> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.callkaro.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Step Types > All thirteen step types, every field, and what each one does in a conversation ## At a glance | Step | Waits for the user? | Sends | Exits | | - | - | - | - | | [Start](#start) | — | nothing | 1 | | [Send text](#send-text) | optional | a message | 1 | | [Send buttons](#send-buttons) | yes | a message with reply buttons or a list | one per button, AI branches, anything else | | [Send template](#send-template) | with buttons, or optional | an approved WhatsApp template | one per quick reply, AI branches, anything else — or 1 | | [Send media](#send-media) | optional | an image, video, audio or document | 1 | | [Ask & save](#ask-and-save) | yes | a question | 1 | | [Custom function](#custom-function) | optional | nothing (unless the function sends) | 2 — success, failure | | [Update contact](#update-contact) | no | nothing | 1 | | [Condition](#condition) | no | nothing | one per branch, otherwise | | [Schedule call](#schedule-call) | no | nothing — places a voice call | 1 | | [Send contact card](#send-contact-card) | no | a contact card | 1 | | [Global intent](#global-intent) | — | nothing | 1 | | [End](#end) | — | an optional closing message | none | *** ## Start Where every conversation begins. It has one exit: connect it to the first step. A conversation whose messages carry no step yet starts there. Nothing can point back into Start. *** ## Send text One WhatsApp message. | Field | | | - | - | | **Message** | **Exact text** (sent word for word, with [variables](/chat-agents/advanced/flow-builder#variables-in-exact-text) filled in) or **AI writes it** (guidance the AI writes the message from) | | **Wait for the reply** | On: the turn ends here. Off: the flow moves straight on to the next step in the same turn | | **Next step** | Where to go | Use **Wait for the reply** for a question. Leave it off for a line that leads into the next step — "Let me check that for you" before a function, or a greeting before a template. *** ## Send buttons A message with up to **3 reply buttons** of 20 characters. With a 4th button, or a title over 20 characters, it is sent as a **list** of up to 10 rows of 24 characters instead. | Field | | | - | - | | **Message text** | Exact text or AI writes it. The buttons are always added by code, exactly as you typed them | | **Buttons** | Each button's text, an optional row description (lists only, 72 characters), an optional **Also when**, and where it goes | | **Branches the AI decides** | Branches for typed replies that are not a button — see [Branches and conditions](/chat-agents/advanced/branches-and-conditions) | | **Anything else** | Where a reply that matches nothing goes. Left empty: the AI answers briefly and asks again | | **Footer** | Optional, 60 characters | | **List button** | The label of the list's menu button, 20 characters (default "Select") | Always waits for the reply. *** ## Send template An approved WhatsApp template — the one kind of message WhatsApp lets you send outside the 24-hour window. | Field | | | - | - | | **WhatsApp template** | Any approved template on the account. Its preview shows below | | **Variables** | A [source](/chat-agents/advanced/flow-builder#where-a-value-comes-from) for each placeholder: the media header, `{{1}}` in the header and body, and URL-button suffixes. An image, video or document header has an **Upload** button that hosts the file and fills in its link | | **Buttons** | The template's quick-reply buttons, each a branch with an optional **Also when** | | **Branches the AI decides** | Branches for typed replies | | **Anything else** / **Next step** | Where the rest goes | | **Wait for the reply** | Only when the template has no buttons and no AI branches | | **Track link clicks** | For templates with URL buttons | Every variable except **AI decides** is filled in by code, so a name or a link is never retyped. The AI fills only the variables marked **AI decides**, from the prompt you give each one. > [!NOTE] > > A document header's file name cannot be set from a chat agent; the variable is not listed. *** ## Send media An image, video, audio clip or document. | Field | | | - | - | | **Type** | Image, Video, Audio or Document | | **Link** | A source. As a fixed value, upload a file to get a permanent link, or paste a public `https://` link | | **File name** | Documents only — what the user sees, with its extension | | **Caption** | Not for audio. Up to 1,024 characters | | **Wait for the reply** | Off by default | WhatsApp's limits: images 5 MB (JPEG, PNG; others are converted), video 16 MB (MP4), audio 16 MB (MP3, OGG, AAC), documents 100 MB. Never put a link in a caption — it is not clickable there. *** ## Ask and save Shown as **Ask & save** in the step menu. Asks for one thing, checks the answer, and saves it on the contact. | Field | | | - | - | | **Question** | Exact text or AI writes it | | **Expected answer** | Any text, Email, Phone number, Number, Date or Link | | **When the answer is not valid** | Optional, sent as is. Empty: the AI says so in its own words and asks again | | **Save the answer to** | Optional — a contact attribute | | **Skip when already known** | On (default): a contact who already has that attribute skips straight to the next step | Always waits. The AI saves a valid answer with `update_contact` before moving on. *** ## Custom function Calls one of the agent's own functions — a Python function from the **Functions** page, see [Custom Functions](/chat-agents/functions/custom-functions). | Field | | | - | - | | **Function** | One of the agent's code functions | | **How to call it** | Optional guidance for its arguments — "Pass the date the user asked for, as YYYY-MM-DD" | | **Wait for the reply** | Turn on when the function sends a message itself (a **direct send** function, such as one that posts a payment link): the flow waits for the user's answer to that message | | **Success** / **Failure** | Where to go. Failure means the function errored or returned an error | The function's result can fill later steps: pick **Function result** as a source, or use `{{function_name.field}}` in exact text. A [Condition](#condition) right after it can branch on a field of the result, checked by code the moment the function returns. *** ## Update contact Saves values on the contact's CRM record. Sends nothing. Each row is an **attribute** and a **source**: a fixed value, another contact attribute, a field of a function result, or **AI decides** ("the city the user mentioned"). The attributes are your account's contact attributes (**Contacts → Attributes**); only attributes set to update from chat messages are written by a chat agent. *** ## Condition Sends the conversation down one branch. Sends nothing. Each branch is either: * **Rule (checked by code)** — a contact attribute or a field of a function result, compared with `equals`, `does not equal`, `contains`, `is greater than`, `is less than`, `is empty` or `is not empty`. Text compares ignore case; greater and less compare numbers. * **AI judges (prompt)** — a condition in words: "The user sounds ready to buy". Branches are checked top to bottom; the first true one wins. **Otherwise** takes everything else. See [Branches and conditions](/chat-agents/advanced/branches-and-conditions). *** ## Schedule call Places — or schedules — a voice call to the user with one of your voice agents. | Field | | | - | - | | **Voice agent** | The agent that makes the call | | **When to call** | Guidance for the AI. Empty: now, unless the user asked for a time | | **Calling hours (IST)** | From / to, 0–24. A call outside them is moved to the next window, or skipped — your choice | In Test Chat no call is placed; the AI is told what would have happened. *** ## Send contact card Shares a contact card the user can save in one tap: first and last name, display name, phone, email, organization. It needs a name, and a phone number or an email. *** ## Global intent A detour available **at any point** of the conversation — "asks for the price", "wants to talk to a person", "says stop". | Field | | | - | - | | **When does this apply?** | The trigger, in words | | **Next step** | The first step of the detour | Nothing can point into a global intent; it has no input. Build its branch like any other, and leave the branch's last exit unconnected: when the detour is done, the AI returns to the step the conversation was on. End the branch with an **End** step when the detour should finish the conversation (an opt-out, for example). *** ## End The planned flow finishes here. | Field | | | - | - | | **Closing message** | Optional — exact text or AI writes it. Empty: it finishes without a message | With follow-ups on, the conversation is marked done, so no follow-up is sent. If the user writes again, the AI helps within the persona's role and goal. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.