Understand the Automations module

Summary

Learn how Automations takes our old Auto Alerts workflows to the next level, with multi-step workflows, improved management tools, and enhanced visibility.

This article covers:

• About the Automations module
• How Automations work
• Workflow capabilities
• Manage automations

About the Automations module

Many agencies use automations to keep important work moving, such as notifying team members when something requires attention, creating follow-up tasks, and sending templated messages when key events occur.

The Automations module replaces the previous Auto Alerts experience with a visual drag-and-drop workflow builder. It brings your automations together in one place, making them easier to manage and maintain.

A single automation can now perform multiple actions from one trigger, reducing the need to create and manage separate automation rules for related processes.

To access automations:

• Go to: Settings > Automations
• Select Automations

How Automations work

Automations start when a trigger event occurs. From there, the automation can complete one or more actions as part of the same workflow.

Automations are built using a visual drag-and-drop builder, allowing you to connect triggers, conditions, and actions within a single workflow.

For example, a single automation can:

• Notify an internal team member
• Create a follow-up task
• Send a templated email
• Send a templated SMS

Combining multiple actions into a single workflow helps your agency streamline processes and reduce administrative effort.

Workflow capabilities

The Automations module includes features that helps you create more flexible and efficient workflows.

• Multi-action workflows - Complete multiple actions from a single trigger 
• Wait steps - Schedule actions to occur over hours, days, or weeks rather than immediately
• Conditional paths - Allow an automation to take different actions depending on whether specific conditions are met
• Visual workflow builder - Build and manage automations using a drag-and-drop interface

Conditional paths support "if yes" and "if no" scenarios, allowing automations to respond differently based on the information available at each stage of the workflow.

Manage automations

All automations are managed from a single workspace, making it easier to view, organise, and maintain your agency's automated processes.

The Automations page includes dedicated views for:

• All - View all automations in one list
• Active - View automations that are currently running
• Inactive - View automations that are available but not currently running
• Archived - View automations that have been archived
• Stats - Review automation performance and activity information

Each automation displays helpful information, including:

• Current status
• The trigger event that starts the automation
• The number of actions contained within the workflow
• The last time the automation ran
• The total number of times the automation has run

You can activate, deactivate, duplicate, and archive automations directly from the automation list, making it easier to manage workflows.

Duplicating an automation can help you create new workflows based on an existing setup, reducing configuration time and helping maintain consistency across teams or offices.

What's next?

Learn how to create automations that automatically perform tasks, send notifications, and trigger communications when specific events occur. Build workflows using triggers, conditions, actions, and flow controls.