What This Feature Does #
Automation Workflows run a series of steps on their own when something happens: a WhatsApp message arrives, a contact is added, your online store sends an order, a broadcast is read, or a schedule comes round. Each run handles one contact (or none, for schedules and content events).
You build a workflow in the workflow designer: drag activities from the palette onto a canvas and connect them in the order they should run. Workflows can save a sender as a contact, reply on WhatsApp or by email, add tags, update contact fields, assign the contact to a team member, branch on what the customer wrote, wait, and start campaigns.
Where to find it: in the left sidebar, click Automation Workflows. This opens the Workflow Dashboard. From there, New Workflow opens the designer and Workflow List shows every workflow with its actions.
Build it with AI instead: click the âš¡ Quick Actions button in the top bar and choose Create Automation. Describe what should happen in your own words, review the proposed steps, and confirm. See 11.27 Create a Workflow with AI.
When to Use #
- Answer common WhatsApp questions automatically, any time of day.
- Save new WhatsApp senders as contacts and tag them as leads.
- Welcome new contacts, follow up after a delay, or re-engage inactive ones.
- React to store or website events (orders, carts, sign-ups) from WordPress/WooCommerce, PrestaShop or Shopify.
- Run follow-ups when a broadcast recipient opens, reads, clicks or replies.
- Do not use workflows for live one-to-one conversations. Use 9.2 WhatsApp Chat or 10.3 Email Conversations.
Prerequisites #
- CompanyAdmin or TenantUser role with workflow access.
- A plan that includes Automation Workflows (Enterprise).
- The Automation Advanced plan feature for these activities: Lead Score, Assign Contact, Unsubscribe, Message Matches, Email Opened and Link Clicked. Without it they are not offered in the designer.
- The Scheduled trigger needs a paid plan.
- WhatsApp steps: a connected Meta account and an active WhatsApp number. Template messages need an Approved template (9.3).
- Email steps: a Reply-To Mailbox with outgoing (SMTP) settings (10.2). Workflow emails are sent from a mailbox, not from an Outbound Mail Server.
Permission & Access Control #
| Action | CompanyAdmin | TenantUser |
|---|---|---|
| View workflow list and dashboard | ✅ | ✅ |
| Create, edit and publish workflows | ✅ | ✅ |
| Activate / Deactivate | ✅ | ✅ |
| Delete | ✅ | ✅ |
| View execution history and retry failed runs | ✅ | ✅ |
| Trigger a workflow manually | ✅ | ✅ |
| Create Automation with AI (Quick Actions) | ✅ | ✅ |
Key Concepts: Triggers, Steps and the Workflow Contact #
- Trigger: the event that starts the workflow. Each workflow has exactly one.
- Step: one box on the canvas. There are three step types:
- Action: does something, for example sends a message or adds a tag.
- Delay: waits for a period or until a date and time.
- Condition: checks something and continues on a TRUE or FALSE path.
- Activity: what a step does, picked from the palette (for example Send WhatsApp or Has Tag).
- Run (instance): one execution of the workflow. Every trigger event starts its own run.
- Workflow contact: the contact a run works on. Most activities act on this contact. If the trigger did not bring one (for example a WhatsApp message from an unknown number), the run has no contact until an Add/Upsert Contact step creates or finds it.
- Version: every save creates a version. Only the published version runs.
Which trigger should I choose? #
| If you want the workflow to start when… | Choose this trigger |
|---|---|
| Any WhatsApp message arrives (auto-reply, lead capture) | Message Received via WhatsApp |
| A contact replies by email | Message Received via Email |
| Someone on your team adds a contact | New Contact Added Manually |
| A WhatsApp chat is saved as a contact | New Contact Added by WhatsApp Lead |
| You start it yourself for one contact | Manual |
| A broadcast recipient is sent, delivered, reads, opens, clicks or replies | Triggered from Broadcast |
| Your store or website sends an event | The matching event (for example Order Completed or Cart Abandoned), or External Integration Event Received for any event |
| Something should run daily, weekly or monthly | Scheduled |
Full details of every trigger: 11.7 and 11.8.
How trigger compatibility works #
The trigger decides which activities you can use, because some activities need a contact.
| Trigger category | What it means | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Contact | The run normally starts with a contact | All activities are offered |
| Mixed | The run may start with or without a contact | All activities are offered; add Add/Upsert Contact first when later steps need a contact |
| Contactless | The run never has a contact | Activities that need a contact are hidden, and saving is blocked if one is present |
- Contactless: Scheduled, Post Published, Post Updated, Post Deleted, Product Published, Product Updated.
- Mixed: External Integration Event Received and the store/website events (customer, cart, checkout, product, order, lead, form and similar).
- Contact: everything else, including Message Received via WhatsApp. Be aware that a WhatsApp message from an unknown number still starts the run without a contact. See 11.11 Add/Upsert Contact.
- If you change a workflow to a contactless trigger, steps that need a contact must be removed before it can be saved.
Common Use Cases #
- WhatsApp auto-reply bot for common questions (11.25).
- Welcome automation for new contacts or customers.
- Abandoned-cart recovery after a store event.
- Lead follow-up after a form submission.
- Follow-up to broadcast recipients who read or clicked.
