What is this?
Contact or Custom Field Changed fires when a contact is created, or when a field you select — a standard field or a custom field — is set or its value changes. It’s the trigger for reacting to data changes rather than messages, such as re-qualifying a lead the moment itsbudget field is filled in.
How to use it
1
Create the custom field first
If you’re watching a custom field, create it in Custom Fields before you build the workflow — the trigger can only select fields that already exist.
2
Create the workflow
Go to Automation → Create Automation, choose the channel, and pick Contact or Custom Field Changed as the Trigger Type. See Create a Workflow.
3
Select what to watch
Choose the contact event or the specific field. Narrowing to one field avoids firing on unrelated changes.
4
Add the follow-up steps
Update a label, notify a teammate, start a sequence, or send a message using the new value as a variable.
5
Test, then activate
Change the field on a test contact, confirm the flow fires, then activate — see Manage Live Flows.
Tips
- Watch one field, not “any field.” A broad trigger fires on changes you don’t care about and makes debugging harder.
- Order matters. If another automation sets the field, make sure that flow runs — and finishes — before this one needs the value.
Troubleshooting / Technical Notes
- It fires too often. You’re likely watching a field that changes for unrelated reasons — pick a more specific field, or add a Condition Logic step to filter.
- It doesn’t fire. Confirm the field name matches exactly, and that the change happened through a path the platform tracks (an ask step, an import, an API update).
- A message shows the old value. The step reading the value ran before the field was actually set — check the order of steps.