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When building workflows in Serval, one of the most important decisions is determining who can trigger and access your workflow. This guide explains the two visibility options and how they integrate with your Slack channels.

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Overview

Every Serval workflow has an execution scope that determines who can run it:

Anyone in the org

Workflows available to all users across your organization. Ideal for self-service support and help desk automation.

Team members

Workflows restricted to your team. Ideal for internal operations and sensitive automations.

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Understanding the Two Visibility Options

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Anyone in Organization

Workflows set to Anyone in the org are available to all users in your Serval organization. These workflows are:
  • Discoverable by the Serval help desk agent when handling requests from any user
  • Triggerable from Help Desk or Silent Mode channels
  • Visible to users requesting help via DMs, /help command, or help desk channels
  • Designed for common support scenarios that benefit all employees
Example use cases:
  • Password reset assistance
  • Software access requests
  • IT equipment troubleshooting
  • General onboarding tasks
  • Standard service requests
Organization-wide workflows are the default choice for help desk automation. When a user asks for help in any channel, Serval can automatically suggest and run these workflows to resolve their request.

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Team Members Only

Workflows set to Team members are restricted to members of your specific Serval team. These workflows are:
  • Only available to team members and Serval agents in Team Only Mode channels
  • Hidden from users outside your team
  • Designed for internal team operations or sensitive actions
  • Protected from accidental execution by unauthorized users
Example use cases:
  • Internal team reporting and analytics
  • Sensitive data operations
  • Administrative tasks
  • Cleanup and maintenance operations
  • Team-specific integrations
Team-only workflows are not triggered by the help desk agent in standard Help Desk or Silent Mode channels. They require a Team Only Mode channel or direct team member access.

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How Visibility Connects to Slack Channels

Your workflow visibility setting directly determines which Slack channel modes can trigger those workflows.
Channel ModeOrganization WorkflowsTeam-Only Workflows
Help Desk Mode✅ Triggered by help desk agent❌ Not available
Silent Mode✅ Triggered when @Serval mentioned❌ Not available
Team Only Mode✅ Available✅ Available
Team Inbox❌ Egress only (no new tickets)❌ Egress only (no new tickets)
Disabled❌ No activity❌ No activity

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Help Desk Mode and Silent Mode Channels

These channels serve end users across your organization. When Serval processes a request in these channels, it only has access to workflows marked Anyone in the org.
  • The help desk agent evaluates incoming requests
  • If a matching organization-wide workflow exists, Serval triggers it automatically
  • Team-only workflows are never executed in these channels

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Team Only Mode Channels

Team Only Mode channels are designed exclusively for your team members. In these channels:
  • Serval has access to all team workflows, including team-only workflows
  • The AI helps resolve requests but does not escalate to a human
  • Both organization-wide and team-only workflows can be triggered
  • Ideal for internal team channels like #it-internal or #devops-team
Team Only Mode channels should only include members of your Serval team, as anyone with access to the channel can trigger team-only workflows.

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Setting Workflow Visibility

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When Creating a New Workflow

The workflow builder agent determines the initial visibility based on your description:
  • If you mention “help desk”, “support”, or describe a user-facing automation → defaults to Anyone in the org
  • If you mention “team only”, “internal use”, or describe an administrative task → defaults to Team members
You can also specify the visibility explicitly in your request.
Workflow builder showing visibility scope selection

Set workflow visibility during creation

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After Workflow Creation

You can change the visibility at any time:
1

Open the workflow

Navigate to Workflows and select the workflow you want to modify.
2

Find the visibility selector

Look for the visibility dropdown in the workflow header or summary panel. It shows either “Anyone in the org” or “Team members”.
3

Select the new visibility

Choose the appropriate option from the dropdown. The change takes effect immediately for future workflow runs.

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Best Practices

If a workflow helps users resolve common issues, make it available to the entire organization. This enables Serval to automatically assist users without requiring escalation.
Workflows that modify critical systems, access sensitive data, or perform administrative actions should be restricted to team members. This provides an extra layer of protection.
Configure your Slack channels to match your workflow strategy:
  • Use Help Desk Mode for user-facing channels where organization-wide workflows should run
  • Use Team Only Mode for internal team channels where you need access to all workflows
Even organization-wide workflows can include approval steps. If a workflow performs sensitive actions, consider adding an approval requirement so a manager or team member must authorize execution before it runs.
When building a new workflow, pause to consider: “Should anyone in the organization be able to trigger this?” If the answer is no, set it to team-only.

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Common Scenarios

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Scenario 1: Password Reset Workflow

A workflow that helps users reset their password should be Anyone in the org:
  • Any employee might need password help
  • No sensitive administrative access required
  • Triggered via DMs, /help, or help desk channels
Consider adding an optional approval step if you want a manager or IT team member to authorize the reset before it executes. This is useful for high-security accounts or when you want an audit trail of who approved the action.

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Scenario 2: User Account Cleanup Workflow

A workflow that deactivates accounts and removes data should be Team members:
  • Only IT admins should trigger this
  • Sensitive operation with irreversible effects
  • Run from Team Only Mode channels or directly by team members

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Scenario 3: Daily Ticket Summary Workflow

A scheduled workflow that summarizes open tickets should typically be Team members:
  • Internal team operations and reporting
  • Contains information that may not be appropriate for all users
  • Could be organization-wide if the summary is designed for broader visibility