How do I use the Spam Checker in Distro?

Spam records created in your CRM waste rep time and clutter your pipeline. Spam Checker scores the email on a record as it moves through a Distro Flow and stops spam before it is assigned to a rep.

Spam Checker in Distro uses the same checks, scoring, and settings as the Form Submission Spam Checker. This article covers how to use it inside a Distro Flow.

Table of Contents

• How the Spam Checker works in Distro
• Where to place the node
• How to add the Spam Checker node
• Writing the score to Salesforce
• Updating additional Salesforce fields
• Spam Checker settings
• Spam Checker logs
• Limitations

How the Spam Checker works in Distro

When a record reaches the Spam Checker node, the email on that record is scored against your configured checks. Two kinds of check run:

• Strict spam checks – if one of these fails, the record is marked as spam outright. The MX record check is a strict check;
• Point-based spam checks – each of these adds points to a total. Disposable email, free email provider, random or gibberish detection, and role-based email are point-based checks.

If the total score meets or exceeds the threshold set in your Spam Checker settings, the record is marked as spam. The result then determines whether the record continues:

• Not spam – the record continues through the Flow to your routing rules and is assigned as normal;
• Spam – routing is blocked. The record is not assigned to a rep and the Flow stops there.

Unlike Concierge and Chat, the node does not create a second path for you to build out. A record marked as spam stops, so there is no branch to configure. Instead of sending spam down a path of its own, you record the outcome on the record itself – write the score to a Salesforce field, update other fields, or both. See Writing the score to Salesforce and Updating additional Salesforce fields.

If the email cannot be found on the record, or the check cannot be completed, the node is skipped and the record continues through the Flow as normal. Records are never blocked because a check could not run.

Where to place the node

The Spam Checker node sits between your entry conditions and your routing logic:

• If your Flow uses Delay or Entry Rule nodes, the Spam Checker node must come after them. Those two can be in either order;
• The node must come before the Routing Rule and CRM Matching nodes.

This ensures the email is checked before Chili Piper spends a routing decision or a CRM lookup on it. If the node is not offered at the position you select, it is because that position falls outside this range.

How to add the Spam Checker node

1. Open your Distro Flow. This can be a new Flow or an existing one;
2. Select the + on the connector where you want the check to run, following the placement rules above;
3. Choose Spam Checker.

The node opens its settings panel and lists the checks that will run. To adjust which checks run and how they are scored, select Open Settings. This opens the shared Spam Checker settings, which live under Chili Agents.

Once published, the node displays the number of checks in use and the field the score is written to, and sits ahead of your routing rules.

Note: Spam Checker settings are shared across Chili Piper. Changes made from a Distro Flow also apply to Spam Checker nodes in your Concierge Routers and Chat Journeys.

Writing the score to Salesforce

Spam Checker can write the score it calculates to a Salesforce field, so the result is visible on the record and available for reporting.

1. In the Spam Checker node, enable Write Spam Score in Salesforce Field;
2. Select the Salesforce field to write to.

Chili Piper provides a Spam Score data field for this purpose. For detail on that field and how to map it, see the Writing to Data Fields section of the Form Submission Spam Checker article.

Note: In Distro, the score is written only when a record is marked as spam. Records that pass the checks continue through the Flow without a Salesforce update.

Updating additional Salesforce fields

Because a record marked as spam stops before it reaches a rep, updating a field on the record is how you leave a trail for your operations team.

1. In the Spam Checker node, select Add Field Update;
2. Choose the Salesforce field to update and enter the value to write. For example, set Description to This is spam;
3. To clear a field instead of writing a value, enable Set null Value.

Add as many field updates as you need. The screenshot above shows both switched on together: the score writing to the Spam Score field, and one field update writing This is spam to Description.

Field updates work independently of the score. You can update fields without enabling Write Spam Score in Salesforce Field, write only the score, or do both.

Field updates follow the same rule as the score: they are applied only to records marked as spam. Everything the node writes is sent to Salesforce together in a single update. If the score write is enabled and a field update targets the same field the score is written to, the score takes precedence.

Spam Checker settings

Spam Checker settings live under Chili Agents, where Spam Checker has its own card alongside Meeting Prep and Chat AI. Select Configure to open them, or use Open Settings on the node.

Checks, weights, thresholds, blocklists, and the test tool are documented in the Form Submission Spam Checker article. The same settings apply to Distro.

Domain and email blocklists are applied from those settings rather than listed on the node.

Spam Checker logs

Select View Logs in the Flow header to open Distro Logs. Records blocked as spam are counted in the summary totals at the top of the list.

Opening a blocked record shows a Blocked as Spam banner with the score and the reason the record was not routed. The Spam Checker section below it holds the detail: the score, the threshold it was measured against, and which checks passed or failed.

Limitations

• If your Flow uses Delay or Entry Rule nodes, the Spam Checker node must sit after them, and it must always sit before the Routing Rule and CRM Matching nodes;
• A record marked as spam stops in the Flow. There is no alternative path to send it down, and no fallback distribution as there is in Concierge;
• The score and the additional field updates are applied only to records marked as spam. Records that pass the checks receive no Salesforce update;
• Spam Checker settings are shared with Concierge and Chat – they cannot be configured per Flow.