1. Cisco Wireless Controller Configuration Guide
Release 8.5
"FlexConnect" Chapter
"Configuring FlexConnect Groups" section: "You can use FlexConnect groups to push the VLAN-specific configurations on the FlexConnect APs... You can create a FlexConnect group and assign a specific AP to the FlexConnect group. The APs in the group will inherit the VLAN and ACL configurations of the FlexConnect group." This document explicitly states that FlexConnect groups are used to configure VLANs for APs.
2. FlexConnect Configuration Guide
Cisco IOS XE Gibraltar 16.12.x
"Configuring FlexConnect Groups" section: "You can use FlexConnect groups to do the following: ... Efficiently configure WLAN-VLAN mapping for a group of FlexConnect APs." This confirms that the primary method for assigning VLANs to WLANs in a FlexConnect deployment is through FlexConnect groups.
3. Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controller Configuration Guide
IOS XE Dublin 17.12.x
"Configure FlexConnect" Chapter
"WLAN-VLAN Mapping" section: "For locally switched WLANs
traffic from the clients is switched to a local VLAN at the AP's location... To configure VLANs on FlexConnect APs
you must configure FlexConnect Groups." This directly links the requirement for VLANs in local switching to the configuration of FlexConnect Groups.