Variables and dynamic data

A variable is a placeholder, written between double curly braces, that Flowtative replaces with a value during the conversation: Hello {{caller.name}} becomes "Hello Claire Martin". Variables let a single agent greet each customer by name, reuse an order number given earlier, or pass on a piece of information at the end of the call. This page describes where values come from, where to use them, and how to avoid gaps when a value is missing.

The four data sourcesCopy Anchor Link

Writing a variableCopy Anchor Link

The syntax is the same everywhere variables are accepted:

• {{name}} or {{group.name}}: the name can be dotted, for example {{caller.phone_number}};
• spaces around the name are tolerated: {{ company }} is the same as {{company}};
• the value is substituted during the conversation, not when saving: the saved text keeps the braces.

In an agent's promptCopy Anchor Link

The System prompt field of the agent editor (Identity & prompt section) helps you insert variables without typos.

1. Place the cursor where you want the variable.
2. Type {{, or click Insert a variable. A menu opens, with a Search a variable… field.
3. Type a few letters to filter, by name or by label ("pho" finds Phone).
4. Click the variable: it is inserted in full, and the cursor is placed right after it.

Suggested variablesCopy Anchor Link

The menu groups the context variables the editor knows:

A suggested variable only has a value if the conversation supplies it. The caller's name or e-mail, for example, are not known from a plain inbound call: they must be passed at start or found during the conversation (see Example: personalize the greeting).

Standard and custom variablesCopy Anchor Link

You can write any other name, for example {{contract_number}}: this is a custom variable, supplied at run time. The editor tells them apart:

• in the text, a catalog variable and a custom variable are highlighted in two different colors;
• below the field, the Variables: line lists every variable detected, with the same distinction. On hover, a catalog variable shows its label followed by "standard variable", a custom variable "Custom variable (supplied at run time)".

Prompt exampleCopy Anchor Link

Role: reception assistant for {{company}}.
Context: today is {{currentDate}}. The caller is calling from {{caller.phone_number}}.
Goal: identify the reason for the call and route to the right department.
If the contract number {{contract_number}} is empty, ask for it before any other question.

In a flowCopy Anchor Link

In a flow, blocks share a common state: everything a function or a block records during the conversation is stored under state.parameters.<name> and remains readable by all following blocks. To reuse it in a text, write {{state.parameters.<name>}}.

Fields that accept variablesCopy Anchor Link

These fields have a "Type {{ or insert" bar with an Insert button, and list the variables they use below the input. Substitution happens each time the block is entered: if a value changes between two visits, the text follows.

Variables suggested by the editorCopy Anchor Link

The Insert menu and the Variables panel of the full-screen editor (Expand button) automatically suggest:

State writes from every function of the flow are suggested in every block, since the state is shared. If the list is empty, the menu reads "No variable detected — function state writes create them.": start by declaring a state write in a function (see Callable functions).

In the full-screen editor, the Variables panel can be narrowed with Filter…; a click inserts the variable at the cursor, and the used mark flags those already present in the text.

Providing a fallback valueCopy Anchor Link

An unresolved variable is replaced with empty text. To avoid a broken sentence, add a fallback value after ||:

Hello {{state.parameters.first_name || Sir or Madam}}, thank you for calling.

If first_name has not been recorded yet, the AI receives "Hello Sir or Madam, thank you for calling.".

Fixed values and pathsCopy Anchor Link

Some fields do not take a text with {{…}}, but a single value, either fixed or read from the conversation at run time. A value starting with state., args. or result. is a path; any other value is taken as is.

In the End parameters and the Human approval fields, a button switches each value between fixed text (abc) and path (path). In path mode, the value is shown preceded by braces, for example state.parameters.orderId.

Data from a contact baseCopy Anchor Link

In an outbound call campaign, each call starts from a record of the contact base. The calling agent can reuse the columns of this record in its prompt with the form ${contact.<column>}, where <column> is the exact column name:

Hello ${contact.prenom}, I am calling on behalf of the practice about
your appointment on ${contact.rdv_date} at ${contact.rdv_heure}.

To check the result, the campaign creation wizard shows on its first step:

• the Opening preview: the first sentence of the prompt that starts with "Bonjour", filled in with the first valid record of the base. As long as no base is chosen, or if a column is empty, the variable stays visible as ⟨prenom ?⟩;
• Variables detected in the agent: the columns the agent expects. The wizard recognizes ${contact.column} as well as simple variables without a dot, such as {{rdv_date}}.

If the wizard says "No variable in the agent prompt", the agent will speak without personalization. See Create a campaign.

Values supplied at startCopy Anchor Link

Two other ways supply variables when the conversation opens:

• Automations: the Default variables (JSON, optional) field, for example { "reason": "sales_callback" }, is passed to the agent on every trigger, and an API call can add to it. The agent then reads {{reason}}. See Automations.
• Tester: Test variables simulate the data of a real conversation, in chat and in voice. See Test an agent.

Example: personalize the greetingCopy Anchor Link

This path identifies the caller in a "Customers" base, greets them by name and passes their reference on at the end of the call.

Checking the values receivedCopy Anchor Link

See Transcripts.

Best practicesCopy Anchor Link

• Insert rather than type. The menu avoids typos, which produce an empty variable without any error message.
• Plan for absence. In a flow, add a {{… || …}} fallback to any variable that may be missing. In an agent prompt, write what to do if the value is empty ("if the name is unknown, ask for it").
• Do not rely on the tester to reveal a gap. It prefills prompt variables with sample values ("Testeur", a test number, today's date). Clear a value in Test variables to check the behavior without it.
• Name things consistently. Pick one name per piece of information (email, order_number) and keep it throughout the flow: the editor suggests names already in use.
• Limit personal data in prompts to what the conversation strictly needs.

Frequently asked questionsCopy Anchor Link

Learn moreCopy Anchor Link