How to create a smart funnel that captures leads

A smart funnel is a short quiz you share by link. Visitors tap through a few questions, fill in your form to see their result, and you get their details as a lead. AI writes the questions, the results and the share cards, and you edit them before you publish.

Smart funnels replace the old quizzes. You'll find them in the sidebar under Leads, Smart funnels.

Two kinds of funnel

• Challenge (trivia): "Get locals into your database." Timed questions with one right answer each and a score at the end. People post their score and dare their friends to beat it.
• Matchmaker (personality): "Find out who's ready to move." No wrong answers. Every answer points to an outcome, like a type of home or neighborhood. A timeline question at the end tags each lead hot, warm, nurture or browsing, so you know who to call first.

Before you start

• Smart funnels don't use AI credits.
• On the Free plan you can build 2 funnels and publish 1. A build only counts once the funnel is made, so a failed build doesn't use one. Deleting a funnel doesn't give a build back.
• Many ideas are about a place. They use the cities, counties and neighborhoods from your market settings. If you haven't added any, you can add one right in the create screen.

How to create a smart funnel

1. In the sidebar, open Leads and click Smart funnels.
2. Click Create funnel.
3. Under What should this funnel do?, pick Challenge or Matchmaker.
4. Under Pick an idea, click an idea card. Use the category buttons to filter, or click Show me different ones for more. Each card says whether it's Local, Local or general, or Works anywhere.
5. Or write your own: type a title under Your own idea and click Continue.
6. If the idea can be about a place, pick one of your areas. Ideas marked Local or general also offer Anywhere. Ideas that work anywhere skip this step.
7. Click Build my funnel. It takes up to a minute.
8. The editor opens when it's ready.

A new Challenge comes with 6 questions, a score message for each score range, and share card text. A new Matchmaker comes with 5 questions, 3 or 4 outcomes, and the timeline question. Both start with a lead form asking for first name, email and phone.

Ideas you've already built are marked made. Building one again shows Build a new round, which writes new questions and skips the ones you've used.

How to edit your funnel

The editor has five tabs: Cover, Questions, Results, Lead form and Settings. Changes save as you go, and the phone preview next to the editor shows them. On your phone, tap Preview to see it. Click Next at the bottom of a tab to move to the next one.

Cover

Edit the Headline, the Intro and the Start button text. Pick a Button color. It's used on the funnel's buttons and highlights, and on your share cards. The first color is your brand color. Click Add image to add a cover photo from your Media Library.

Questions

1. Click the pencil icon on a question to edit it. A question can be up to 120 characters and an answer up to 70.
2. On a Challenge, click the check mark next to the right answer. On a Matchmaker, pick the outcome each answer points to from the menu next to it.
3. Click Add an answer for more choices. Each question has 2 to 4 answers.
4. Use the arrows to move a question up or down, or the trash icon to delete it.
5. Click Done, then Add question if you want another one.

On a local Challenge, the AI wrote the facts. Check them before you publish.

On a Matchmaker, the Timeline question is asked last: "When are you hoping to move?" Its answers tag the lead: In the next 3 months (Hot), 3 to 6 months (Warm), 6 to 12 months (Nurture) and Just curious for now (Browsing). It doesn't change the match. Click the pencil to reword it, or use the switch to turn it off.

Results

On a Challenge, visitors see the card for their score: 0 to 30%, 30 to 60%, 60 to 99% and 100%. Click the pencil on a card to edit its title and message. The title is what people brag about when they share.

On a Matchmaker, each outcome is its own result page. Click the pencil to edit the title, the description, the Button text and where the button goes. Button goes to can be your website, one of your lead pages or listicles, or any link. You can have 2 to 5 outcomes. Click Add outcome to add one. Deleting an outcome moves its answers to the first one left.

Lead form

Visitors fill in this form to see their result. It starts with First name and Email (both required) and Phone (optional).

• Click the plus button to add Last name, Client type or Best time to contact.
• Use the Required switch on each field, drag fields to reorder them, or click the trash icon to remove one.
• Under CTA button preferences, set the Button title and the button colors.
• Under Privacy, write the Privacy statement shown under the form.

Settings

On a Challenge, choose the Time per question: 10, 15 (the default), 20 or 30 seconds, or No timer. Set the Page URL and write a Meta description, which is what search engines and link previews show.

How to publish and share your funnel

1. Click Publish funnel.
2. If something is missing, you'll see Not published yet. Fix: with a button for each tab that needs work. Click one, fix what's listed under Fix these before publishing, then publish again.
3. When it's live, the Share kit opens.

The Share kit makes a card to post, plus a caption and your link:

• Pick a style: Dare, Editorial or Sticker.
• Switch between a feed post (1080 × 1350) and a story (1080 × 1920). The story leaves the bottom clear for your link sticker.
• Edit the Hook on the card, or click one of the suggested hooks.
• Under On the card, pick what to show. A Challenge shows one real question with the answers hidden. A Matchmaker shows the outcomes.
• Click Download PNG, then Copy caption and Copy link.

You can open the Share kit again anytime from the funnel list or the editor. After you edit a live funnel, the editor shows Unpublished changes. Click Publish changes to update it.

What your visitors see

Visitors see your cover and click the start button. They answer one question at a time, and the funnel moves on as soon as they tap an answer. On a Challenge with a timer, it also moves on when time runs out. A Challenge never shows which answers were right. Visitors only see their score at the end.

After the last question, they see Get your results and your form. Once they submit:

• On a Challenge, they see their score, like 5/6, with your title and message, and a Dare a friend button.
• On a Matchmaker, they see Your match, the outcome's description and its button.

Both have buttons to share on Facebook, X and WhatsApp or copy the link, and a footer with your name and a View my profile link.

Where your leads go

Each lead lands in My leads. You also get an email about it, or it goes to Zapier if you've connected Zapier on Pro.

To see one funnel's leads, click Leads next to it in the Smart funnels list. You'll see each lead's score or match, and on a Matchmaker, their timeline. A Matchmaker also shows Who to call first, counted by timeline answer, and What they matched. On Pro, click a name to open the lead.

The funnel list shows plays and leads for each published funnel, and how many leads answered "In the next 3 months".

Tips

• Use a Challenge to grow your local audience, and a Matchmaker when you want to know who's ready to move.
• Local ideas get shared more in local groups. General ideas travel further.
• Pick the question people will argue about for your share card. That's what gets them to play.
• Set your Page URL before you share. Changing it later changes the link.
• Ask only for what you need on the form. Fewer fields means more people finish.
• On a Matchmaker, point each outcome's button at a next step that fits it, like a lead page or a listicle.

Free vs Pro

If you move from Pro to Free, your most recently updated published funnel stays live. The others are archived until you upgrade again.

Common questions

Can I build more funnels on Free?

Free includes two builds, and deleting a funnel doesn't give one back. Edit a funnel you've made instead, or upgrade to Pro for unlimited funnels.

What if the funnel doesn't finish building?

You'll see That build didn't work with the reason. Click Try again to build it with the same choices, or Pick something else. A failed build doesn't count toward your Free builds. See What to do when an AI generation fails or gets stuck.

How do I take a funnel down?

In the Smart funnels list, open the options menu on the funnel and click Archive. It's unpublished but kept in the Archived tab. Unarchive brings it back as a draft for you to publish again. Delete removes it for good.

Can I make the same idea twice?

Yes. Pick it again and click Build a new round. You get new questions, not the ones you've already used.

Related articles

Read How to manage your leads: statuses, notes and lead emails, How to create a listicle that captures leads and Understanding plans and pricing on Agentr.ee.