# AI Form Processing
## AI Forms Processing
{% hint style="danger" %}
**AI form processing is only enabled with a Pro Subscription!**
Learn more about our [paid plans](https://docs.sonoransoftware.com/cms/pricing/pricing-faq/create-and-manage-a-subscription).
To prevent abuse, communities are limited to **100 AI form processes per day**. If your community is actively (or realistically intends to) surpass this limit with legitimate traffic, [contact our support team](https://support.sonoransoftware.com/)!
{% endhint %}
Stop wasting time manually reviewing applications. With Sonoran CMS, your community can set custom rules to automatically score forms and seamlessly move them through the right workflow stage.
### Understanding AI Processing Stages
When a form enters a specific stage (e.g., *Awaiting Review*), you can define how the AI should evaluate the submission’s responses. Based on the scoring criteria you set, the AI will automatically advance the form to the next stage—such as *Accepted* or *Denied*.
### Setting Section Criteria
For each section of your form, you can define criteria for the AI to score responses. Criteria can be marked as **required** or **preferred**, and each section can be assigned a **scoring weight** to determine its importance. Every section visible to the user (see: [form dependencies](https://docs.sonoransoftware.com/cms/tutorials/creating-custom-forms#conditional-sections)) will be scored.
To set this up:
1. Select **Add Section**.
2. Choose the section from the drop-down.
3. Assign a weight (how much this section should influence the overall score).
4. Add your custom criteria.
Some criteria can act as **deal-breakers**. For example, if applicants must be 18+ regardless of other answers, mark that criterion as **required**.
### Setting Scoring Rules
In the **Scoring** section, the dropdown lets you specify a stage if any **required criteria** are missed. For example, if your application requires applicants to be 18+ but the user is underage, the form can automatically be moved to the **Denied** stage regardless of other responses.
Rules are applied according to their hierarchy and can be reordered using drag-and-drop.
Next, define the **scoring rules** that determine how forms progress:
1. Select **Add Rule**.
2. Enter the **minimum score**.
3. Enter the **maximum score**.
4. Choose the **form stage** to move to.
#### **Disciplinary Points & Account Flags** Rules can also include limits on disciplinary points and account flags:
* [**Account Flags**](https://docs.sonoransoftware.com/cms/administrative/security-center#account-flags) are added when alternate accounts are detected.
* [**Disciplinary Points**](https://docs.sonoransoftware.com/cms/tutorials/administrative/disciplinary-panel) are assigned by staff when users have prior infractions.
For example, you may want to prevent a form from being automatically accepted if the applicant has a flagged account or too many disciplinary points.
### AI Processing Reason
When the AI updates a form’s stage, it will leave a private comment on the submission explaining its scoring rationale. These private comments are visible to anyone with the `Access Private Comments` [permission](https://docs.sonoransoftware.com/cms/tutorials/user-management/creating-departments) on that form.
Additionally, the AI’s reasoning and score % can be included in any stage action—such as a Discord webhook—to provide context on why the form was advanced to a new stage.
## Limits
To prevent abuse, all Pro communities are limited to **100 AI form submissions per 24-hour period**. Current usage can be tracked in the [**Community Limits panel**](https://docs.sonoransoftware.com/cms/tutorials/administrative/view-your-limits).
If your community requires more than 100 submissions within 24 hours for legitimate purposes, please [contact our support team](https://support.sonoransoftware.com/) to request an increased limit.
## Tips and Tricks
### Using "Likely" Accepted/Denied Stages
**AI form processing** is a powerful way to handle the majority of submissions. It can quickly filter out low-quality responses and highlight the best applications.
For critical applications—especially those that automatically add or remove ranks—it’s recommended to route them to **“Likely Accepted”** or **“Likely Denied”** stages. This ensures the AI speeds up the process while still allowing a **final human review** before a decision is made.
### Account Flags
[**Account Flags**](https://docs.sonoransoftware.com/cms/tutorials/administrative/security-center/account-flags) help protect your community against alternate accounts and ban evasion. If an applicant has active flags on their account, it’s recommended to route their submission to a **Manual Review** stage for further investigation before approval.
### Form Submission Limits
Because AI-powered forms can be processed in seconds, it’s important to guard against abuse. To prevent users from “brute forcing” submissions, communities can set limits on how often a form type can be re-submitted.
The form editor provides two control options:
* [**Submission limits**](https://docs.sonoransoftware.com/cms/tutorials/creating-custom-forms#limits) – Set a maximum number of submissions allowed within a defined timeframe.
* [**Cooldown period**](https://docs.sonoransoftware.com/cms/tutorials/creating-custom-forms#limits) – Require a minimum waiting time between individual submissions.
## Troubleshooting
{form_ai_response} variable is 'N/A'
Whenever a form is moved to a stage—whether manually or by the AI—**the stage’s actions fire immediately**.
The `{form_ai_response}` variable is automatically populated with the **latest AI reasoning reply**.
This variable is only available when the **AI itself** has moved the form from one stage to another.
AI is Not Moving the Stage
AI form processing applies **only** to the specific form stage where it is configured.\
To trigger AI processing, the form must be in that configured stage. Once active, the AI will:
1. Evaluate the form submission.
2. Post a response in the submission comments.
3. Move the form to the next stage (if applicable).
✅ **Valid flow:**\
`[Stage with AI Rules] → [New Stage]`
❌ **Invalid flow:**\
`[Stage without AI] → [Stage with AI]`
**Loop Prevention**
If the AI moves a form from **Stage A** to **Stage B**, the AI processing rules configured on **Stage B** will **not** run automatically.
This safeguard prevents recursive AI loops that could continuously move the form back and forth between stages.
