AskFlow: Architecture Analysis of an Enterprise-level Customer Service Q&A System Based on RAG and Intelligent Routing

AskFlow is an open-source reference implementation of an intelligent Q&A system for enterprise internal customer service teams, adopting a single-tenant self-hosted architecture. Its core design philosophy is to integrate large language model (LLM) generation capabilities with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology, and achieve automated conversation routing through intelligent intent recognition. This system balances AI efficiency improvement with enterprise data security and compliance requirements, providing a complete solution from conversation management to ticketing systems.

AskFlow is positioned as an intelligent Q&A system for enterprise internal customer service teams. Different from multi-tenant SaaS products, it uses a single-tenant self-hosted architecture to allow enterprises to fully control their data and processes. Its core design philosophy is to combine LLM generation capabilities with RAG technology, and realize automated conversation routing through intelligent intent recognition. It is suitable for enterprises that need to integrate AI capabilities but are unwilling to hand over core data to third parties, meeting data security and compliance requirements.

AskFlow adopts a clear layered architecture:

• Frontend Layer: Based on React19+Vite, covering functions such as user authentication, real-time chat (WebSocket), ticketing management, and admin backend;
• Backend Layer: FastAPI framework, including core modules like conversation, RAG, Agent, ticketing, embedding, and management;
• Infrastructure Layer: Dependent on PostgreSQL (structured data), Redis (sessions/caching), ChromaDB (vector storage), and MinIO (object storage), enabling professional processing of multi-storage backends.

Mixed Retrieval Strategy

Combines BM25 keyword retrieval and Chroma vector search, achieving both precise matching of specific terms and capturing semantic relevance;

Intent Recognition and Intelligent Routing

The Agent layer routes based on user intent classification: RAG route (knowledge questions), ticketing route (complex issues), transfer route (human intervention), tool route (structured queries), clarification route (unclear intent);

WebSocket Real-time Communication

Supports heartbeat detection, disconnection reconnection, message cancellation, and streaming responses to enhance interaction experience.

User interaction process:

1. User authentication (JWT role verification) → 2. Intent analysis →3. Routing decision →4. Mixed retrieval (for RAG questions) →5. LLM response generation →6. WebSocket streaming →7. Session management. Supports Webhook adapters to integrate external services (such as order systems, CRM) without large-scale data migration.

AskFlow is applicable to various customer service scenarios:

• E-commerce customer service: Handles order queries, return/exchange consultations, etc., freeing humans to handle complex issues;
• Technical support: Provides document Q&A for SaaS/open-source projects;
• Internal IT support: Handles password resets, permission applications, etc.;
• Knowledge base Q&A: Builds intelligent Q&A systems based on enterprise documents.

Current items to be improved:

• Prompt template version management;
• Retrieval result metadata filtering (source, time, tags, etc.);
• Complete user lifecycle management API;
• Improve integration test and end-to-end test coverage.

AskFlow demonstrates the characteristics of modern AI customer service systems: modular design, multi-storage backend, mixed retrieval, and intelligent routing. It deeply addresses the needs of enterprise-level customer service scenarios (data security, process control, system integration), providing a fully functional and clearly structured starting point for teams building self-hosted AI customer service systems. With good code quality and detailed documentation, it shows the organic integration of RAG, Agent, and ticketing systems.