Skip to main content
Updated Nov 1, 2026

Workflows

What you'll learn
  • What workflows are and when to use them
  • The three building blocks of every workflow: trigger, steps, and inputs
  • The three trigger types available: temporal, hook, and manual
  • How to access and navigate the workflows page

Workflows let you automate repetitive tasks by defining a series of steps that run automatically based on a trigger you choose. Instead of performing the same actions every time, you set up a workflow once and let the system handle the rest. The workflows page is found under Automations > Workflows in the sidebar, and displays a standard list view titled "workflows" with options to filter and create workflows, plus an Actions menu for Mass update and Mass delete.

What can workflows do?​

Common uses for workflows include:

  • Send a welcome message when a new contact is created
  • Assign a tag when a conversation is opened from a specific channel
  • Notify your team when an appointment is booked
  • Run a daily report on a set schedule
  • Trigger external actions via webhooks or API calls
  • Process data by combining multiple steps that pass information using CEL expressions ({expr: "..."})

Workflow building blocks​

Every workflow has three main parts:

  1. Trigger -- The condition that starts the workflow. You choose from three trigger types:
    • Temporal -- Runs on a schedule (time-based, similar to a cron job). For example, every day at 9 AM.
    • Hook -- Fires when a specific event occurs in the system, such as a new message received, a contact created, or a conversation opened.
    • Manual -- Started by an employee on demand, by clicking the Run button on the workflow.
  2. Steps -- The actions the workflow performs in sequence. You add steps one at a time using the Add step button. Steps execute from top to bottom in the order you define them.
  3. Inputs -- Dynamic data referenced through CEL expressions, such as doc.name (the record that fired a hook trigger) or occurrenceDate (a temporal run's scheduled time). These let each step use real data from the trigger event or previous steps. (contact.* and contactMessage.* are only populated when a workflow runs from an agent conversation.)

The workflows list page​

When you open the workflows page, you will see:

  • A Filter option to search and narrow down your list of workflows
  • An Actions menu with Mass update and Mass delete for changing multiple workflows at once
  • A clock icon button to view past execution history across all workflows
  • A + icon button to create a new workflow
tip

Start with a simple workflow -- like sending a welcome message to new contacts -- and build from there as you get comfortable. You can always come back and add more steps or change the trigger type later.

Next steps​