Exercise 4: Verify Customers with Hybrid Reasoning - Part 2

In this exercise, you’ll implement verified-customer guardrails using variables, a dedicated Verify Customers topic, and conditional logic in Order Issues & Refunds.

Step 1: Create a new topic (Verify Customers)

First, create a dedicated topic that handles identity verification.

1. In Agentforce Builder, click the + sign besides Topics in the explorer.

2. Select Create new topic.

3. Enter Verify Customers as the topic name, and click Create and Open.

4. Set the topic fields:

   Field	Value
   Description	Verifies a customer’s identity before allowing access to sensitive support actions.

5. Click Save.

Step 2: Add Verify Customers to Topic Selector (routing)

Next, make sure the agent can route into your new topic.

1. In the explorer, open Topic Selector.

2. Open the Authoring Agent (toggle the right panel).

3. Enter the following prompt:

   Add Verify Customers as a transition in the Topic Selector.

4. Review the suggested change and apply it.

5. Click Save.

Step 3: Create an action (Send Email with Verification Code)

Next, create the first Flow action used by the Verify Customers topic.

1. In the explorer, open Verify Customers.

2. Click on the + sign besides Actions, and select Create new action.

3. Enter Send Email with Verification Code as action name and click Create and Open.

4. Enter the following information:

   Field	Value
   Agent Action Label	Send Email with Verification Code
   Description	Sends a verification code to the customer’s email address.
   Reference Action Type	Flow
   Reference Action	Send Email with Verification Code
   Inputs - customerToVerify	Select checkbox Require Input to execute action
   Outputs - verificationMessage	Select checkbox Show in conversation

5. Click Save.

Step 4: Create an action (Verify Code)

Next, create the second Flow action used by the Verify Customers topic.

1. In the explorer, stay in Verify Customers.

2. Click on the + sign besides Actions, and select Create new action.

3. Enter Verify Code as action name.

4. Enter the following information:

   Field	Value
   Agent Action Label	Verify Code
   Description	Verifies a user-provided verification code.
   Reference Action Type	Flow
   Reference Action	Verify Code
   Inputs - customerCode	Select checkbox Require Input to execute action
   Inputs - customerId	Select checkbox Require Input to execute action
   Inputs - customerType	Select checkbox Require Input to execute action

5. Click Save.

Step 5: Add variables for verified-customer context

Next, create global variables that the agent can use across topics.

You’ll use these variables throughout the rest of the workshop:

• IsVerifiedCustomer: Track whether the customer has successfully completed verification.
• VerificationKey: Store the authentication key returned by Send Email with Verification Code so it can be passed into Verify Code.
• FirstName: Store the customer’s first name so the agent can refer to them by name in responses.

1. Click on Variables in the explorer.

2. Replace the existing variables with the block below:

   variables:
      EndUserId: linked string
         source: @MessagingSession.MessagingEndUserId
         description: "This variable may also be referred to as MessagingEndUser Id"
      RoutableId: linked string
         source: @MessagingSession.Id
         description: "This variable may also be referred to as MessagingSession Id"
      ContactId: linked string
         source: @MessagingEndUser.ContactId
         description: "This variable may also be referred to as MessagingEndUser ContactId"
      EndUserLanguage: linked string
         source: @MessagingSession.EndUserLanguage
         description: "This variable may also be referred to as MessagingSession EndUserLanguage"
      VerifiedCustomerId: mutable string = ""
         description: "This variable may also be referred to as VerifiedCustomerId"
      IsVerifiedCustomer: mutable boolean = False
         description: "Whether the user is a verified customer or not"
      VerificationKey: mutable string = ""
         description: "Authentication key used to link email-code issuance to code verification"
      FirstName: mutable string = ""
         description: "Customer first name for personalization after verification"

3. Click Save.

TIP

At the moment, editing variables is only available in Agent Script. A dedicated user interface for managing variables will be added later in the beta.

Step 6: Add actions to the Verify Customers topic

Next, add the actions to the topic and map inputs/outputs to your global variables. This work happens under Actions Available For Reasoning.

1. In the explorer, open Verify Customers.

2. Click on the arrow besides Select action, and select Send Email with Verification Code.

3. Expand the Send Email with Verification Code action and map the outputs:

   • Set the output for the verified customer identifier to VerifiedCustomerId.
   • Set the output for the authentication key to VerificationKey.

   

4. Click Save.

5. Click on the arrow besides Select action, and select Verify Code.

6. Expand the Verify Code action and configure it:

   • In the action inputs, set the authentication key input to the VerificationKey variable.
   • Map the output that represents whether the customer is verified to IsVerifiedCustomer.

   

7. Click Save.

8. Click on the arrow besides Select action, and select Get Customer Profile.

9. Expand the Get Customer Profile action and configure it:

   • In the action inputs, set the VerifiedCustomerId input to the VerifiedCustomerId variable.
   • Map the output that represents the customer’s first name to FirstName.

   

10. Click Save.

Step 7: Update the Verify Customers topic instructions

Next, replace the topic instructions with a clear, step-by-step verification flow. This work happens in the Instructions section.

1. In the explorer, open Verify Customers.

2. Replace the topic instructions with the text below:

   Follow the below Rules step by step
   
   Rules:
   
   Step 1:
   
   Ask the user for their Email Address or Username.
   
   If not provided you will ask for it and you won't proceed
   
   After Step 1 please proceed to Step 2
   
   Step 2:
   
   Send a verification code to the user using (@SendEmailwithVerificationCode PLACEHOLDER) with the email address or username provided.
   
   After Step 2 please proceed to Step 3
   
   Step 3:
   
   Wait for the user to provide their verification code.
   
   When the users sends through the code, then you must run the (@VerifyCodePLACEHOLDER) action with the code they submitted.
   
   After Step 3 please proceed to Step 4
   
   Step 4:
   
   If the customer has successfully verified themselves, then retrieve their customer profile using @Get Customer Profile and begin to address them by their (@FirstNamePLACEHOLDER).
   
   Ask the user if they would like you to continue with their request.
   
   After Step 4 please proceed to Step 5
   
   Step 5:
   
   (Add Logic Placeholder)

3. Click Save.

4. After you paste the instructions, replace the placeholders by typing @ and selecting:

   • Send Email with Verification Code
   • Verify Code
   • Get Customer Profile

5. For the logic placeholder, type / and add a Conditional Statement:

   1. Select the IsVerifiedCustomer variable.

   2. Leave the default == operator and set the value to true.

   3. Underneath the conditional logic, open the resource picker again and select Transition.

   4. In the transition topic, select Topic Selector.

   5. Click the Add button next to the conditional logic and select Else.

   6. Under the Else branch, paste the text below:

      Provide the user with the verification message returned from Send Email with Verification Code then return to Step 1.

6. Click Save.

Step 8: Update the Order Issues & Refunds topic to use verified context

Next, update the Order Issues & Refunds topic so sensitive actions run only after the customer is verified. The action input mappings happen under Actions Available For Reasoning, and the conditional/transition work happens in the Instructions section.

1. In the explorer, open the Order Issues & Refunds topic.

2. In the actions section, expand Get Related Cases and set the verifiedCustomerId input to the VerifiedCustomerId variable.

3. Expand Handle Order Refunds and set the verifiedCustomerId input to the VerifiedCustomerId variable.

4. Click Save.

5. In the Instructions block, type / to open the resource picker.

   

6. Select Conditional Statement.

7. Select the IsVerifiedCustomer variable.

8. Leave the default == operator and set the value to False.

9. Underneath the conditional logic, open the resource picker again and select Transition.

10. In the transition topic, select Verify Customers.

    TIP

    This is where hybrid reasoning shines: the agent can use conditional logic (for example, checking IsVerifiedCustomer) to transition to another topic for verification, then return and continue the workflow. This makes handoffs predictable while still allowing natural, conversational interactions.

11. Click the Add button next to the conditional logic and select Else.

12. Under the Else block, add short, explicit instructions that tell the agent when to run the actions you added in Exercise 3 (for example, Get Related Cases and Handle Order Refunds).

13. Click Save.

Step 9: Test the end-to-end journey

1. Click Preview.

2. Enter the following prompt:

   Hi, I'm Alex Morgan. Can you show me my open cases?

3. Press Enter on your keyboard.

4. In Interaction Details, confirm the agent transitions to Verify Customers before running any sensitive actions.

5. If the agent asks for an email address, enter alex.morgan@example.com and press Enter.

6. In the Interaction Details panel, open the Send Email with Verification Code action and locate the verificationCode in the output response.

   

7. Copy the verificationCode and paste it into the agent dialog. Confirm with Enter.

8. After verification completes, confirm the agent returns to Order Issues & Refunds and can run Get Related Cases.

Summary

You have implemented a reusable Verify Customers topic and hybrid reasoning guardrails so Order Issues & Refunds can require verification before running sensitive actions.