Use this article to understand what releases are, how they keep Fin changes separate from live conversations, and when to use one to prepare, validate, and roll out changes.
What are releases?
A release is a dedicated workspace where you prepare and deploy changes to your Fin configuration. Instead of publishing edits straight to your live Fin configuration, you can add changes to a release. Nothing in a release affects Main Fin, the live production version of Fin, until you publish the release or start a rollout.
Why use releases?
Content, guidance, procedures, and other configuration all work together, so even a small update can have unexpected effects. Releases give you a structured way to manage those changes. With a release, you can:
Bundle related changes into a single release.
Collaborate with teammates before changes go live.
Validate changes using Preview and Evals before deployment.
Deploy with confidence by publishing immediately, rolling out gradually, or running an A/B test against Main Fin.
How do releases work?
A release moves through 4 stages, from preparing changes to shipping them:
Create the release. Give it a descriptive name that says what's changing. The name is for your team only, and Fin doesn't use it.
Add changes. A release can hold content, guidance, escalation guidance, procedures, and skills. You can add, edit, and delete these items inside the release.
Validate the changes. Use Preview to test how Fin behaves with your changes applied, and run Evals (themed groups of simulated test conversations) to check the release hasn't broken Fin's behavior elsewhere.
Ship the release. Publish it to Main Fin for all conversations, roll it out gradually to a percentage of conversations or a specific audience, or run an A/B test that splits conversations between the release and Main Fin.
Because changes are saved to wherever you're working, the release switcher tells you whether you're editing a release or Main Fin. A change saved inside a release never reaches customers on its own.
When should I use a release?
Use a release whenever a change is large enough that you want to test it before customers see it. These are common cases:
Case | How a release helps |
Prepare for a product launch | Update articles, add guidance, and create a procedure for the new feature in one release, then publish everything together or roll it out gradually first. |
Improve how Fin answers customer questions | Group your content changes into a release and compare the new configuration against your live setup to measure whether answer quality improves. |
Move from answering questions to resolving them | Introduce a procedure that lets Fin process refunds end-to-end, then use a phased rollout or A/B test to compare it with your existing content-based experience. |
What happens when a release conflicts with Main Fin?
If an item in a release is changed in Main Fin after you added it to the release, the release detects a conflict. While a conflict exists, you can't publish the release or start a rollout until you fix it. A conflict can also happen when two releases modify the same item: their changes aren't combined, and publishing one release causes a conflict in the other.
Who can propose and publish a release?
Working with releases depends on 2 permission levels for each kind of change in the release:
Propose: Teammates can make changes in a draft release, but can't set them live.
Publish: Teammates can publish changes directly to Main Fin, either one at a time or in a release. This includes gradual rollouts and A/B tests.
To set a release live, a teammate needs the publish level for every kind of change in it. You set the propose and publish levels for each area when you edit a teammate's permissions in Settings.
Which permissions control releases for Knowledge?
The Knowledge section of a teammate's permissions has one setting for content (snippets, internal articles, and syncs) and one for help center articles. Each setting has 3 options:
Content: Can view content; Can view content and propose changes in a draft release; Can view content and publish changes directly to main (individually or in a release).
Help center articles: Can view help center articles; Can view help center articles and propose changes in a draft release; Can view help center articles and publish changes directly to main (individually or in a release).
Which permissions control releases for Fin AI Agent & Automation?
The Fin AI Agent & Automation section has one setting, Permissions for workflows and all Fin configuration. It covers Fin configuration such as guidance, escalation, and procedures, and it has 4 options:
Doesn't have access to view configuration
Can view configuration
Can view configuration and propose changes in a draft release
Can view configuration and publish changes directly to main (individually or in a release)
When you select the publish option, an Inbound workflows & Fin configuration checkbox appears beneath it.
FAQs
What is Main Fin?
What is Main Fin?
Main Fin is your live production version of Fin, and it's also shown as Fin Main in some places. Changes in a release don't affect Main Fin until you publish the release or start a rollout.
Can a teammate with the propose level publish a release?
Can a teammate with the propose level publish a release?
A teammate with the propose level can't publish a release. They can make changes in a draft release, but can't set those changes live.
Do changes inside a release reach customers before I publish?
Do changes inside a release reach customers before I publish?
Changes inside a release don't reach customers before you publish the release or start a rollout. They're saved to the release, and Main Fin stays unchanged until then.
What do Publish to Fin Main, Save to Fin Main and Save to release draft mean?
What do Publish to Fin Main, Save to Fin Main and Save to release draft mean?
Publish to Fin Main saves your edit to Fin Main, and it goes live straight away. If the item isn't published on your Help Center and is off for every Fin agent, the button reads Save to Fin Main: your edit is saved, but nothing goes live until you publish the item or turn on an agent in Fin availability. Save to release draft, in the arrow menu next to the button, saves your edit to a release instead; none of these buttons publishes a release.
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