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Basic Nodes

Khibtiya Afreen
Updated

Table of Contents

Overview

Overview

Below is a list of the basic chatbot nodes available in Sense and a brief description of how each node is used within a chatbot flow. 

1. Question Node

The Question node allows the chatbot to ask questions to candidates and capture their responses.

  • Purpose: To solicit information from the candidate during the conversation.
  • Types:
    • Preset Questions: These are pre-defined questions provided by the system. When selected, the node title, the question itself, and the response type are pre-filled. For preset and other questions, the writeback field has to be mapped in the system, where the answer should be stored in the Applicant Tracking System (ATS).
    • Custom Questions: If a desired question is not available in the preset list, you can create a custom question by clicking on Add Custom Question. This requires manually filling in the node title, the question to be asked, the response type, writeback field ID, and so on.
  • Response Validation: You can add validation rules to questions to ensure correct input. For example, if asking for a date, you can add "normal date," "future date," or "past date" validation to prompt the candidate for the correct format if they enter a single number. A message can be displayed if the candidate's response is invalid or in the wrong format.
  • Writeback: A core feature of question nodes is the ability to "write back" the captured answers to the customer's ATS. This is crucial because recruiters primarily use their ATS as the source of truth for candidate information. While Sense is used for automation, it syncs captured data back to external ATS systems like Bullhorn, Salesforce, or SuccessFactors.

2. Message Node

The Message node is used to display informational text to the candidate.

  • Purpose: To show a simple message at any point in the flow. For example, after a candidate answers a question about their job title, a message like "Thank you for your information. We will go ahead with this..." can be displayed.
  • Features:
    • It is a straightforward node without complex functionality.
    • You can include node variables within the message, allowing you to display answers previously stored from other questions.
    • A rich text editor is available for formatting the message.

3. Notification Node

The Notification node enables sending notifications, typically emails, during the chatbot conversation.

  • Purpose: To trigger an email to a specified recipient.
  • Configuration:
    • Title: A title for the notification.
    • Recipient: For Inbound, hardcoded email address (common usage) or dynamically pulled using node variables. For outbound, hardcoded email addresses, node variables, global variables (in outbound bots for data enrichment or pre-screening), or ATS variables are used.
    • CC: Optional carbon copy recipients.
    • Subject: The subject line of the email.
    • Message: The body of the email.
    • Content Options: Emojis or GIFs can be added to the message.

4. Condition Node

The Condition node introduces branching logic into the chatbot flow based on specific criteria.

  • Purpose: To create different conversation paths depending on a candidate's response to a node or the value of a variable.
  • Functionality:
    • You can set conditions on a node's value (e.g., if the candidate answered "no" to a greeting question) or a variable's value.
    • Supports multiple if, else if, and else conditions within a single node.
    • Based on whether the condition is satisfied, the flow will follow either a "then" path or an "else" path.

  • Important Consideration: When defining conditions, you must manually type values (e.g., "no" for a "yes/no" question). If there's a typo in the typed value compared to the actual options, the flow might not follow the intended path, potentially leading to a flow breakage.

    Also, you can copy-paste comma-separated values, and the system automatically splits them into individual entries.

5. Disposition Node

The Disposition node is specifically designed for writing back values to the ATS to update a candidate's status or other fields.

  • Purpose: To explicitly update a candidate's status or other attributes in the ATS during the conversation.
  • Functionality:
    • Allows setting a specific ATS field to a chosen value (e.g., changing a candidate's status from "inactive" to "active" after they answer certain questions).
    • The type of value you can input (e.g., number, text, or a selection from predefined options) will depend on the data type of the chosen ATS field. For fields with possible values (like a dropdown), the UI will present those options.

6. Summary Node

The Summary node provides a recap of the information collected from the candidate.

  • Purpose: To display all the information the chatbot has collected from the candidate through question nodes and allow them to review and confirm it.
  • Functionality:
    • Only question-type nodes that are placed before the Summary node in the flow will have their responses displayed.
    • Candidates are presented with their collected information and given options to either confirm ("looks good") or edit their responses.
    • You can selectively hide certain fields from being shown to the candidate in the summary, even if the information was collected (e.g., unchecking "street address").

7. File Upload Node

The File Upload node enables candidates to submit files, such as resumes or cover letters, directly through the chatbot.

  • Purpose: To prompt the candidate to upload a file.
  • Configuration:
    • This node supports writeback, meaning the uploaded file (or its link) can be stored in the ATS.

8. Link to Conversation Node

The Link to Conversation node is used to trigger an entirely different, pre-existing chatbot flow from within the current one.

  • Purpose: To divert the current conversation to another, pre-defined chatbot flow.
  • Functionality: When the candidate reaches this node, the linked flow will be triggered. The new flow will run its course and will not automatically return to the original flow where it was linked from. These linked conversations are existing, predefined flows that have been created previously.

9. Jump To Node

The Jump To node provides a way to redirect the chatbot flow to a specific point (another node) within the same conversation, rather than ending or linking to a new flow.

  • Purpose: To converge different conversation branches back to a common path, or to skip certain parts of a flow.
  • Functionality: It allows the flow to "jump" to any other node within the current conversation. This is particularly useful for avoiding the recreation of identical subsequent nodes across multiple branches. For instance, if two branches eventually lead to the same set of questions, one branch can display an extra message and then "jump to" the starting point of those common questions, ensuring the rest of the flow is identical for both branches without duplication.

Important Notes:

  • Node Title and Message: Most nodes will include fields for a "node title" (to differentiate it) and a "message" (to be shown to the candidate), as these are fundamental for clarity.
  • Flow Endings: A chatbot flow should not end on a question node. It should always conclude with a message, a meeting booking, a file upload, or another non-question node.
  • Feedback: Feedback is considered the "last thing" where we just ask the candidate how the experience was. It does not show up as a node in the typical node selection interface. You can also disable the feedback node, if necessary.
  • T2A Link: While there is a T2A (Text-to-Apply) link feature, it is generally used for "inbound sourcing and application" bots and is not commonly integrated or used directly from within the chatbot flow itself.

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