Workflows & Automation
Automated journeys that react to what your contacts do, with no manual sending.
What it does
A workflow is an automation you build once and then leave to run. For example: when a new lead comes in, send a welcome message, wait a day, then ask a follow-up question. Workflows handle the repetitive messaging so your team can spend its time on real conversations.
Find them under Workflows in the main menu.
Two ways to build
- List editor: a simple top-to-bottom list of steps.
- Visual designer (Design flow): a canvas where each step is a box and you draw the paths between them.
Both edit the same workflow, so use whichever suits you. To get going faster, open Load a use-case sample and start from a ready-made workflow.
How a workflow is made
Every workflow has a trigger (what starts it) and a series of steps (what happens next).
Triggers: what starts the flow
- A customer is created, imported, tagged or added to a segment
- A WhatsApp keyword arrives (for example, the contact texts "PRICING"), or any message at all
- A conversation opens again after a quiet period
- A lead form is submitted
- A store event: order placed, paid, shipped or cancelled, a cart abandoned, or a new store customer
- A missed WhatsApp call
- An Instagram or Messenger message or comment
- Something happens in your website chat widget, such as a lead being captured
- You launch it by hand
Steps: what the flow does
- Send a message or an approved template
- Ask a question with tappable options (pick one or pick many), each option leading to its own path
- Send a product, a product list or your catalog
- Pause for a set time, or wait for a form to be submitted
- Branch on the contact's details or reply
- Add to or remove from a segment, apply a tag or update a customer field
- AI reply: let the AI answer the contact's question from your knowledge base
- Send data to another system you use, such as your CRM, and use its answer later in the flow
- Open a website, send a form or add a row to a Google Sheet
- Transfer to a live agent
- Stop
Long waits don't block your contacts
If a workflow pauses on a long wait (say, "wait 1 day"), the contact can still start other automations and receive other messages in the meantime. A wait never freezes the conversation.
Good to know
- Start simple. A welcome flow with one message and one follow-up is a great first automation.
- Use branches to keep messages relevant instead of sending the same thing to everyone.
- Test with your own number before switching a workflow on for real contacts.
- Each workflow keeps a history of its runs, so you can see who went through it and where they ended up.
Workflows are where AIM Automate starts saving you real time. Anything you find yourself typing over and over is worth automating.
