Build, preview and approve visual automations

Open Settings → Automation workflows to create message templates, message rules and visual follow-up sequences without AI. Start with a template, add a rule defining when and to whom it sends, then combine rules and internal actions into numbered sequence steps. Use Edit to change an existing item and the step arrows to reorder actions. Saved sequence summaries show queue and message-rule names with step timing. Expand Technical details to compare record IDs, sequence revisions, exact edit timestamps and step references with your assistant. Templates and rules use the exact updated-at timestamp as their edit version; sequences also have a numbered revision. Supported workflow events include verified new external lead delivery, salesperson assignment, appointment scheduled/confirmed/cancelled/no-show, and completed appointments with matching result reasons. Channel editors may offer additional events; check the actual selector.

Customer, employee and both are different audiences. Review content separately so internal handoff details do not reach a customer. SMS requires a configured provider and recorded recipient consent. Provider registration alone does not establish permission for every contact. Imports are not a way to trigger a welcome campaign.

The visual builder and an administrator-authorized workflow MCP connection edit the same message templates, rules and sequences. MCP changes appear in the builder and web changes are readable through MCP. Lists refresh every 30 seconds while visible and on returning to the page; use Refresh for an immediate update. Refresh pauses while editing or reviewing. A stale save is rejected instead of overwriting newer changes; keep your unsaved wording and reload the current record before trying again. Saving or editing a draft leaves it inactive and invalidates previous approval. Preview shows rendered synthetic content, issues and an illustrative current audience without sending, queuing or enrolling anyone. When outcome filters are present, the audience consists of contacts with a matching historical appointment; it is not a forecast or a replay. Recipient preflight reasons explain missing contact details or consent, while provider configuration, actual event context and delivery checks still apply.

Rules can include or exclude appointment result-reason IDs. Exclusions take precedence: exclude sold outcomes from a general completed-appointment thank-you if a separate sale message already covers them. Review every active rule for the same customer touchpoint.

MCP activation tools request human review; they do not bypass approval. Approval applies to future eligible events, not historical replay. Keep the new system paused during migration while another CRM still sends the same communications.

Sequences support up to 20 email, SMS, internal task, move-to-queue and remove-from-queue steps. Event delays are days after the trigger; before-appointment tasks instead use minutes before the visit in company time. Before tasks require a scheduled or confirmed appointment trigger. The worker checks about once a minute, so this is not a second-precise alarm.

Tasks can have a fixed active login-enabled assignee, no assignee, or the appointment’s current rep. Missing or roster-only recipients are not guessed. Pending extension-created tasks follow rep changes; cancelled, completed, invalid or expired before-appointment tasks are dismissed. Rescheduling recalculates pending work without chasing a past visit. These are internal reminders, not customer texts. Eligible staff push depends on notification preferences, device registration and delivery services; a saved reminder does not prove delivery.

Optional stop-on-sale cancels remaining sequence steps and rechecks queued messages. Appointment-backed sequences check the linked appointment or project inquiry; sequences without an appointment stop on a later customer sale. Historical unrelated sales do not count as a new sale. Stop-on-rebooking remains separate.

A move-to-queue step changes the customer’s explicit calling queue and records an audit note. A remove-from-queue step excludes the contact from that queue’s filter results too; explicitly moving back clears that exclusion. It does not call or message the customer. Use Only explicitly moved contacts membership for Rehash if it should not automatically collect prospects by filters. Do-not-call settings, call limits, callback dates and recall waits still apply. Queue edits pause dependent sequences for a new review.

Use save_followup_sequence, save_queue_move_rule or save_queue_remove_rule through MCP to prepare drafts, preview them, and request approval. Tools cannot activate themselves. An administrator reviews the exact current steps and target queues before activation; old events are not replayed. Missing rep merge fields still require reviewed wording rather than an assumed fallback.

The queue MCP tool can set call_frequency_type, max_call_attempts, filter_max_call_attempts, overflow_queue_id, overflow_lead_status_id and attempt_scope. Omitted values are preserved when editing. Target queues and stages must belong to the same company; self-routing and overflow cycles are rejected by the MCP tool.

For Rehash → Old Leads after three attempts, use assigned_only membership, queue_entry attempt scope, specific call frequency, max_call_attempts 3 and the Old Leads queue ID as overflow_queue_id. Per-entry counting counts outbound completions since the customer entered that queue; inbound calls do not spend the budget. Lifetime call history is preserved. An explicit move to a different queue begins a new budget; setting the same queue again does not reset it.

Do-not-call or successful appointment dispositions and explicit disposition routing take precedence over attempt-limit overflow. If a destination is inactive, the completed call is saved with a warning instead of silently moving the customer. Existing queues retain lifetime counting unless an administrator deliberately changes their settings. Call limits and recall waits still govern which records appear.

Automation delivery lists queued messages; Automation activity combines deliveries, triggers, sequence steps and speed-to-lead reminders. The worker checks about once a minute. Sending windows and weekend exclusions use company time. Ineligible recipients and paused rules are cancelled at delivery.

Supported appointment templates can include confirm/reschedule links. A customer reschedule request does not automatically reserve a new slot; staff must finish scheduling. Use only the template variables offered by the editor, preview missing names and do not assume blank rep names receive automatic fallback wording.

Sent means provider accepted, not confirmed handset/inbox receipt. Failed or interrupted sends may already have reached the recipient. Check provider history before resending; the activity center does not automatically replay uncertain deliveries.