| Trigger | Starts when | Has a contact? |
|---|---|---|
| Message Received via WhatsApp | Any WhatsApp message arrives on one of your numbers, including from numbers that are not contacts | Only if the sender is already a contact. Start with Add/Upsert Contact (11.11) |
| Message Received via Email | An email arrives in a connected Reply-To Mailbox from an existing contact. Emails from unknown senders are not synced and do not start workflows | Yes |
| New Contact Added Manually | A user creates a contact (form or quick create) | Yes |
| New Contact Added by WhatsApp Lead | A user clicks Save as contact on a WhatsApp chat from a number that is not a contact yet | Yes |
| New Contact Added by Email Lead | Listed for completeness. Inbound email only syncs existing contacts, so this trigger does not fire today | Yes |
| Contact Updated | A contact is edited, and also every time that contact sends a WhatsApp message or email | Yes |
| Manual | You start it with Trigger now (11.30) | Yes, the one you choose |
Watch out:
- Contact Updated is not "edited only". Because it also fires on every inbound message, a workflow on it can run far more often than expected.
- Each message starts its own run. A customer who sends three messages in a row starts three runs.
- Message triggers check every inbound message. For auto-replies, use 11.20 Message Matches so the workflow answers only the messages you intend.
