What are AI Automations and how do they work?
An AI automation tells the AI when to start collecting details from a customer, like a name, a date or an order, and what to collect. The answers are saved in My Leads, one entry per customer run.
What an automation is made of
You write every part in plain language. There are three parts on the form:
- Trigger: a name, and a sentence that says when the AI should start it, for example "when the user says they want to place an order".
- Details to collect: what the AI should ask for. Ping turns your sentence into a list of fields you can edit.
- When it's done: an optional message the AI should give once it has everything, for example "say someone from the team will call soon".
How it runs in a chat
When a customer messages you, the AI first checks whether their recent messages clearly match the trigger of one of your active automations. It only starts an automation when it is confident. If nothing matches, the AI answers normally from Train AI.
Once an automation starts, the AI asks for the required fields until each one has an answer. It reads the whole conversation, so if the customer already gave a detail, it is not asked again. If the customer asks a side question, the AI answers it briefly from your business info and then carries on.
When every required field has a value, the AI sends the closing message and the lead is marked Completed.
Automations only run in chats the AI is answering. If the AI is off in Settings, or you took over a chat, the automation waits.
Turn an automation on or off
Use the All, Active and Paused tabs to filter the list. Each card shows the trigger, how many fields it has, and whether it asks One by one or All at once.
If you pause an automation while a customer is in the middle of it, that run stops and shows as Abandoned in My Leads.
- Open AI Automations in the sidebar.
- Find the automation card.
- Click the switch at the top right of the card. The card shows Active or Paused.
How many automations your plan includes
The limit counts automations that are switched on. Paused automations do not count.
- Starter: 1 active automation.
- Plus: 5 active automations.
- Growth and the free trial: 15 active automations.
- Enterprise: unlimited.
If you hit the limit, you see an "Upgrade to do this" message. After a downgrade nothing is deleted: your oldest active automations keep running up to the new limit, and the rest stop until you pause some or upgrade.
Common questions
Who can open AI Automations?
The account owner, and team members whose role includes the AI Automations or My Leads menu.
Does an automation work in WhatsApp groups?
No. The AI, and so automations, only reply in one to one chats.
Can two automations run in the same chat at once?
No. A chat runs one automation at a time. A new one can start after the current one is completed.
Do automation replies count as AI replies?
Yes. Every message the AI sends counts toward your plan's AI usage, whether it comes from an automation or a normal answer.