Studio ASSIGN action failing to parse nested JSON in IF condition

I’m trying to implement branching logic in a CXone Studio script based on a nested field from an upstream API response. The goal is to route the interaction based on a priority flag inside the JSON payload.

The Data Action returns the payload successfully, and I can see the full JSON in the debug logs. However, when I try to use the ASSIGN action to extract the value and then check it in an IF action, the condition always evaluates to false, or the variable comes back null.

Here is the structure of the JSON coming from the API:

{
 "status": "success",
 "data": {
 "callId": "12345",
 "attributes": {
 "priority": true,
 "tier": "gold"
 }
 }
}

I’m using the ASSIGN action like this:

• Source: API.Response.Body.data.attributes.priority
• Destination: user.priority_flag

Then in the IF action:

• Condition: user.priority_flag is equal to true

The debug log shows the source path exists, but the assignment seems to fail silently or treat the boolean as a string mismatch. I’ve tried casting it to a boolean in the ASSIGN action, but Studio doesn’t seem to have a direct “cast to bool” option for dynamic sources.

Is there a specific syntax I’m missing for accessing nested JSON keys in Studio variables? Or should I be doing this comparison directly in the IF action without the intermediate ASSIGN step?

If I skip the ASSIGN and put the full path API.Response.Body.data.attributes.priority directly into the IF condition, it throws a validation error saying the type is unknown.

Any pointers on how to handle nested booleans in Studio branching? It’s driving me crazy because the Data Action works fine in the test sandbox.

Check the data type of the output from that Data Action. Studio is notoriously strict about types, and if the action returns a string instead of an object, you can’t just dot-notation into it like payload.priority. It’ll evaluate to null or empty, which breaks your IF condition.

You usually need an ASSIGN action to explicitly parse the JSON string into an object before you can access nested properties. Here is how I typically handle this to avoid that “falsy” trap.

First, grab the raw string from the Data Action. Let’s say your Data Action is called FetchPriorityData and the output field is response.

# ASSIGN Action 1: Parse the string to an object
Variable: parsedPriorityObj
Type: Object
Expression: json.parse(FetchPriorityData.response)

Once you have that object, you can safely drill down. If the structure is deeply nested, like data.metrics.priority, you do this next:

# ASSIGN Action 2: Extract the specific field
Variable: priorityFlag
Type: String (or Boolean, depending on your API)
Expression: parsedPriorityObj.data.metrics.priority

Now your IF action should reference priorityFlag instead of trying to guess the path from the original string. If you skip the json.parse step, Studio treats the whole JSON blob as a single string value, so payload.priority is effectively looking for a literal key named “priority” in a string, which doesn’t exist.

Also, make sure you’re handling potential nulls. If the API sometimes omits that field, parsedPriorityObj.data.metrics might be undefined. Adding a default value in the expression helps keep the flow stable.

Expression: parsedPriorityObj?.data?.metrics?.priority ?? "low"

It’s an extra step, but it saves hours of debugging why a condition never triggers. The debug logs show the JSON, but the runtime engine sees a string until you tell it otherwise.

is spot on about the type mismatch. Studio’s Data Action often returns the response body as a raw string, even if it looks like JSON in the logs. You can’t dot-notation into a string.

I hit this exact wall last week with a similar priority routing setup. The fix is to add an intermediate ASSIGN action that explicitly parses the string into an object. Here’s the pattern that worked for me:

1. Data Action: Call your API. Store the result in api_response_body.
2. ASSIGN Action: Parse the JSON.

• Destination: parsed_payload
• Expression: JSON.parse(api_response_body)

3. IF Action: Check the nested field.

• Condition: parsed_payload.priority == "high"

If your JSON is deeply nested, you might need multiple parse steps or a more complex expression, but usually, one parse is enough. Also, make sure you handle the case where the API returns an error or empty body. If api_response_body is null, JSON.parse() will throw a runtime error and break the flow. Add a simple check before the parse:

if (api_response_body != null && api_response_body != "") {
 return JSON.parse(api_response_body);
} else {
 return {};
}

This prevents the script from crashing on bad payloads. I’ve seen Studio silently fail on invalid JSON too, so logging the parsed object to a custom attribute helps debug schema mismatches.

Another gotcha: if the API returns an array instead of an object, you’ll need to index it first. Like JSON.parse(api_response_body)[0].priority. Check the raw response structure carefully. The debug logs show the full payload, but Studio’s expression engine is strict about types.

We use this pattern for all our webhook-triggered scripts. It’s reliable. Make sure your Data Action isn’t already returning an object-if it is, skip the parse step. But 90% of the time, it’s a string.