Conversation Patterns | Rasa Documentation

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Real conversations are rarely linear—users switch topics, correct themselves, and ask follow-up questions. Conversation patterns are reusable system flows that are provided by CALM and enable your AI assistant to handle these non-linear interactions cooperatively, and repair the conversation when customers don’t follow the path you expect them to.

Use conversation patterns for smarter AI assistants

You can’t predict everything a user will say—and with conversation patterns, you don’t have to. Conversation patterns make your assistant more flexible and effective by:

Keeping conversations on track: Handle unexpected inputs seamlessly, leading to more successful outcomes and a better user experience.
Simplifying design and development: Helps the team focus on crafting great user journeys and business logic instead of accounting for every possible detour.

How Conversation Patterns work

Here’s an overview of the different types of conversation patterns:

Category	Conversation Patterns
Conversation Repair	Correct mistakes and misunderstandings with correction, clarification, and interruption patterns.
Conversation Navigation	Navigate conversations helping users to cancel, restart, or complete a process.
External Support	Provide external support with search, human handoff, or chitchat patterns.
Voice	Prepare to repeat something and handle scenarios where the user remains silent.
System Error	Inform the user of unexpected system issues, like an internal error or code change. Activate cannot handle (fallback) pattern if no flow or relevant documents apply.

Conversation Patterns in Action

Here is an example of a conversation pattern in each category listed above:

Correction (repair pattern): Update and correct previously stored conversational information.

User:

My name is Jonathan, not John.

correction triggered

Bot:

Thanks for letting me know! It’s important to get things right. Should I update your name to Jonathan in my records?

User:

Yes, please.

updated first name to Jonathan

Bot:

Great! I’ve updated your name to Jonathan. Let me know if there’s anything else I can assist with.

Example showcasing corrections

Cancellation (navigation pattern): Allows a user to stop a task in the middle of one topic or task.

User:

I want to send some money to Dimitri

Bot:

How much money do you want to send?

User:

Ah, never mind. I see I have already sent it earlier.

cancellation triggered

Bot:

Okay, I am canceling the transfer.

Example showcasing error handling

Start a conversation (navigation pattern): Conversations can be initiated by either your assistant or the user.

session started

Bot:

Hi there! How can I assist you today?

Example showcasing a simple assistant greeting

Search (external support pattern): Enables your assistant to query data from your knowledge base with Rasa's enterprise search feature and provide helpful answers.

User:

What is your policy on returns?

pattern search started

Bot:

We accept returns within 30 days of purchase if they are returned in new condition and original packaging. Would you like to start a return process?

Example showcasing enterprise search

Repeat (voice pattern): Enables your assistant to repeat a previous message.

Bot:

Your order #1377 is on its way. Would you like to track it?

User:

Can you repeat that?

repeat triggered

Bot:

Of course, your order #1377 is on its way. Would you like to track it?

Example showcasing a user asking the assistant to repeat the last message

Errors (system pattern): Invalid responses or technical issues might require apologies or alternative actions. In these scenarios, you might need to re-ask questions, confirm intent, or escalate to a human agent.

User:

Update my order details.

internal error: request timed out

Bot:

Oops! It looks like something went wrong while processing your request. Let me try that again or escalate this issue.

Example showcasing error handling

Customizing Conversation Patterns

Rasa provides a default structure for each pattern, but you are free to customize them to fit your use case. Since patterns are system flows, you can edit them like any other flow in Rasa Pro or Rasa Studio. We recommend keeping the contextual response rephraser enabled for pattern flows as it helps your assistant sound more natural, especially when repairing dynamic interactions.

Learn more about Patterns

Read the complete pattern reference documentation
Use Rasa Studio to edit conversation patterns