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This is the field-level reference for the Automation builder — every trigger, every step, and how data moves between them. For what Automations are for, how runs are billed, and worked examples, start with Automations overview.

The three tabs

The /automations list page has three tabs:

Triggers

Every trigger starts from a specific event. Assistant-bound triggers (On Call Completed, On Inbound Call, Inject input variables) require picking a specific assistant. Booking, conversation, and email triggers take an optional Assistant filter instead; conversation triggers can also be narrowed to one messaging connection or platform, and booking triggers to a single booking page. A generic or CRM webhook trigger gets its own inbound URL and secret, shown directly in the trigger’s settings once the automation is saved. HighLevel and connected apps deliver events through a shared, pre-authenticated endpoint instead — set up once for the workspace, not per automation:

Steps

Logic & flow control

These don’t talk to anything outside the automation — they shape which path a run takes, or pause it.
Loop on Items processes at most 100 items per loop, and loops can nest up to 5 levels deep.

Ending a run

A run also ends cleanly whenever a step has no outgoing connection. These three end it explicitly, and two of them hand back a specific answer. When an assistant calls this automation mid-conversation, every path must end at Respond to webhook, with no Delay or Loop step first.

Time

AI

Grouped under Milian AI in the catalog. Both bill workspace credits for token usage plus a margin — the charged amount shows on the run and in the step’s Test panel.

Messaging

Send on an already-open conversation, or start a fresh WhatsApp conversation with an approved template.

Contacts, calls & compliance

Suppression actions are idempotent — re-adding or re-removing the same identity never fails a run.

Knowledge

HTTP & webhooks

Neither of these needs a saved connection — paste a URL and go.

External connections

CRM, MCP, and connected-app steps all read or write an external system through a saved credential — add one under Automations → Connections before using any of them. Each shows up in the catalog as Provider · Action (for example Airtable · Create record). CRM providers. See CRM sync for the recurring-sync setup and the HighLevel authorize flow — these action nodes write one record at a time, independent of any sync schedule. Example: after On Call Completed, use a HubSpot update to log {{data.analysis.success}} on the matched contact, or branch on it first with Condition. Vendor & generic MCP. Instead of fixed fields, these hand a prompt and the run’s context to an agent that picks the right tool and arguments itself — useful when the exact call varies run to run. Both bill workspace AI credits for the agent’s reasoning. Connected apps (Beta). Beyond the platforms above, the catalog also carries every app your workspace has connected over OAuth. Connect one under Connections → Add Connection → Browse apps (Beta), then pick it as a trigger or action like any built-in platform. Requires workspace Beta Features. See App Catalog for the full list and how connecting works.

How data flows between steps

Every field marked with a ⚡ accepts {{ }} templates pulled from the run’s current data.
  • Extract Fields returns its values twice — nested under fields ({{steps.step1.fields.email}}) and flattened onto the step itself ({{steps.step1.email}}) — use whichever reads more clearly.
  • Set variable writes into the run itself rather than a step’s own output — reference the path you chose the same way afterward, e.g. {{vars.summary}}.
  • Condition, Switch, and Loop on Items also decide which connected path runs next — drag separate connections out of their true/false, per-case, or Loop/Done handles.
Use Insert Variable to browse what’s available instead of typing paths by hand. Each step’s Test panel has two levels: Connect Test only checks your fields are valid; Run test executes the step for real and fills Insert Variable with live outputs for every later step.
Run test is a real execution, not a simulation — on connected apps, email, SMS, HTTP, and CRM steps it can create or change real data.

Statuses

An automation that fails five runs in a row is paused automatically, so a broken graph can’t keep firing. Check the Runs tab for the error, fix it, then switch it back to Live.

Building automations with Milian

Open an automation and ask Milian, the AI copilot, to build or change it in plain language — add a trigger and steps, wire a condition’s true/false branches, rename or retag it, switch it Live, or debug a failed run, the same things you’d do by hand. Try “add an email step after the trigger,” “add a condition branch and wire true/false,” or “debug the last failed run.” Milian applying a change directly shows Milian saved changes; updating the canvas without saving shows Milian updated the canvas — click Save to persist, and the change stays a draft until you click Save.

Next steps

Automations overview

Concepts, billing, and worked example automations

App Catalog

Browse and connect apps for triggers and actions

CRM sync

Keep Audience and a connected CRM aligned on a schedule