# What Is User Input in ZazzyAgent? Complete Guide A chatbot becomes much more useful when it can collect information from customers. Instead of only saying: > Welcome! How can I help? you can ask: > What is your name? > What service are you interested in? > What is your budget? > What is your email address? ZazzyAgent's **User Input** functionality lets a flow collect these answers and use them later in the automation. ## What is User Input? User Input is a component that pauses a conversation, asks the customer for information and saves the response. The basic pattern is: ```text Question ↓ Customer responds ↓ User Input ↓ Save response ↓ Next step ``` ## What can you collect? Depending on the configuration, you can collect information such as: * Text * Email * Phone number * Numbers * Other supported input types The available input types depend on the current User Input configuration. ## Example: Lead form You could ask: > What is your name? Customer: > Rahul Then: > What's your email? Customer: > [rahul@example.com](mailto:rahul@example.com) Then: > What are you looking for? Customer: > WhatsApp automation. The flow now has useful structured information about the lead. ## Why save the response? If you only display the question and don't save the answer, that information has limited value. Saving it allows later parts of your automation to use the customer's response. For example: ```text User Input ↓ Budget = 75000 ↓ Condition ↓ Budget > 50000 ``` Now the conversation can branch according to the customer's answer. ## User Input vs a normal message These are different. ### Normal message > What is your budget? The bot asks a question but doesn't necessarily collect it into a structured field. ### User Input > What is your budget? Customer answers. ZazzyAgent captures the answer and saves it according to your configuration. ## User Input vs Quick Reply Use **Quick Reply** when the customer should choose from predefined options. Example: **Small** **Medium** **Large** Use **User Input** when the customer needs to provide their own answer. Example: > What is your budget? Customer types: > ₹75,000 ## User Input vs WhatsApp Flow A User Input step is useful for collecting individual answers within a conversation. A WhatsApp Flow is better when you want a more structured form experience with multiple fields and screens. Both solve data-collection problems, but they provide different customer experiences. ## Save to a system field Some inputs can be saved to existing customer information fields. For example: * Name * Email * Phone Where the appropriate system field is available, use it rather than creating unnecessary custom fields. ## Save to a custom field For business-specific information, use custom fields. Examples: **Budget** **City** **Property Type** **Preferred Date** **Requirement** See [ZazzyAgent Custom Fields Guide](https://blog.zazzyagent.com/zazzyagent-custom-fields-guide). ## Example: Lead qualification ```text What service do you need? ↓ User Input ↓ Save: Service Interest What is your budget? ↓ User Input ↓ Save: Budget When do you want to start? ↓ User Input ↓ Save: Timeline ``` Those values can then be used by your AI Agent, conditions, labels and other automation. ## Use User Input with conditions Suppose you ask: > How many employees are in your company? Customer: > 250 Save: **Company Size = 250** Then: ```text Company Size > 100 ↓ Enterprise Lead ``` Otherwise: ```text Standard Lead ``` ## Use User Input with labels A customer could answer: > I need a demo. Your automation can save the response and then add a suitable label. This turns conversational information into structured customer data. ## Use User Input with sequences After collecting a customer's information, you can start a relevant sequence. For example: **Product Interest = Enterprise** ↓ Start: > Enterprise Follow-up ## Use User Input with APIs User Input becomes especially powerful when combined with HTTP APIs. For example: ```text Customer enters Order Number ↓ Save Order Number ↓ HTTP API ↓ Check Order ↓ Customer receives status ``` See [How to Use HTTP API in ZazzyAgent Flow Builder](https://blog.zazzyagent.com/how-to-use-http-api-zazzyagent-flow-builder). ## Use the right question for the field Bad: > Tell us your information. Better: > What is your company name? Specific questions produce better data. ## Don't collect unnecessary information Every question adds friction. Before adding a field, ask: > Will my business use this information? If not, remove it. ## Use validation If you're collecting an email address, use an email input/validation configuration rather than accepting anything as text. If you're collecting a number, configure it appropriately. See [How to Validate User Input in ZazzyAgent](https://blog.zazzyagent.com/validate-user-input-zazzyagent). ## What happens if the customer gives invalid information? Your flow should handle it properly. For example: > Please enter a valid email address. Then let the customer try again. ## Multi-step data collection User Input can be used several times in the same flow. For example: ```text Name ↓ Email ↓ Phone ↓ Requirement ↓ Budget ↓ Confirmation ``` This creates a simple conversational form. ## User Input and AI An AI Agent and User Input can work together. For example, the AI can understand that a customer has already provided their: > Name and avoid asking for it again. The structured data remains useful for your automations. ## Test User Input Test every field. Check: * Question * Input type * Saved field * Validation * Next step * Invalid response behavior ## The basic rule Remember: > **Message = tell the customer something.** > **Quick Reply = let the customer choose.** > **User Input = collect information.** Once you understand that distinction, building data-driven flows becomes much easier.