triggers

Triggers determine when the Action Bot will run. There are three trigger types available in the dropdown: Scheduled, Event, and Manual.

Scheduled

• Runs the bot on a recurring, user-defined schedule. Use the dropdown menus to configure the frequency.

Event

• Runs the bot in response to a specific platform event such as a status change, message, or call variable. First select the Trigger Type, then select the appropriate sub-type:

  • Queue

    • Triggers based on interactions that have been delivered to a queue.

  • Logic

    • Triggers based on interactions within the IVR, Auto Attendant, or chat bot. This sub-type automatically adds the Call Variables data source.

Manual

• Runs the bot only when the Trigger Now button is manually clicked. There is no scheduled time or event associated with a manual trigger.

Data Sources and Fields

Once a trigger type is defined, the Data Source section allows you to specify what data the bot will look for. With the exception of the Logic Event Trigger (which automatically adds the Call Variables data source), the available data sources are the same ones available in Sharpen Insights.

In the Fields section, add the fields you want the bot to evaluate. You can add as many fields as needed using the Add button, and remove fields using the Remove button. At least one field is required for the bot to function.

Summary functions, filters, and groupings work the same way as they do in Insights reports. If you are looking for individual interaction records, there is no need to apply summary or grouping functions.

Filters

Filters allow you to narrow the data your bot evaluates. Once applied, the bot will only act on results that match the filter criteria.

For each filter, configure the following:

• Field

  • The field you want to filter on.

• Operator

  • The condition to apply (e.g., greater than or equal to, contains).

• Criteria

  • The specific value to filter by.

When using multiple filters, specify whether results should match all filters (AND) or any filter (OR).

Use the Refresh Preview button to confirm your filters are returning the expected results before proceeding. You can also set a Limit to control how many rows of data are passed to the Action section. If multiple rows are returned, use the Order By fields to sort them.

Multiple Data Sources

You can add additional data sources to your Action Bot. Additional data sources build on the filtered results from the first data source, they do not query independently. Because of this, the Refresh Preview button is not available on additional data sources.

Actions

The Actions section is where you define what the bot actually does with the data it has gathered. This is what distinguishes Action Bots from a standard Insights report, rather than simply displaying data, the bot takes a defined action based on it.

All data returned from the Data Source and Filter sections is available to use within your Action.

Action Frequency

The Action Frequency setting controls how often the action itself fires, separate from how often the trigger runs. Options include:

• Always Run

  • The action fires every time the trigger runs and data is returned.

• 1st time and every N times

  • The action fires on the first occurrence and then again at the specified interval.

This setting is particularly useful when you have multiple actions configured, as different actions may need to fire at different rates.

Stop on True — When enabled on an action, the bot will stop processing subsequent actions once that action has run. Actions are processed from top to bottom.

Rules and Groups (Action-Level)

Rules at the action level allow you to apply additional conditions that determine whether a specific action fires. These work the same way as the filters in the Data Source section, but applied per action. This is useful when you want different actions to occur based on different values within the same dataset.

For example, if you did not filter by queue name in the Data Source section, you could create separate action-level rules: one action that sends a notification to one number for the Customer Service queue, and another that sends to a different number for the Billing queue.

Setting Your Action

Actions are grouped into three categories. Each category includes additional fields to complete the action configuration.

Available Variables

The Available Variables panel allows you to insert field values from your data source directly into your action (for example, into the body of an SMS or email message). Click a variable to select it, then click the Copy icon to copy it for use in your action.

Walkthrough Example: Hold Time Alert

The following example walks through building an Action Bot that sends an SMS alert when a customer has been on hold for more than 3 minutes in a specific queue.

Step 1: Configure the Trigger

1. Set the Trigger Type to Scheduled.

2. Set the frequency to Every minute : 00 so the bot checks data every minute at the zero-second mark.

Step 2: Configure the Data Source and Fields

1. Select Sharpen as the data source.

2. Select Queue Activity as the data set.

3. Add the following fields: Hold Time, Queue Name, Source Name (customer name).

No summary or grouping functions are needed since we are looking at individual interactions.

Step 3: Configure the Filters

Add the following filters with an AND condition:

• Queue Name contains Level 1

• Hold Time greater than or equal to 180

Click Refresh Preview to confirm the filters are returning the expected results. Set the result Limit to 1 so only one interaction is evaluated per trigger run.

Step 4: Configure the Action

1. Set Action Frequency to Always Run.

2. Click Add Action and select Send SMS.

3. Enter the destination phone number and select the sending number.

4. In the message body, use available variables to include relevant context. For example:

   Customer %%queueCDR__SourceName%% has been on hold for %%queueCDR__HoldTime%% seconds in the %%queueCDR__QueueName%% queue.

Step 5: Save and Activate

1. At the top of the Action Bot, click Activate to enable the bot, in the top right of the user-interface.

2. Click Save in the bottom left of the user interface.

Your bot will now check queue activity every minute and send an SMS alert whenever a customer in the Level 1 queue has been on hold for more than 3 minutes.

Related Articles

• Getting Started with Logic Bots

• Logic Panel Types

• Configuring Nodes and Connecting Panels

• Logic Logs

• Logic: Video Walkthrough