An automation is a set of instructions your workspace follows on its own: when this happens, do that. Build one and it handles the follow-ups, tagging and alerts you'd otherwise have to remember.
What automations are
Find them in Marketing → Automations. Each automation is a trigger (the event that starts it, say a form being submitted) followed by one or more actions (what happens next: send an email, wait a day, add a tag). You don't need to code. Drag steps onto a visual canvas, or use the simpler form builder.
Every automation is either a draft or active. Drafts never fire. Active automations run every time their trigger happens. You can pause or reactivate one from its card, which also shows its trigger, its step count and how many times it has run.
Building your first one
- Open Marketing → Automations and create a new automation, or start from a template. Templates are pre-built flows for common jobs (a welcome series, re-engagement, lead routing). They prefill the canvas, so you adjust and activate.
- Name it and pick the trigger — the event that starts each run.
- Add your actions in order. A classic first automation: when a form is submitted, send a welcome email, wait a couple of days, then notify a teammate to follow up personally.
- Test the flow with sample data from the editor.
- Activate it when you are happy. Until you do, nothing fires.
Forms are the most common starting trigger — if you have not built one yet, see Audience tools.
Triggers & actions available
Triggers your automations can react to:
- A form is submitted
- A contact is created
- A deal moves to a stage in your pipeline
- A payment is received
- A tag is added to — or removed from — a contact
- A task goes overdue
- A campaign email is opened, or a link in one is clicked (where enabled for your workspace)
- An appointment is created or completed
- A lead arrives by webhook (an automated message another system sends to yours)
Actions a running automation can take:
- Send an email
- Wait for a set amount of time
- Add or remove a tag
- Notify a teammate inside the app
- Update a field on the contact's record
- Ask the AI to draft personalised text
- Branch — follow a different path depending on a condition, such as a contact field
- Create a deal in your pipeline
Tips
- Keep the first one simple. One trigger, a few steps. A welcome email when a form is submitted, or a tag when a payment comes in, covers a lot.
- Automations act for real. Your AI teammates' outgoing work waits for your yes in the Approvals inbox unless you have given them autonomy. An active automation sends its emails and applies its changes on its own. Test it as a draft first.
- Watch the run counts. A number that never moves, or one that jumps unexpectedly, is worth a look.
- Pause freely. Pausing loses nothing. Reactivate whenever you're ready.
- Mind your plan's cap. Your plan may limit how many automations can be active at once. The page tells you if you reach it. See Plan limits.