AI Intake
How the AI-powered conversation works
At the heart of Flowback is an AI-powered feedback conversation. Instead of static forms with text fields, Flowback uses a conversational AI assistant that engages with submitters in real-time, asking targeted follow-up questions to gather the most useful information possible.
How it works
When a submitter opens your feedback form and enters their details, the AI assistant begins a conversation. Here's what happens behind the scenes:
- Session creation — A temporary intake session is created to track the conversation state. Sessions automatically expire after 30 minutes of inactivity.
- Contextual greeting — A pre-built greeting is shown based on the selected category. For a bug report, it prompts about the issue; for a feature request, it asks about the problem being solved.
- Follow-up questions — Based on the submitter's responses, the AI asks relevant follow-up questions. For bugs, it asks about steps to reproduce and expected behavior. For features, it explores use cases and priority.
- Completion — When the AI determines it has enough information, it signals completion and the submitter can review and submit their feedback.
Conversation context
The AI assistant is not a generic chatbot. It receives specific context about:
- Feedback category — Bug reports get different questions than feature requests
- Channel configuration — The AI knows what types of feedback the channel collects
- Previous messages — The full conversation history is maintained throughout the session
- Codebase context — If GitHub is connected, the AI can reference relevant files and recent changes
This context-awareness means the AI asks questions that are actually useful — not generic prompts that frustrate users.
Streaming responses
All AI responses are streamed word-by-word to the feedback form. This creates a natural, real-time chat experience where submitters can see the assistant's response forming as they watch. Streaming reduces perceived latency and keeps users engaged.
Category-specific behavior
The AI adapts its conversation style based on the selected category:
- Bug reports — Focuses on reproducing the issue: what happened, what was expected, steps to reproduce, environment details, and severity.
- Feature requests — Explores the problem being solved, desired outcome, current workarounds, and how many users are affected.
- UX / usability — Asks about the specific interaction, what feels wrong, what the ideal experience would be, and frequency of use.
- Other categories — For any other type of feedback, the AI provides general guidance to help the submitter describe their experience clearly.
Submitter experience
From the submitter's perspective, the experience is simple:
- Enter their name and email
- Optionally select a feedback category
- Chat with the AI assistant about their feedback
- Optionally upload screenshots or files
- Submit when the conversation is complete
The AI handles all the structure — the submitter just talks naturally about their experience. No forms to fill out, no required fields to guess at, no templates to follow.
Session lifecycle
Intake sessions have a defined lifecycle:
- Active — The conversation is in progress
- Ready — The AI has gathered enough information and the session is ready to submit
- Submitting — The submission is being processed (PRD generation, issue creation)
- Submitted — The submission is complete
- Expired — The session timed out after 30 minutes of inactivity