This article explains the survey Conversation Builder. For more info the survey email set up see Survey Template: Design Your Email on the "Survey Start" Page

⚠️ Common Error Messages & Troubleshooting

Introduction

The Conversation Builder is AskNicely’s advanced, logic-based survey editor that allows you to create personalized, interactive survey experiences. It enables you to ask questions dynamically based on contact data or prior responses, giving your surveys a conversational, chat-style flow.

Use it to:

Personalize questions based on contact data or prior answers
Present surveys in a chat-style interface
Ask NPS, CSAT, CES, multiple-choice, and open-ended questions

Step-by-Step Instructions

Video Tutorial

Getting Started

Navigate to your Survey Template
Click “Survey” to access the Conversation Builder from the Survey Start page
Familiarize yourself with the four key components:
- Avatar (Character)
- Cards (Questions and Messages)
- Groups (Logical Branches)
- Logic (Conditional Flows)

Choose Your Avatar ("Character")

To match your brand, click on the default avatar image (e.g., the pink lady character) to:

Choose from available avatars
Or upload a custom image (e.g., a team member’s face or logo)

Question Cards

Cards represent all elements shown to the respondent: questions, messages, or logical jumps.

To create a new Card:

Click + New Question

Card Types Include:

Open Questions – free-text responses, these questions can be supercharged with Dynamic Surveys
Scorecards – allows the respondent to select the reason for their score (configured in the Scorecard app). Single or multi-select options available
List Question – single or multi-select options available
NPS/CSAT - for additional NPS or CSAT questions in-survey, does not affect the primary score
CES (Customer Effort Score) - measure how easy or convenient something was to complete
Contact Lookup - respondent can enter their email or mobile and they are matched against an existing contact otherwise a new contact is created. For use with Survey Links where respondents are typically anonymous.
Review Request - guide your happiest customers to leave positive reviews on platforms like Google Reviews, Yelp, and G2. Only usable in the last group of the survey. See the Review Request article for more info.

🔔 Open Questions require a corresponding long-text field if syncing with Salesforce.

Groups – Organize the Flow

Groups help you organize Cards into sections. You can jump between Groups using logic.

To create a Group:

Click + New Group

Use Groups to branch conversations based on:

Response type (e.g., Promoter vs. Detractor)
Contact data (e.g., Segment, Location)

Logic

Customize the displayed question based on contact data or answers to prior questions. Add logic by clicking “Add Logic” on a Question Card. Use logic to:

Show/hide follow-up questions based on NPS score
Display different messages for different Segments or Locations
Route respondents to different Groups based on answers

🧠 If no logic and no default is set, the Card will be skipped.

⚠️ Custom Logic is not available on List questions with multi-select enabled.

Options

Legacy Feature for List Questions

List questions let you:

Define pre-set answers (e.g., CSAT 1–5)
Use logic to jump to another group when a specific option is selected

To add or edit Options:

Click Add Option, or edit/delete existing ones

Use branching logic here to dig deeper based on specific selections.

Navigating the Conversation Builder

Corner	Function
Upper Left	Branch Names – Select which branch to view
Upper Right	Preview the survey live using a test contact and simulate different paths
Lower Right	Save – Save frequently, especially before Previewing
Lower Left	Options – Copy/paste Conversation JSON (used for support or reset)

To reset everything, click “Reset to default version” to clear all customizations

Survey Expiry

Want to limit the window in which a contact can respond?

Scroll to the bottom of the Survey Builder
Check the box for “Survey Expire”
Set:
- Expiration period
- Custom expiration message shown to expired contacts

Troubleshooting

Missing “comment” Question

AskNicely requires an Open Question with the question key set to comment or an Open Dynamic question (will automatically generate a key of ai_question_1). This is the reserved field where Contact comments will be stored. These are the comments viewable on the Responses page. This field is required for multiple AskNicely features.

Fix:

Create an Open Question and name its key comment, or
Edit an existing Open Question and rename the key to comment
or, create an Open Question and enable Dynamic Surveys

⚠️ Changing the question key may split historical data between the old and new key

General Validation Error

Usually caused by:

Blank logic fields
Deleted List Question options that were referenced in logic
Missing or deleted Custom Data Fields

To resolve:

Review logic for each card
Check custom data references
Ensure all referenced fields and values exist

Preview

Use the Preview tool to simulate real responses
Enable Record Real Test Response to trigger Workflows and view results on the Dashboard
Save often!

FAQs & Common Issues

Q: Can I use Conversation logic based on contact data like Location or Segment?
A: Yes! You can customize Cards based on any data field tied to the contact.
Q: Why is my card being skipped?
A: It likely has logic that doesn’t match the contact, and no default path is set.
Q: Can I preview a real survey experience?
A: Yes. Use Preview > Record Real Test Response to simulate the full Workflow.
Q: What happens if I reset to default?
A: All customizations are erased, and the template returns to its original state.
Q: When a List Question is Responded to, where are "value" and "label" displayed?
A: Displays label in the survey and the Response, displays value on Responses CSV and "Questions" sections of Overview page and Dashboard.
Q: Can I add bold or italics to survey questions?
A: Yes, basic markdown is supported
*italic text*
**bold text**
Q: If I change something in a Template, will it update historic Responses?
A: No, updating options in List questions will not retroactively update existing Responses.

Next Steps & Related Articles

Video Tutorial

Need Help?

Click the question mark icon in the bottom-right corner of the platform or reach out to your Customer Success Manager. We're here to help you build smarter surveys!