Documentation Deployments & Rollouts

Deployments & Rollouts

Deploy your conversational flows to production with controlled rollouts and audience targeting.

On this page

Overview

A deployment connects your flow to a platform (like Intercom or your website) and controls who sees it and which version they interact with.

Why Use Deployments?

  • Test new versions with a small group before full launch
  • Target specific customer segments (VIPs, enterprise, etc.)
  • Gradually roll out features to minimize risk
  • Pin stable versions for critical flows

Getting Started

Creating Your First Deployment

  1. Build your flow - Create and test your conversational flow in the editor
  2. Publish a version - Save a stable snapshot of your flow
  3. Create deployment - Choose your platform and configure rollout
  4. Monitor and adjust - Track performance and expand rollout

Example: Support Bot Deployment

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Flow: "Customer Support Bot v2.1"
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Platform: Intercom
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Rollout: Start with 10% of VIP customers
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Expand: Gradually increase to 100% over 2 weeks

Version Control

Every time you publish changes to your flow, a new version is created. Your deployment can either use the latest version automatically or stay pinned to a specific version.

Latest Version (Recommended for Development)

Automatically uses your newest published version. Perfect for active development and rapid iteration.

  • Pros: Always up-to-date, no manual updates needed
  • Cons: Changes deploy immediately
  • Best for: Test environments, non-critical flows

Pinned Version (Recommended for Production)

Locks to a specific version until you manually update it. Gives you full control over when changes go live.

  • Pros: Predictable, controlled updates
  • Cons: Requires manual version updates
  • Best for: Production environments, critical flows

Conversations Stay on Their Version

Once a customer starts a conversation, they'll complete it on the same version—even if you publish updates. This prevents confusing mid-conversation changes.

Rollout Strategies

Rollouts use a two-stage filtering process to control who sees your bot:

  1. Attribute Filtering - First, filter users based on their attributes (tags, email domains, etc.)
  2. Percentage Rollout - Then, apply a percentage to that filtered group

This means if you target "VIP customers" at "50%", the system first finds all VIP customers, then shows the bot to 50% of them.

Gradual Rollout Example

Week 1
10% rollout
Week 2
25% rollout
Week 3
50% rollout
Week 4
100% rollout - Full launch!

How It Works

After filtering by attributes, the percentage rollout controls what portion of that filtered group sees your bot. The selection is:

  • Deterministic - Same user always gets the same experience
  • Distributed - Evenly spread across your filtered user base
  • Permanent - Once someone is in or out, they stay that way

Changing Percentages Doesn't Affect Existing Conversations

If someone was excluded at 25% rollout, increasing to 50% won't include them. Only new conversations are evaluated. This keeps the experience consistent.

Audience Targeting

Target specific user segments based on their attributes. This filtering happens before the percentage rollout is applied.

Common Targeting Scenarios

1. VIP Customers Only

Release premium features to your best customers first:

Filter: Users with "VIP" tag
Percentage: 100%
Result: All VIP customers see the bot

2. Enterprise Beta Test

Test with a subset of enterprise customers:

Filter: Users with "Enterprise" tag
Percentage: 25%
Result: 25% of enterprise customers see the bot

3. Email Domain Filtering

Launch to specific company domains:

Filter: Email ends with "@bigcorp.com"
Percentage: 100%
Result: All BigCorp employees see the bot

4. Gradual Launch to Premium Users

Slow rollout within paid customer segment:

Filter: Subscription plan = "Premium"
Percentage: Start at 10%, increase to 100%
Result: Gradually include more premium customers

Two-Stage Process

The system first applies your attribute filters to narrow down the audience, then applies the percentage rollout to that filtered group. This gives you precise control over who sees your bot.

Available Targeting Options

What you can target depends on your platform. See the platform-specific guides below for detailed targeting options.

Managing Deployments

Viewing Deployment Details

  • Click the Deployments button in Flow Editor
  • Hover over a deployment to see quick info
  • Click a deployment name to view full details

Editing a Deployment

  1. Open the deployment details
  2. Click the Edit button (pencil icon)
  3. Make your changes
  4. Click Save Changes

Activating/Deactivating

  • Click the power button icon
  • Confirm the action
  • Active deployments respond to messages
  • Inactive deployments don't process any conversations
Back to Deployments Next: Rollout Strategies