What is this?
An automation is a chain of steps — small building blocks that each do one job, like send a message, ask a question, check something, or update a contact. You drag steps onto the canvas in the Automation builder and connect them with lines. When the automation runs, it starts at the trigger and follows the lines from step to step. Think of it like a recipe: the trigger says when to start cooking, and the steps say what to do, in order. [SCREENSHOT: automation-steps-builder-canvas — The Automation builder canvas with a trigger, several connected steps, and the step palette on the left] This section explains every step in plain language: what it does, when to use it, and what its settings mean.What can I do here?
Steps are grouped in the builder’s palette the same way they’re grouped in these pages:How to use it
The basic ideas
Trigger. Every automation starts with a trigger — the event that starts it, such as a message arriving. See Select a Trigger. It’s the first block on the canvas, and every other step hangs off it. Connect steps with lines. Drag from a step’s output dot to the next step. The automation follows the lines. A step with only one output continues to whatever it’s connected to. Steps with more than one path. Some steps have several outputs, and you connect each one to what should happen next:
Steps that wait. Ask steps, Send Flow, and Delay pause the automation until something happens — the customer answers, submits the form, or the time passes — and then continue.
Variables — filling in details automatically
Wherever a step has a text box, you can add variables in double curly braces, and the platform swaps in the real value when the automation runs. Use the Add Variable button rather than typing them.If a variable has no value, it stays as
{{…}} in the message instead of turning blank, so check your variable names when you test.Save answers in custom fields
Ask steps can save what the customer said into a custom field. Later steps — a message, a condition, an update — can then use that value as a variable. Create the custom fields before you build the automation.Which steps can I use?
- The Send and Ask steps are channel-specific: WhatsApp steps for WhatsApp automations, and separate Instagram, Facebook, and Web Chat steps for those channels.
- Steps for logic, sequences, integrations, AI, and actions work on every channel.
- The comment steps (reply, private reply, moderate) only appear when the trigger is a comment trigger. Facebook’s private reply also works with the Page-mention trigger.
- Some steps are marked beta and may need a plan feature — Send Carousel, Send Call Request, Send Payment (India), and Google Calendar.
A few example chains
Troubleshooting / Technical Notes
- A step I expect isn’t in the palette. The palette shows the steps for the automation’s channel. Comment steps only appear with comment triggers.
- A message shows
{{name}}instead of a name. The variable has no value for that contact. Check the field name, or set the field earlier in the flow. - The automation stops after an Ask step. It’s waiting for the customer’s answer. If the customer never replies, connect the Not Submitted path so something happens.
- A path isn’t connected. If a step has several outputs, connect each one — otherwise the automation ends when it reaches an unconnected path.
- Something worked in testing but not live. Make sure the automation is Active — see Manage Live Flows.