Automations
An automation is work your agent does by itself: at set times, after a meeting on your calendar, or whenever something it watches changes. You set one up by asking for it, and you manage it on the Automations tab.
Create one by asking
Tell your agent what you want and when, in a thread, the way you would tell an assistant:
- “Every weekday at 8, send me what’s on today.”
- “Every Monday morning, summarise last week’s new leads.”
- “After each discovery call, draft the follow-up email.”
The agent sets it up and tells you when it will first run. It then appears on the Automations tab. Say what the result should look like and where it should go; if you leave that out, results stay in the console.
The Automations tab
Open Automations from the side rail. The list on the left shows each automation with its cadence and when it next runs. A small icon says what starts it: hover it to read Runs on a schedule (cron) or Runs after matching calendar events. A new badge means a run reported since you last opened that automation.
Select one to open its output thread: every run’s result lands there, and you can reply in it to change what the automation does. Above the thread:
- Run now runs it once straight away. A paused automation stays paused.
- Pause schedule and Resume schedule stop and restart it.
- Notify chooses when a run posts (see below).
- Cadence, delivery & runs opens the details: when it last ran, what starts it, and where it posts, with an Edit button for delivery.
In the list, hover a row for two more controls: the pin (Pin to the top) and the eye (Hide schedule). Hiding only tidies your list; the automation keeps running. Show hidden brings hidden rows back for this visit. Rows marked core are your agent’s own upkeep; leave those on. The filter next to the search box narrows the list by Active or Paused, and by Core or Yours.
To change what an automation does or when it runs, ask the agent in its output thread, for example “Move this to 7am” or “Also include tomorrow’s first meeting.”
Where results go
Every run’s result is kept in its output thread and in Files. An automation can also post somewhere else. Open Cadence, delivery & runs, find Posts to, and press Edit. The editor, Delivery — where this automation posts, lets you add destinations: a Slack channel, a Slack DM, an Email address or a Webhook. Press Save when done.
With no destinations, the editor reads Console thread only: results stay in the console. A destination your agent cannot use yet (for example Slack, before Slack is set up) shows as unavailable on this agent.
When a run posts
Notify has three choices:
- Always: every run posts, even when there’s nothing new. With no choice made, the automation shows Default — posts every run.
- Only when there’s a result: silent when the run reports nothing new. Best for checks and watches.
- Never: the automation still runs, but never posts.
After a calendar meeting
An automation can run after your meetings instead of at set times, for example “After each client call, write up notes and draft the follow-up.” It runs once after each matching meeting ends.
The agent needs your calendar’s private address, an iCal (ICS) link. In Google Calendar it is under Settings, Integrate calendar, Secret address in iCal format; in Outlook, publish your calendar and copy the ICS link.
Ask the agent to set it up, or do it yourself: open the automation, then Cadence, delivery & runs, and under Trigger pick After a calendar event. Fill in:
- ICS feed URL: your calendar’s private address.
- Title matches: words from the meeting titles to match. Separate alternatives with a bar, for example Discovery|Onboarding.
- Attendee domain (optional): only meetings with people from this email domain, for example your client’s company.
- Minimum length (minutes, optional): skip short meetings.
- Run … minutes after the event ends: the delay you want.
- Daily cap: the most runs in one day.
Press Save. Under the form, a status line shows the last matched meeting, when the calendar was last checked and how many runs happened today, or No matching event yet. To go back to set times, pick the schedule option under Trigger again and confirm.
When something changes
Some automations are watches: they check something regularly and only tell you when it changed. A web page, a feed, your inbox, a competitor’s prices. Ask for one plainly:
- “Tell me when a new review appears.”
- “Check this page every morning and tell me if the pricing changes.”
- “Watch my inbox for invoices and list any new ones at 5pm.”
Say what counts as a change and how often to check. Set Notify to Only when there’s a result so quiet checks stay quiet. Watching your inbox or calendar needs that account connected first; see Connections.
Good practices
- One job per automation. Two small automations are easier to fix than one big one.
- Say where results go and who they are for when you ask.
- Prefer Only when there’s a result for checks, so a post always means something.
- If a run fails, its last-run line (under Cadence, delivery & runs) turns red, and the error is in the output thread. An automation that fails several times in a row pauses itself rather than failing quietly. Ask the agent to fix it, then press Resume schedule.
- Anything an automation wants to do that needs your say-so waits in your Inbox; see Inbox and approvals and Autonomy and checkpoints.
Next: Connections · Inbox and approvals · Autonomy and checkpoints