We’re updating Fin’s Messenger experience to make conversations more natural, human, and effective. These changes improve how Fin interacts with your customers, when and how it escalates to your team, and how answer sources are presented.

Note: These updates are currently being made to the Intercom Messenger and Zendesk Messenger.

These improvements don't impact your Fin settings or existing handover rules and escalation guidance.

Fin is more conversational

Fin will now respond more naturally, without relying on rigid decision trees or quick reply buttons to determine when and how to escalate. This change makes interactions feel more conversational, engaging, and human. As a result, users tend to share more context in their replies, which helps Fin provide more tailored and helpful answers.

Customers will be able to:

Indicate that Fin has answered their question by responding positively (e.g., typing “That helped,” “Yes,” or “OK, thanks”) when Fin asks, “Did that help?”
Indicate that Fin has not answered their question by responding with negative feedback (e.g., typing “No” when Fin asks, “Did that help?”)
- At this point, they'll be shown a "Talk to a person" button, and they can use this to escalate directly to your team, or give additional information which Fin will use to refine its answer and continue the conversation.
- Example: A customer types, “No, that didn’t solve my issue.” Fin replies, “I’m sorry to hear that. Would you like to talk to a person?” and presents the “Talk to a person” button. The customer clicks the button and is quickly connected to a support agent.

See the FAQs for further information on how resolutions are counted.

Escalation uses natural language

Fin can also detect when a customer needs human support and will offer to escalate at the right time using intuitive, conversational prompts.

Your customers can ask to speak with a human directly, and Fin will guide them through the handoff using clear, conversational prompts. For example: A customer says, “Can I talk to someone?” Fin will guide them to your team in a smooth, human way.

Fin can also proactively offer to escalate in situations where a handoff seems necessary. These offers appear as a message prompt, such as: “I understand this is frustrating! Would you like me to connect you with a human agent? Or if you want, you can share more details and I’ll do my best to help you here.”

Fin determines when to offer or directly escalate based on the category of the customer’s message:

Category	Fin Behavior
Guidance	Guidance-based escalation settings take precedence over other categories. For example, if your Guidance states to do so, Fin escalates directly instead of offers to escalate.
Request	If the customer clearly requests human support, Fin escalates directly.
Angry	If the customer is angry, Fin will offer to escalate.
Loop	If the customer is stuck in a loop, Fin will offer to escalate. Note: A loop is considered to be 3 rounds of replies, where a customer repeats themselves without adding additional information.
How	If the customer asks how to speak to the human support team, Fin will offer to escalate.
Keyword	If the customer says things like “agent” or “support” Fin will offer to escalate.

Escalation will not be offered if

The customer asks about phone support or requests a phone number. In this case, Fin will respond based on the information available in your knowledge base, like any other informational query.
Fin has already offered to escalate in the previous AI answer. In this case, Fin will either escalate if the customer confirms the request, or continue with a regular response otherwise.

Tip: You can still control and customize how Fin escalates through Guidance. Guidance that you have set will take precedence over other escalation pathways mentioned above.

Examples of using Guidance to customize the escalation behavior

Below you will find some examples of how Fin Guidance can be used to adapt Fin’s escalation logic. The below are only a few examples of how Guidance can be used and can be used as inspiration.

Category	Fin Behavior	Example of how Guidance can be used to adapt escalation logic
Guidance	Guidance-based escalation settings take precedence over other categories. For example, if your Guidance states to do so, Fin escalates directly instead of offers to escalate.	For example, if your Guidance states to do so, Fin escalates directly instead of offers to escalate.
Request	If the customer clearly requests human support, Fin escalates directly.	You can use Guidance to make Fin introduce some friction, so that Fin offers to escalate when a customer requests human support, instead of directly escalating.
Angry	If the customer is angry, Fin will offer to escalate.	You can use Guidance to change Fin's sensitivity, so that Fin can offer even at slightest frustration, or escalate directly (instead of offering) when someone is furious.
Loop	If the customer is stuck in a loop, Fin will offer to escalate. Note: A loop is considered to be 3 rounds of replies, where a customer repeats themselves without adding additional information.	You can use Guidance to drop Fin's tolerance to loops, so that Fin offers to escalate sooner than the default 3 rounds.
How	If the customer asks how to speak to the human support team, Fin will offer to escalate.	You can use Guidance to change Fin’s behavior, so that Fin escalates directly instead of offering.
Keyword	If the customer says things like “agent” or “support” Fin will offer to escalate.	You can use Guidance to trigger keywords of your choice and offer escalation if the user mentions them.

Source links will now show inline

Fin will include source links directly in the answer it gives, so customers can quickly review the information and trust where it’s coming from, without needing to scroll to the bottom of the message.

Note: Sources will not be shown in Fin's answers over social channels (including WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook).

Fin can follow up with customer conversations

If a customer hasn’t responded after Fin provides an answer, Fin will check in if the customer has been inactive for 4 minutes and see if they still need help.

By default, Fin will check in with the customer, but this is fully configurable. You can:

Follow up configuration options	Reason to use
Option 1: Have Fin check in with the customer (Default Setting)	Select this if you’d like Fin to handle as much as possible.
Option 2: Have Fin check in with the customer and offer escalation to human support as part of this message	Select this if you’d like to involve human support more often.
Option 3: Turn it off entirely	Select this if you don’t want Fin to send any additional messages after responding.

This setting will live in the Let Fin answer step in Workflows.

If the customer still hasn’t replied after Fin has followed up, Fin can send a close out message if you’ve configured this in your settings.

Updates to the Workflows builder

The Workflows builder is being updated to reflect these changes to escalation. You’ll now see a clearer visual cue that Fin will attempt to answer customer questions conversationally, without quick reply buttons.

This is a visual update only, and it doesn’t impact how your Workflows behave. However, during the initial transition, users may experience a temporary adjustment period as they adapt to the new conversational design. To address this, consider incorporating a note in workflows to guide customers, such as suggesting they reply with specific text commands if needed.

FAQs

Why are quick reply buttons being removed?

We’re updating Fin’s conversational design to create a more open and natural dialogue experience. Instead of using quick reply buttons, Fin now encourages free-flowing conversation, that feels more engaging, encouraging customers to share more context and get better, more tailored answers.

How are resolutions counted?

A resolution is counted when a customer either confirms their question was answered by replying to Fin (a confirmed resolution, such as 'That helped, thanks'), or exits the conversation without requesting further assistance (assumed resolution).
Resolutions will not be counted if the customer gives negative feedback, such as saying 'No' to 'Did that help?'

How does Fin make conversations feel more human?

Fin now uses a more conversational tone, asks clarifying questions, and responds in a way that feels natural and engaging. Fin also remembers the context of the conversation, so customers don’t have to repeat themselves.

What happens if a customer doesn’t respond after Fin’s answer?

By default, if a customer doesn’t respond after Fin answers their question, Fin will gently check in after 4 minutes to ensure they received the help they needed. If there’s still no reply, Fin may send a closing message or offer to connect the customer with a human agent, depending on your setup.

How to configure:

Go to the Deploy section and edit your Fin workflow.
Click the Let Fin answer step and look for the "Follow up with inactive customers" section.

Can I still configure escalations using Guidance?

Yes, you can still control and customize how Fin escalates through Guidance. Guidance that you have set will take precedence over other escalation pathways mentioned above. We recommend familiarizing yourself with the default escalation behavior for the categories listed above. If needed, you can update or add new Guidance to make Fin more or less sensitive than the baseline behavior for each category. For example, if you want Fin to escalate 'Loop' issues more quickly than the default behavior, you can add or adjust the Guidance accordingly.

Can I still use quick reply buttons?

Quick reply buttons are being removed as part of this update, and they can’t be toggled on or off. This change creates a more natural, human experience for customers by encouraging them to interact with Fin more conversationally instead of relying on rigid button flows. As a result, users tend to share more context, allowing Fin to deliver more relevant and helpful answers.

Does this impact Fin in other channels?

These updates are currently being made to the Intercom Messenger and Zendesk Messenger. Quick reply buttons will still exist for Zendesk Tickets and other channels.

A more conversational, human Fin experience